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Clockwise and Anti-clockwise turns
Objectives
To recognise clockwise and anticlockwise turns and right angles as quarter turns.
Resources
Left or Right (SnappyMaths) | Four sheets of plain A4 paper | 📄 How many quarter turns? | 📄 Help the robot to get home
Vocabulary
left | right | clockwise | anti-clockwise | quarter turn | right angle turn
Today's Lesson
What to Get Ready
Write large numbers 3, 6, 9 and 12 on the sheets of A4 paper, so that each sheet has one of the numbers on it.
Introduction
Ask your student to pretend they are standing in the middle of a huge clock. Place the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 on the four walls of the room to represent the quarter hours.
Ask them to stand and face the number 12 on the ‘clock’.
Ask: ‘Which way will you turn to face the 3?’
Explain that we call this direction clockwise because it is the same direction as the hands move on a clock.
They should then turn clockwise to face the number 3.
Ask: ‘How far have you turned?’
Discuss, then agree that they have made a quarter of a turn clockwise. Explain that we also call this quarter turn a right-angle turn.
Tell your student to turn straight back to face 12 again and point out that they are turning anti-clockwise.
Say: ‘Now turn to face the number 6. How far have you turned? Did you turn anticlockwise or clockwise?’
Then ask them to turn to face the number 3 and ask the same questions.
Repeat, asking your student to face 12, 3, 6 or 9, making ¼, ½ and whole turns, either anti-clockwise or clockwise.
This video goes over the idea of left and right, and quarter turns on a clock face, both clockwise and anti-clockwise.
Main Activity
Your student should count the number of clockwise and anticlockwise ¼ turns in a route through a maze on 📄 How many quarter turns?
Talk to them about their results, using the term ‘right angle’ and ‘¼ turn’ interchangeably.
They then make up another route through the maze, again counting the number and direction of ¼ turns necessary.
Finally, they can write directions for the robot on 📄 Help the robot to get home.
Consolidate
Ensure your student knows the difference between left and right. This can be done quickly by asking them to hold up both their index fingers and thumbs at right angles to each other, and to see which hand spells a capital ‘L’. Say: ‘This is your left hand!’
Play a quick game of Left or Right to help your student practise this understanding.
PLAY - Left or Right (SnappyMaths)