Year 1 Time Duration and Event Sequences Activities and Worksheets (AC9M1M03)

About This Year 1 Maths Topic

Time can be described using familiar units such as hours, days, weeks, months and years. In Year 1, students learn to name these units and connect them to events in their daily lives.

Students explore the order and cycle of days, weeks, months and years, and compare how many days occur in different months.

They sequence familiar activities and represent events using pictorial timelines, helping them understand what happens first, next and last.

Students also estimate whether an event takes closer to an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year and explain their reasoning.

These activities support the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 content descriptor AC9M1M03 and its associated elaborations.

Australian Curriculum Alignment

AC9M1M03

Describe the duration and sequence of events using years, months, weeks, days and hours.

AC9M1M03_E1

Name, list and use familiar units of time, including hours, days, weeks and years.

AC9M1M03_E2

Compare the number of days in the months of the year and explain how the months cycle from one year to the next.

AC9M1M03_E3

Sequence familiar events and represent time using pictorial timelines.

AC9M1M03_E4

Discuss activities and decide whether they take closer to an hour, a day, a week, a month or a year.

AC9M1M03_E5

Investigate durations of time represented in First Nations Australians’ seasonal calendars.

Learning Intentions

Students will learn to:

name familiar units of time;
describe events using hours, days, weeks, months and years;
list days of the week and months of the year in order;
compare the number of days in different months;
recognise that months repeat in a yearly cycle;
sequence familiar events correctly;
represent events using pictorial timelines;
estimate the duration of familiar activities;
choose an appropriate unit of time for an event;
explain and communicate time reasoning.

Student Success Criteria

I can name hours, days, weeks, months and years.

I can list the days of the week in order.

I can list the months of the year in order.

I can compare the number of days in months.

I can explain that months repeat each year.

I can put familiar events in order.

I can make a pictorial timeline.

I can estimate how long an event takes.

I can choose a suitable unit of time.

I can explain my reasoning.

Key Vocabulary

time duration sequence event hour day week month year calendar timeline first next last before after shorter longer

Teacher Guide

Recommended Materials

classroom calendars;
days-of-the-week cards;
months-of-the-year cards;
picture cards showing daily routines;
pictorial timeline templates;
event sorting cards;
birthday and class-event calendars;
seasonal photographs;
mini whiteboards and markers;
storybooks featuring routines and seasons;
duration category cards: hour, day, week, month and year;
authoritative First Nations seasonal calendar resources.

Suggested Teaching Sequence

Introduce hours, days, weeks, months and years.
Connect each unit to familiar events.
Review the days of the week in order.
Teach the months of the year in sequence.
Compare the number of days in different months.
Use calendars to identify repeating yearly cycles.
Sequence familiar daily and weekly events.
Create and interpret pictorial timelines.
Sort activities by approximate duration.
Explore seasonal duration using First Nations calendars.

Teacher Questions

Which unit of time would best describe this event?
What happens before this event?
What happens next?
Which event takes longer?
How many days are in this month?
Which month comes after June?
What happens when December ends?
How can a timeline help us?
Would this take closer to an hour or a day?
What evidence supports your answer?
How are seasons represented on this calendar?
What patterns do you notice across the year?

Common Misconceptions

Believing all months have the same number of days

Use a calendar to compare months visually and count the days in several examples.

Thinking the year stops after December

Arrange month cards in a circle to show that January follows December and the cycle begins again.

Confusing event order with event duration

Explain that sequence tells when events happen, while duration tells how long they take.

Choosing a time unit based only on the word used

Ask students to imagine the real event and compare it with a familiar benchmark such as a school lesson, one day or one month.

Assuming every seasonal calendar has four seasons

Explain that First Nations seasonal calendars vary by Country and reflect local environmental patterns.

Year 1 Time Duration and Event Sequence Activities

Activity 1: Time Unit Sort

Give students cards showing familiar activities and ask them to sort each event under hour, day, week, month or year.

