The central idea is duration: how long an event takes. Students use formal units to make sensible estimates, compare events, plan sequences and check estimates with timers. Unit relationships support this thinking; they are not the whole topic.
Big idea: choose a sensible unit → estimate how long → measure when possible → compare → explain whether the estimate was reasonable.
- Recognise seconds, minutes, hours and days.
- Choose a sensible unit for a real event.
- Estimate realistic durations and justify estimates.
- Compare events as shorter, longer or about the same.
- Plan activities to fit a time limit.
- Read and set digital countdown timers.
- Use sand timers, stopwatches and digital timers to check estimates.
- Explore cultural accounts of natural cycles involving the sun, moon and stars.