It is a good idea to start this activity by looking at an enlarged train time table and talking to the children about the
information it tells us - how to read the time correctly reading across the rows and down the columns.

[All timetables use the 24 hour clock so the children will need to learn how to relate this to the AM/PM system used
on most non-digital watches and clocks]

• How do we read a timetable?
• Can you tell me what time the first train departs for … [teacher names a destination on the timetable]
  What time does the next train depart?

Demonstrate to the children how to paint their own Tabard to make it into a brightly coloured carriage with a window on
one side showing a view of their chosen destination and departure and arrival times painted clearly on the other side.

• Where is your carriage going to travel to?
• What view are you going to paint inside your window to show your destination?
• Can you estimate how long it will take to take travel from our local station to your chosen destination?
  How can we find out the answer?

• How will you clearly show which is the departure time and which is the arrival time, on your Tabard?
  [You may want to suggest colour coding.]

In small groups or as a class the children can line up the carriages in the station, depending on the criteria stated
by the teacher.

• Can you make a train by lining up your carriages in the order of your arrival times?
• Can you make a train by lining up your carriages in the order of your departure times?
• Can you make a train by lining up your carriages in the order of distances travelled to your destinations?
  Start with the carriage travelling the longest distance and end the train with the carriage travelling the
  shortest distance so that you can be left at your station. Can we estimate who will be at the end of the train?

Meeting curriculum requirements:

The children will be learning to use, read and write the vocabulary related to time. They will be given the opportunity
to use the 24 hour clock and to read times from a simple train timetable. They will be encouraged to use various
number operations to solve word problems involving time.

Tips for Painting:

Tabards must be kept flat when they are being painted and not worn until they are dry If things go wrong, wipe out
with a damp cloth

Useful Reference:

Look on the Internet to find various train timetables. ‘Mapping’ Web sites on the Internet could also be used to
calculate distances between local train stations and chosen destinations.

What you will need:

Tabards, brushes, paints, water jars, paper towels, rags. Train timetables, maps and an atlas or access to the
Internet, to calculate distances. It would be useful to have timepieces with the 24 hour and AM/PM presentations.

None