Benchmark Videos
The Clock Repairman and His Tools
Video & Background
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The class has been engaged in a project on measuring. One of the small study groups has been particularly interested in "measuring time." The 7 children in the study group brought clocks in from home to investigate. They also visited the home of a community member who owns more than 50 clocks, where they made sketches and asked questions about the clocks. Afterward, the clock study group had still more questions about what is inside clocks and how clocks work. The teachers decided to invite a clock repair specialist to talk to the class. They found Mr. Dean’s name in the phone directory. He was available and agreed to come to the school.
To prepare for the visit, head teacher Becca Johnson and her assistant teachers asked the children to dictate questions to ask Mr. Dean. The teachers also asked children to predict what they thought some of Mr. Dean’s answers might be. They posted the questions and the predictions on sticky notes on a chart labeled Questions/Predictions/Answers. (For more information about using question charts, see “The Question Table”) Ms. Johnson also sent Mr. Dean a list of the children’s questions via email.
During the video clip, an assistant teacher sits to one side. She takes notes as Mr. Dean talks. She writes on a sticky note when he addresses a question in the Questions column and puts it in the “Answer” column to discuss later with the class.
Mr. Dean has brought a variety of items to show the children, including a 200-year-old wooden clock, several clock parts, and clock repair tools. He has set several kinds of clocks on a low table in front of the class. When the clip begins, he has already shown the children some important features of the clocks: how weights make the antique wooden clock work, how he attaches the clock face and hands, what the clock chimes sound like, and so forth. He has also shown the children several tools that he uses to fix clocks. He has explained how people put the numbers on clocks.
The first section of the clip begins with Mr. Dean telling the children that he uses a kind of needle to oil clocks. He shows this specialized tool to the class. He gets down to the children’s level to demonstrate how it works. The children watch, and those at the back of the group stand to get a closer look.
In the second section of the clip, Mr. Dean shows the children a specialized flexible flashlight that allows him to see the dark areas inside a clock. He shows how the flashlight bends, and he lets the children handle it. He has also let the children pass around gears and other clock parts.
Note: It is important for children to closely observe and safely handle items that guest experts bring to the class. However, the children are likely to have a difficult time focusing on a guest’s words while examining an object the guest has passed around. A teacher may want to wait until the guest’s talk is finished before the children have access to the items.
Transcript
Part 1
Mr. Dean: (Gets tool from toolbox off-camera.) We use one needle to oil the clock. It’s a little flat-tipped needle, and this has got oil in it (holds it up for the class). Then you oil the clock.
Child 1: Nice.
Child 2: Nice.
Mr. Dean: (Shows a gear panel to the class.) So each one of these, everywhere where there’s a gear, you insert a little drop of oil on it (points out gears).
Child 3: Can you do it?
Mr. Dean: Well—
Becca: It may not need it right now.
Mr. Dean: Yeah (shows the gear panel again).So there’s a gear there, right? So we put a little drop of oil right there (demonstrates).
Part 2
Mr. Dean: Some of the bigger clocks have a lot of dark areas. So we have a little special flashlight (holds up the flashlight).
Children: Wow.
Mr. Dean: And it bends (demonstrates)—
Child 4: Can we touch it?
Mr. Dean: —so you can get in there and see what’s going on.
Benchmarks
| Benchmark | Benchmark Description | How Benchmark Was Met |
|---|---|---|
Language Arts |
Understand that different text forms, such as magazines, notes, lists, letters, and story books, are used for different purposes. |
With their teachers’ help, the children have used the Question/Prediction/Answers chart to help organize their questions and ideas. They also dictated their questions and predictions to their teachers. |
Mathematics |
Gather data about themselves and their surroundings. |
Before Mr. Dean’s visit, children formulated questions about how clocks work. Some of them predicted possible answers. As Mr. Dean talks, they listen, observe, and sometimes ask more questions to get information. The assistant teacher writes the guests’ responses to questions and places them on the Question/Prediction/Answer chart for the class to discuss later. |
Science |
Become familiar with the use of devices incorporating technology. |
Children hear Mr. Dean explain how he uses various specialized tools in his clock repair business. They see how he uses some of the tools. |
Social Science |
Identify community workers and the services they provide. |
The children are learning about the work of a clock repairperson. |
This section of the Illinois Early Learning Web site links to activities related to the Benchmarks in the Illinois Early Learning Standards. We expect that early childhood professionals and parents will use these ideas in ways appropriate to their children and their setting. We are sure that you will find many ways to adapt these activities into themes, projects, and units in your program or at home.
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