Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 1

Grade: 3rd grade

Topic: Time Zones (Geography)
Lesson Objective:
3rd grade students will be able to state the number of time zones in the
world and why time zones exist.
3rd grade students will use the meanings of AM and PM correctly while
understanding the meaning of a 24-hour universal clock.
NCSS Standards:
Strand 3: People, Place, and Environments.
The study of people, places, and human-environment interactions assists
students as they create their spatial views and geographic perspectives of
the world beyond their personal locations. Students need the knowledge,
skills, and understanding to answer questions such as: Where are things
located? Why are they located where they are? What do we mean by region?
How do landforms change? What implications do these changes have for
people?
Materials Needed:
Map of World with time zones
Close up map of all continents with
time zones
Blank maps to practice drawing time
zones
Clock (a few if possible; display them
in the classroom as the times in
North America)
Globes
Procedure:
Day One: Introduction to time zones.
Ask the students: Does anyone have family outside of Iowa? If so
where do they live? Is it a different time there? Why is this so? What
makes another place a different time?
Time Zones. Turn to your partner and share why you believe we have
time zones? What is a time zone?
Check for students understanding of time zone differences by leading
a discussion about why the whole world is not on the same time.
Some ideas might be plane schedules, sporting events, TV shows, etc.

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 2

Tell the students that this came about a long time ago in a place called
Greenwich, England. (The French wanted it to be in Paris, but the
English won.) So Greenwich became the place on the map we now call
the Prime Meridian or 0 degrees longitude, otherwise called Greenwich
Mean Time (GMT), ZULU time, or more properly, Universal Time.
When traveling in a ship or plane there is a special clock that is always
set to Universal Time. If you know your longitude
and GMT time, you can figure out what time zone
you are in. Demonstrate a 24-hour (universal)
clock by counting from 1 a.m. (antemeridian) and
continuing counting past 12 p.m. (post-meridian)
all the way to 24:00. (Idea for beginning section
from:
http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/sponsored/epic/lessons/pdfs/whattimeisit.
pdf)
So, GMT, aka Greenwich Mean Time, is the Universal Time. GMT is
measured from midnight, so the new day begins at 0000 GMT. When
you move to the right of this time zone (GMT) the time increases by
one hour each zone. (Refer to time increasing with zones on map
below.)
**Show the students where this is located on the map
25 nations met in 1884 with the intention of universal time. The
leaders who attended the conference agreed that Greenwich should be
declared the prime meridian, and GMT was accepted as the global time
standard. After the conference, international time zones were
established relative to GMT.
So why do time zones exist? Have a class discussion about this after
the students watch the following video.
o https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=widWLhIIbzs This video
explains why we have time zones, how many, and how this
works.

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 3

Exit Slip for Day One:

o Name:
1. How many time zones are there?
2. Why do we have time zones?
3. Tell me two things you know about GMT or Universal Time?
4. If we did not have time zones, what do you think would be
different about the world today? Name at least three things.
Teacher Checklist: Day 1
The student participated in small group and large group discussion. 1
2 3
The student provided reasonable and thoughtful answers on the exit
slip. 1 2 3
What does this student seem to still be struggling to understand? What
should be reviewed tomorrow with him/her/the class? _________________
Day Two: Experimenting with time zones
Touch on longitude and latitude: Explain that there are 360o of
longitude (the circumference of the Earth) and that there are 24 hours
in a day. So 360 o / 24 = 15 o. Meaning that for each 15 degrees west
of GMT the time on the clock is (-1) and (+1) for each 15 degrees East
from 0. Refer to maps provided.

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 4

o Refer to video again if needed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=widWLhIIbzs
Do not dwell so much on longitude and latitude, but it is a good
teaching moment for vocab words. The main focus is on time zones
(which does encompass longitude and latitude but is not limited to).
Discuss what A.M. and P.M. means.
Since time is kept in a 12-hour increment (how clocks show), there
must be 2 sets of 12 hours to make a full 24-hour day.
The first period of the day is called ante meridiem AM. This means
before noon in Latin. The second period is called post meridiem
meaning after noon in Latin PM.
A 24-hour clock in contrast, displays the time as the hours passes since
midnight. Therefore, 23:00 hours on a 24hour clock on March 4th means
23 hours has passed since midnight on March 4th. This is also known as
military time.
With the students, look at a map and compare the time zones and the
distance and difference between the 15 degrees.
Practice with the students finding the time of a location in relation to
GMT. This can be done in a large group or at small groups using a map
with time zones marked. The first step would be to find GMT, and then
to determine the time based off this.
Locations that cane be used for this project are:
o New York City
o Denver, Colorado
o Anchorage, Alaska
o Hawaii
o Tokyo
o Sydney
o Hong Kong
o Moscow
o London
o Rio de Janerio
o Johannesburg

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 5

Student Exit Slip:

1. What did you learn about time zones today?
2. What is the purpose of GMT?
3. What is AM and PM used for? Why do we need them?
4. What questions do you still have?
Day Three: What time is it now? Why?
This final day children will be experimenting with the time zones and
trying to discover the time of a given place.
Students will use maps or globes to help find the location of the given
place, to then determine the time.
The following two worksheets will be used for this activity. The students
will be split into ability groups for this activity. Any TAG students will
receive the second sheet, while the remainder of students receives the
first. Any struggling learners at this time will be provided assistance
and one on one instruction if appropriate.

Name:
Directions: Below are listed ten places in the world. This may include a
country, state, even city. Your job is to locate this place on a map or globe,
and then determine what time it is there.
1. If it is 6 A.M. in California, what time is it in New York City?

