By making their own paper clocks, students begin to understand what clocks are and how they work. Print a clock template on white paper, and have the students cut it out and glue it to a sheet of colored construction paper. Have them cut out two clock hands from another sheet of construction paper and then instruct them to attach the hands to the center of the clock using a brass paper fastener. Brainstorm with the students about significant times in their day, such as when they wake up, when school starts and when they go to lunch. Have them adjust the clock hands to show these different times.
Telling time is, essentially, a math project, so it's effective to teach it in terms of numbers. Show the students the numbers on an analog clock and how an hour is divided into 60 minutes. Using a traditional clock face can help to emphasize the numbers involved in telling time, since even young children can count each minute marker and do simple addition and subtraction problems. For example, 15 minutes minus 10 minutes equals 5 minutes. These sorts of math problems show children how time works and how math is used in the real world.
Stopwatches give students a sense of passing time. Using a stopwatch or a mobile device's stopwatch app, time the students doing simple tasks, such as walking between two points or rolling a ball from one side of the room to the other. Have each student write down the time it took to complete the task in seconds. This activity shows them that time is passing, and it demonstrates to them how to measure and record time.
Playing bingo with time is a way for students to have fun while learning to recognize digital times. Create a bingo sheet with five boxes down, five across and a free space in the middle. Write different times in each box. Put small pieces of paper with corresponding times into a basket and draw them out, reading each time aloud and writing it on the blackboard. Students will place a marker on each time that they have, calling "bingo" when they have five in a row. Give them time-related prizes -- such as toy watches from a dollar store -- for bingos.