KS1 time – Bus route lesson to teach time and calculation

What's included?

PDF lesson plan

Key Stage

KS1

Age

Years 1-2

Subjects

Develop maths skills and sneak in some physical activity by turning your classroom into a bus route with this KS1 time lesson from Blair Minchin…

With everything quickly accessible on our phones and Google Maps these days, being able to read a bus timetable doesn’t appear to be quite as crucial as it once was.

However, there is so much maths and discussion around sustainable transport to be had that it makes this lesson truly worthwhile.

KS1 time learning objectives

Decipher a timetable
Multiply and add times to figure out how long a route will take
Count money accurately and give change
Draw out a basic map to scale
Lead their own learning

Starter activity

Create a bus route in your classroom. It only needs five or six stops: the reading corner; the teacher’s desk; the window, etc.

Present the timetables on the board. You need only have times for each of your stops – e.g. using the time you start the activity as the first entry.

Ask pupils to discuss the key features with a partner – how do the times change, for example? Are the differences between each time the same? If not, why do pupils think this might be?

Nominate a bus driver. Invite pupils to pick a bus stop and a destination and then walk out the bus route conga-style. Passengers board and disembark at their chosen destinations.

A key feature here is to let the children see how the bus returns to its start point, by following the ‘flipped’ or ‘reversed’ journey back.

Blair Minchin is a teacher in Scotland, championing pupil voice and all things play. Follow him on Twitter @Mr_Minchin. Take a look at our Year 2 maths worksheets.