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 6

2.
3.
4.
5.

If it is 10 P.M. in Adrar, Algeria, what time is it in Beijing, China?

If it is 3 P.M. in Paris, France what time is it in Rome, Italy?
If it is 3 A.M. in Hawaii, what time is it in Florida?
If it is 7 A.M. in Minnesota, what time is it in Guatemala City,
Guatemala?
6. If it is 8 P.M. in Panama City, Panama, what time is it in San Jose, Costa
Rica?
7. If it is 10 P.M. in Toronto, Canada, what time is it in Ireland?
8. If it is 4 A.M. in Portugal, what time is it in Lima, Peru?
9. If it is 5 P.M. in Brasilia, Brazil, what time is it in Beijing, China?
10.
If it is 10 P.M. in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, what time is it in Seward,
Alaska?
(TAG) Name:
Directions: Please answers the questions below that pertain to time zones,
and names of time zones around the world. Refer to a glob, map, or
computer when needed for the worksheet.
1. What time is it in San Jose, Costa Rica, if it is 8 P.M. in Panama City,
Panama?
2. If it is 10 P.M. in Toronto, Canada, what time is it in Ireland?
3. What time is it in Lima, Peru, if it is 4 A.M. in Portugal,?
4. If it is 5 P.M. in Brasilia, Brazil, what time is it in Beijing, China?
5. What time is it in Seward, Alaska, if it is 10 P.M. in Ulan Bator,
Mongolia?
6. If is 6 P.M. in New York City, and 2 P.M. in Alaska, what time zone
(name) would it be 4 P.M? Name a city in this zone along with the name
of the zone.
7. If it is 1 P.M. in Hawaii, what time zone is it 6 P.M.? Name a city apart of
the time zone.
8. What time zone (name) am I speaking of that covers the Midwest of
the United States?
9. What time would it be in the Bahamas, if it is 2 A.M. in Kochi, India.
10.
Are there really 24 whole time zones? Or is it short of that?
Grouping:
Students will work in small group and large group throughout the lesson.
There will be opportunities for one on one instruction if needed throughout
the three days. This will be offered during independent work time of the
lesson, or if it can be addressed immediately during the lesson.

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 7

Differentiation:
Struggling Learners:
If a student is having a difficult time with any part of the lesson the teacher
can pull him or her aside to explain the topic one on one. The pictures and
maps can be blown up so everyone can see and participate in the lesson if
needed. The teacher will be open for any questions and spending extra time
with struggling learners during any point during the lessons, but preferably
during work time or after class. Partners can be used for a majority of the
activities, which may also help any struggling learners to better understand.
TAG Students:
Instead of more work, the TAG students can have a separate set of questions
that are more mature and go more in depth. For example, on the last day
when students are exploring with time zones and how they work, TAG
students have a separate sheet, rather than a longer sheet. This will push
these students learning to a higher understanding and allow them to think
about the topic from a variety of viewpoints. On day one and two, the TAG
students have the same set of questions, but will be expected to come up
with unique thoughtful responses to these. Because they are exit slips, and
the main project of the unit is at the end, TAG students will be held to a
higher standard and expectation when reviewing the information for the day.
Assessment:
The final assessment of the three-day lesson will be to construct a globe and
draw the approximate time zone. It does not have to be perfect, but a good
attempt (with at least the United States closely resembled will be efficient.
The students will also be asked to complete the survey along with their
globe.
Materials for Globe:
Each student will receive a balloon. We will blow these up and tape the
to a small cup upside down.
The students will use cut strips of newspaper and dip this is a glue
substance or modge podge and place the strips on the balloon.
This will continue until the whole balloon is covered, and each student
has essentially created a piata. When the glue is dry, we will pop the
balloons and each student will be given stickers of all the continents.
As a class, we will place the stickers on the globe in the correct
positions and review the names of the continents as we do this.
Once this is complete, students will be asked to draw the time zones to

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 8

the best of their abilities.

Finally, each student will need to complete the exit slip below for an
assessment over the unit lesson.

Exit Slip:
Student Name:
1. Why do time zones exist in the world?
2. What does a universal clock mean?
3. How many time zones are there?
4. Why is there this many?
5. What was your favorite part of this unit about time zones?
Teacher Rubric for Final Assessment:
Student Name: Proficient
Developing
Needs Work
Globe:
Student placed
Student placed the Student did not
the continent
continent stickers
place the
stickers in
in relative position
continents in the
correct position
and 20-24 time
correct position
and 24 time
zones were present and less then 20
zones were
on his/her globe (in time zones were
present on
relatively the right
present.
his/her globe (in
positions).
relatively the
right positions).
Exit Slip
Student
Student answered
Student
Questions:
answered 4-5 of
2-3 of the questions answered 1 or
the questions
correct on the exit
none of the
correct on the
slip.
questions correct
exit slip.
on the exit slip.
Overall
Student
Student displayed a Student
Understanding:
displayed a well
good
displayed little
respectable
understanding of
understanding of
understanding of time zones and
time zones and
time zones and
knows somewhat
the reason they
the reason they
why they are
are present in
are present in
present in the
the world today.
the world today.
world today.
Resources:
http://images.scholastic.co.uk/assets/a/b3/0d/488048.jpg
http://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/sponsored/epic/lessons/pdfs/whattimeisit.pdf
http://www.timeanddate.com/time/am-and-pm.html

Geo/History Activities: Time Zones

Cassandra Aerts 9

http://forum.klankind.com/ForumResources/TimeZone.jpg
http://www.101traveldestinations.com/turkey-world-map/turkey-world-map196/