Teaching Kids About Daylight Savings Time
What time is it? It’s time to teach kids about the ins and outs of daylight savings time.
What Is Daylight Savings Time?
Daylight savings is the practice of turning the clocks forward an hour during the summer.
This ensures that the waking hours are those that have the most sunlight, reducing the need to turn on lights.
How Do You Write Daylight Savings Time?
This answer is more complicated than you may think.
According to the United States Government and the Associated Press, the correct name is “daylight saving time” without the “s” on “saving.”
The phrase is not capitalized; therefore, its correct abbreviation is “d.s.t.”
However, if you use abbreviations without the period, “DST” (with capitals) is correct.
When teaching kids about daylight saving(s) time, you can decide if you want to use the technically correct “daylight saving time” or the more common “daylight savings time.”
In some dictionaries, both variants are listed as acceptable.
How Did Daylight Savings Time Begin?
Believe it or not, daylight savings has its roots in war.
Although some individual cities would change their local time, the first country to implement DST was Germany.
In 1916, during World War I, Germany (and Austria-Hungary, which Germany controlled at the time) instituted daylight savings to conserve fuel.
With less demand for energy to power lights, more fuel was available to power vehicles in the war.
In just a few weeks, other European countries followed suit and instituted DST as well.
After the war, the countries reverted to standard time throughout the year.
When World War II began, daylight savings started up again.
This time, individual countries decided to maintain the practice.
When and Where Is Daylight Savings Time Observed?
Currently, about 40% of the world observes daylight savings time.
The US, most of Canada, almost all of Europe, and a small part of Africa and the Middle East observe DST in the Northern Hemisphere summer.
The Northern Hemisphere summer occurs in June, July, and August, although DST extends beyond those months.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Chile, New Zealand, and parts of Australia observe daylight savings time during their summer.
The Southern Hemisphere experiences warm summer weather in December, January, and February, although DST is longer than that.
The exact date of the start of daylight savings time (what we call “Spring Forward”) differs from country to country.
In the Southern Hemisphere, spring forward is at the end of September or the beginning of October. DST lasts until April.
In the Northern Hemisphere, spring forward occurs sometime in March. DST lasts until the end of October or the beginning of November.
Typically, Spring Forward happens on a Saturday night to allow people to adjust to the time change before the school and work week.
Why Is Daylight Savings Time Unpopular?
Although most of the countries of the world have followed daylight savings time at one point, many have ceased the practice.
In the United States, several bills have been introduced in Congress over the years to end the practice (none have passed both houses).
Why do people dislike the time change? Many argue that changing the clocks twice a year is disorienting and serves little purpose today.
Activities to Teach Daylight Savings Time
You can teach daylight savings time to kids using these activities.
Use Math Clocks
Use student clocks to practice setting the time and then “springing forward” and “falling back.”
You can purchase a class set of student clocks (and a large teacher clock) or make your own with cardstock and brass brads.
Jump Around
Drill the concept of Spring Forward and Fall Back by getting kids out of their seats.
Jump forward as you say, “Spring Forward!”
Take a giant step back (or plop on the ground) as you say, “Fall Back!”
Color Code Maps
Color a world map with the students to illustrate which countries (and states and provinces) practice DST.
Alternatively, you can create a color key to color the order of countries that adopted DST.
Have a Party
Make Fall Back and Spring Forward memorable by having a class party.
For Fall Back, wear pajamas during the day, read a bedtime story, have a bedtime snack, or make a bed/pillow craft on the Friday before the time change.
(Check out how to make a pillow from an old T-shirt here!)
For Spring Forward, have a breakfast party on the Monday afterward to give kids an energy boost after losing an hour of sleep.
You can bring mini muffins or egg bites, juice, or make a cereal snack mix.
You can do morning yoga or dance around to a morning-themed playlist.
Tie It to the Seasons
If you teach students about the seasons in your curriculum, throw in a mini-lesson on daylight savings time.
Students are often amazed to learn that the Southern Hemisphere has summer in our coldest months of the year!
Make a Calendar
During the week before Fall Back, make a calendar for the upcoming year.
You can print the calendar or have the kids label a blank template.
You can make this calendar to accompany your study of the seasons (with themed illustrations for each month).
Also, label Spring Forward and Fall Back days for the upcoming year.
You can save the calendars for the students to give as presents to their parents before winter break.
How to Teach Kids About Daylight Savings Time
For now, daylight savings time is a fact of life. It’s a necessary component of understanding time and the seasons.
Teach kids about daylight savings time with these fast facts and fun activities.
