The Curriculum Standards for Social Studies (1994) deal with the use of time. For the various levels it is suggested: "Social studies programs should include experiences that provide for the study of the ways human beings view themselves in and over time, so that the learner can ...

Early Grades

...use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with elements of historical inquiry, to inform decision-making about and action-taking on public issues.

Middle Grades

...use knowledge of facts and concepts drawn from history, along with methods of historical inquiry, to inform decision-making about and action-taking on public issues." (p.. 34)

In order to be able to use history the student must also be able to understand the use of time in the present.

Ideas for teaching about the use of time permeate all areas of the curriculum. How we use time is closely related to our own values and the values of the society in which we live. Try some of the following ideas:

1. Read Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. What does it say about the use of time?

2. You have one free hour to do anything you would like to do today. List the things you would like to do. Star those you most want to do. Write an estimate of how long it would take you to do those you starred. Which things would you really be able to do?

3. You have too many things to do and not enough time. Make a list of the things you must do. Number the things on your list in the order in which you believe they ought to be done.

4. Someone you know has a terminal illness and has been given three months to live. List ways in which you can help during the three months to make the person as happy as possible.

5. You are a teacher in a highly industrialized society. How might your time schedule differ from that of a teacher four thousand years ago?

6. Read poetry about the use of time.

7. Career Education - How do people in various occupations use their time? Have them keep a time line for one day.

mechanic

nurse

grocer

farmer

secretary

student in a class

aged person in a nursing home

telephone operator

factory worker

truck driver

8. What are parents doing while students are in school? In a highly industrialized and specialized society, parents often find it difficult to communicate to children just what their job is like. Have students and parents keep a time line for one day to build better understanding among family members.

9. Collect time sayings about the use of time.

10. Discuss how age affects people's use of time.

11. Compare time schedules and activities of people in the past with ways in which people use time today. What is done the same way and what is different? Why? What can we learn from the past to help us make our decisions today?