What Time Is It? song

Verse 2:

It’s seven o’clock
It’s eight o’clock
It’s nine o’clock
It’s ten o’clock
It’s eleven o’clock
It’s twelve o’clock

Tick-tock-tick-tock
Tick-tock-tick-tock

Gestures and activities to use with the “What Time Is It?” song

For this song your students are going to be human clocks, using their arms to show the time.  Have everybody stand up with plenty of room to move their arms around without hitting anyone.

1. For the question words sing along and hold your hands out, palms up, in the question gesture.
2. For the times, hold your arms straight out in the time position.  So, for 1 o’clock, hold one arm straight up towards 12 and the other arm towards one.  As the song continues, one arm will move around the clock counting off each hour.

Using the “What Time Is It?” song in class

This is a really good song for introducing your students to telling the time as it contains key vocab and structures.  The gestures are easy and fun – your students will enjoy swinging their arms around with the times in the song.

1. Introduce a clock and review numbers 1 to 12. Start the lesson by bringing in a clock or alternatively make a craft clock using our clock shape craft sheet. Elicit and chorus the word “clock”.  Then point to number 1 and elicit the number.  Point to each number 1-12 in order and elicit the numbers (you can move the hour hand around as you do this).
2. Practice recognizing numbers 1-12. Before class prepare twelve A4 sheets of paper with a number (1-12) written on each piece.  Place the numbers randomly around the walls of the classroom at a height where your student can reach them.  In class, draw your students’ attention to the numbers and say “Point to number 1”.  Everyone should point.  Then go through all the numbers 1-12.
3. Play “Touch the numbers on the wall”. Get everyone standing in the middle of the classroom.  Shout “Touch Number 7!”.  Everyone should run and touch that number – it will be a mad scramble but good fun!  Then go through the rest of the numbers.
4. Write the numbers on the board. Along the top of the board write the numbers in order 1-12. Divide the class into 4 teams and get each team to elect a representative to write on the board.  Have the 4 students come to the board and tell them they are going to race to write the numbers 1-12.  The winner will win a point for their team.  Say “Ready – Steady – Go!” and the 4 students race to write the numbers.  Then get another 4 students to have a go.  At the end the team with the most points is the winner.
5. Teach the time vocab. Hold up your clock and set a time (e.g. 4 o’clock).  Ask the class “What time is it?”.  Elicit / teach “It’s 4 o’clock”.  Move the hand to another time, and ask again (you can also ask “Please could you tell me the time?”).  Go through the hours eliciting the times from the class until they have got the hang of the structures.
6. Practice the gestures of the song. Stand everyone in front of you. Say “Point you hands at 1 o’clock” and demonstrate how to do this (hold one arm straight up at 12 and the other at 1).  Then say “Point you hands at 2 o’clock” … continue all the way round to 12 o’clock.
7. Sing the “What Time Is It?” song. Now that everyone has got the idea of the actions for the song they should be ready. The teacher should also do the actions of the song and sing along so to encourage everyone to follow. Play the song through the first time and just focus on getting the actions right. After that play the song a couple more times and encourage everyone to sing as well.
8. Do the Clock Craft Sheet.  Before class print out the clock shape craft sheet – enough so that each student has one. You can either cut out the shapes before class or have your students cut out the shapes in class. You will also need fasteners for each clock to fasten the arms to the clock.  After constructing the clocks, put students in pairs.  First model the activity with a student.  Student A sets a time on his/her clock and asks “What time is it?” or “Please could you tell me the time?”.  Their partner answers.  Each pair takes it in turn to ask each other.
9. Play “What time do you?”. Still using the clocks, your students are going to show you the time they usually do things.  Ask the class questions, such as “What time do you usually wake up?” (if they are not sure you can use gestures to show what you mean). As you ask the questions, everyone should move the hands on their clock to the time they do these activities.  Then select some students to orally tell you their time (e.g. “I wake up at 7 o’clock”). We are only concentrating on “o’clock” for this lesson, so if students have times on their clock such as 7.20 you can teach “About 7 o’clock”.

   Other routine questions you can ask the time for could be: eat breakfast / lunch / dinner, go to bed, go to school, leave school, take a bath, do homework, brush teeth, etc.

10. Set Homework: For homework, give out the “What time is it? It’s __ o’clock” worksheet.