Monday, January 25, 2010

The Charlotte Clock

I mentioned in my last post a woman named Vikki Horner from the UK, whom I met when presenting an eReadingPro workshop in Gibraltar. The organizers of the workshop were very busy ensuring that us two speakers met in between my workshop presentation and hers. I'm so grateful that we did, and that I have some math materials that I can suggest to people who inquire.

What I didn't mention in my last post was a creation of Vikki's called the 'Charlotte Clock'. The clock was created to provide children with as many different ways as is possible to learn how to tell time. The concept begins with teaching the 5-minute blocks of time, and then the 1-hour blocks, gradually working into the fractions that enable the 'before' and 'after' the hour readings of time. The clock comes with a number of different 'faces' that can be used on the clock along with a resource pack for teachers.

The Charlotte Clock is a terrific invention that can be used for ALL children learning to tell time. However, it was specifically designed for Vikki's daughter who was born with Down syndrome, and struggled with the very abstract aspect of telling time.

What an amazing resource - I wish it was around when I was learning to tell time!

1 comment:

VikkiHorner said...

Thank you for writing about the Charlotte Clock. I designed this around Charlottes learning profile. It took a year for her to learn to tell the time using both digital and analogue formats. She makes choices in how she tells the time, and through this time telling skill her organisation skills greatly increased, and her world widened hugely. This resource is helping many children with Down syndrome and other children with SEN learn to tell the time. Again, thank you for mentioning it. Kind regards Vikki Horner