Telling time in Spanish is an important skill for children to learn at a young age. It helps them develop a sense of control over what they do, understand how much time they have for a specific task. Additionally, it helps children develop literacy and math skills. Learning how to tell the time in Spanish will become an even more important skill once they start growing up. It will give your child confidence and responsibility over themselves. 

Now, even though telling time in Spanish is an important skill to learn, it can also be a tricky one. Children need to be able to multitask and put into practice their math skills when trying to master how to tell time. 

Telling Time in Spanish Concepts and Vocabulary

A great way to start teaching how to tell time in Spanish is to teach children basic concepts and vocabulary words, such as hours, minutes, seconds. Also, it is important to teach them basic math skills, such as counting and recognizing numbers 1-60. An equally important skill for children to master before learning how to tell time in Spanish is to skip count by 5 and 10. 

Another important component is to incorporate visual support. This can include posters, flashcards, books, images, etc. Visual aids help students retain information and makes it easier for students to remember the details more effectively. 

Hands-on activities

Integrating meaningful hands-on activities is another important element when teaching children how to tell time in Spanish. Exposing them firsthand to diverse hands-on opportunities will give them the opportunity to experience it by themselves, increasing retention, and stimulating their brain. I love to set up my hands-on activities using Learning Centers or Stations, and have children rotate through them during a single lesson. This way, children get to manipulate the information in multiple ways. A few of my favorite hands-on activities to teach telling time in Spanish are:

Telling Time in Spanish Detectives

In this independent activity, students choose a card with a digital clock, and then write the time shown in an analog clock and standard form.

Spin the Wheel

Students spin the wheel and cover the digital clock on a Mat, that matches the analog and written form shown on the wheel.

Telling Time in Spanish Mini Book

In this mini book, students need to look at the clock on each page, write a sentence about what time is it, and what do they do at that time everyday. Then, they draw a picture to go with their sentence.

Telling Time in Spanish Memory Game/ Find the Match

Students can use the cards to play the traditional Memory Game or to Find the Match, by going around the classroom to find another person with the same card.

Telling Time in Spanish Puzzles Center

This activity can be used both as an independent and/or Center Activity. Students need to order the puzzle pieces to find the three pieces that match with a digital, analog and written form.

Telling Time in Spanish Puzzles Worksheet

In this independent activity, students need to order the puzzle pieces to find the two that match. They cut the pieces of the puzzle and glue them in a blank worksheet.

Telling Time in Spanish Spin the Wheel

Students will spin the wheel and draw the short and long hand on their clock according to the number shown on the Wheel. Then, they write the time they formed.

Picture- Word Match

In this Independent Activity, students match the time on the clock with the word.

Cut and paste

Students cut the pieces of a clock to create their own.

Tic Tac Toe Board Game

This activity could be used as an independent and/or Centers. Students take turns to cover the pictures. The student that makes a vertical, horizontal or diagonal line of 3, wins the game.

Telling Time in Spanish Dominoes

Each player gets 5 domino cards. The rest of the cards are placed face down in the table. The first player places any domino card face up in the center of the table. The next player takes another card from the center pile to find a matching card to add. The turn is over if they don’t find a match. The game continues until a player doesn’t have any domino cards left. 

Telling Time in Spanish Interactive Notebook

In this independent activity, students cut, sort and glue the corresponding time on the analog clock to the one on the digital clock.

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