Tic Toc Time: Break down the day to learn how to tell time

The games in Tic Toc Time follow a sequence; some of the games, though perhaps not all, may be fun enough to keep students engaged. The games exploring the sun's position and the resulting shadows are the best in a number of ways. Using a compass to discover the cardinal directions and, subsequently, the length and position of shadows, is a really creative way to introduce kids to the concept of the Earth's rotation as it relates to time-telling. There's also a brief explanation that connects these games to constructing a clock. These are interesting and concrete ways to help students conceptualize abstract ideas that affect them every day.

While the clock-based games are more straightforward, they have fewer in-game supports for finding correct answers, and they include some challenging vocabulary that might be a bit much for younger students. The sparse explanation of the big hand and little hand might work for older kids while confusing the younger set. Some of the inconsistencies between telling time on digital and analog clocks may also be confusing, and the app would do well to include more support with this. Nevertheless, Tic Toc Time is a solid resource for helping students understand the concepts behind why we tell time the way we do.