Students explain why the selected unit is appropriate.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E1

Activity 2: Days of the Week Sequence

Students arrange day cards in order and identify yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Connect the sequence to the classroom weekly routine.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E1

Activity 3: Build the Year

Arrange month cards in order from January to December.

Join the final and first cards to demonstrate the repeating yearly cycle.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E2

Activity 4: Days in Each Month

Use a calendar to compare the number of days in several months.

Students group months with the same number of days and describe what they notice.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E2

Activity 5: My Morning Timeline

Students arrange pictures showing waking, dressing, eating breakfast and arriving at school.

They label each picture first, next, then and last.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E3

Activity 6: Story Timeline

Read a familiar story and place key events in sequence using a pictorial timeline.

Students retell the story using before and after language.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E3

Activity 7: How Long Does It Take?

Sort activities such as walking to school, growing a plant, completing a school day and having a birthday into suitable duration categories.

Discuss answers that may vary depending on the situation.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E4

Activity 8: Duration Corners

Label classroom corners hour, day, week, month and year. Read an event and have students move to the best estimate.

Ask selected students to justify their choices.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E4

Activity 9: Class Event Calendar

Add birthdays, excursions, library days and school events to a shared calendar.

Students describe how far away each event is using days, weeks or months.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03

Activity 10: First Nations Seasonal Calendar Investigation

Explore an authoritative seasonal calendar connected to the appropriate First Nations community and Country.

Discuss how changes in plants, animals, weather and environmental conditions mark different periods of time.

Curriculum connection: AC9M1M03_E5

Differentiation

Support

begin with two familiar units such as hour and day;
use picture cards for every event;
provide days and months in partially completed sequences;
use classroom routines as familiar examples;
provide first, next and last sentence frames;
use short three-event pictorial timelines;
offer only two duration choices at first;
repeat songs for days and months;
allow oral responses or adult scribing.

Extension

compare several possible duration units;
sequence events across multiple days or weeks;
create original pictorial timelines;
investigate leap years with teacher support;
calculate how many days until a class event;
compare two different calendars;
write clues for classmates to identify a month;
justify when more than one estimate could be reasonable;
identify patterns in seasonal calendars.

Mathematical Sentence Starters

This event takes about _____.

I chose _____ because _____.

First, _____ happens.

Next, _____ happens.

Last, _____ happens.

_____ happens before _____.

_____ happens after _____.

This event takes longer than _____.

This event takes less time than _____.

The month after _____ is _____.

There are _____ days in _____.

The months repeat because _____.

I know because _____.

Assessment Ideas

Observe whether the student can:

name familiar units of time;
list days and months in sequence;
compare the number of days in months;
explain the yearly month cycle;
sequence familiar events;
create or interpret a pictorial timeline;
estimate event duration;
choose an appropriate time unit;
use before, after, first, next and last correctly;
explain and justify time reasoning.

Quick Exit Ticket

Choose one familiar event.
Decide whether it takes an hour, day, week, month or year.
Draw three pictures to show its sequence.
Explain why your chosen unit is suitable.

Printable Teacher and Student Resources

Use the buttons below to open the available AC9M1M03 teaching materials and printable activities in a new browser tab.

Main Worksheets Worksheet Cover Units of Time Worksheets Familiar Units of Time Hours, Days, Weeks, Months and Years Activities Months and Days Calendar Activities Months of the Year and Calendar Activities Sequencing Events with Pictorial Timelines Pictorial Timeline Activities Estimating Event Duration Hour, Day, Week, Month and Year Activities First Nations Seasonal Calendars First Nations Time and Seasons

Resources open in a new tab. Browser PDF settings may affect whether a file opens in the browser or downloads.

Home Learning Ideas

Families can use home routines, calendars, birthdays, holidays and familiar activities to practise sequencing and duration.

Draw simple timelines for morning routines, weekend activities or preparing a meal and discuss how long each event takes.

Ask questions such as:

What happens first?
What happens after this?
Which activity takes longer?
Would this take an hour or a day?
How many days are in this month?
Which month comes next?
How many weeks until the event?
Can you draw a timeline?
What unit of time is most suitable?
How do you know?