Teaching The Calendar
When teaching lower primary, the calendar is something usually visited first up each morning. It is important for students to know the days of the week and months of the year in order. There are several ways you can teach this and revisit often. These are ways I have taught the calendar in the past;
Having a large size calendar at the front of the room to cross off each day. Recite together ‘Today is Tuesday 23rd February in the year 2021 and the season is Summer’
Have the short and long date on the board each day for children to easily refer to
Have the date, days of the week and months of the year with velcro or magnets on the back so this can be changed as you discuss it each morning
Have a days of the week poster and months of the year poster hanging to point to as you read them out aloud. Also include the seasons posters with the months of the year on each
Have a birthday chart with students birthdays and dates on display
Teach about ordinal numbers 1st, 2nd, 3rd…
Use the Knuckles Mnemonic Trick - Count knuckles as 31 days, depressions between knuckles as 30 (or 28/29) days. Start with the little finger knuckle as January, and count one finger or depression at a time towards the index finger knuckle (July), saying the months while doing so. Then return to the little finger knuckle (now August) and continue for the remaining months.
Teach the poem - Thirty days has September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31, except February which has twenty-eight, and twenty-nine in a leap year
Use the 7 Days in a Week Song by The Learning Station
Teach Days Of The Week Song to the tune of The Addams Family - Days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. (snap snap) There's Monday and there's Tuesday, there's Wednesday and there's Thursday, there's Friday and there's Saturday, and then there's Sunday. Days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, (snap snap) days of the week, days of the week, days of the week. (snap snap)
Sing to Months of the Year Song by KidsTV123 or this one by The Singing Walrus
How do you use the calendar in your room? Do you have your special songs you use every day? We would love it if you shared and left a comment below.