How to teach the calendar and dates
Grade 1 to Grade 3
Calendar work is reading a month grid and using it: naming the days of the week and months of the year in order, finding a date, working out the day a date falls on, and counting the days between two dates. It puts number order and pattern to practical use.
How to teach it
- Learn the seven days and twelve months in order first, since everything else depends on the sequence.
- Read the month grid: each column is a weekday and each row a week, so the same weekday sits in one column.
- Find the day for a date, and the date for a clue like 'the second Tuesday', by reading down the column.
- Count days between two dates by counting on through the grid, watching the jump from the end of one week to the next.
- Learn how many days each month has (the knuckle trick, or 'thirty days has September'), and that February has 28 or 29.
Worked example
Days from Mon 3rd to Mon 17th: 3rd -> 10th is 7 days (one week) 10th -> 17th is 7 days total: 7 + 7 = 14 days
Common mistakes
- Getting the order of the months or the days wrong.
- Counting both the start and end date, or neither, so the total is out by one.
- Forgetting that months have different lengths, and that February varies.
- Losing count when a span crosses from one week or month into the next.
Frequently asked questions
What is calendar work in maths?
Calendar work is reading a month grid and using it: naming the days of the week and months of the year in order, finding a date, working out the day a date falls on, and counting the days between two dates. It puts number order and pattern to practical use.
What age or grade is the calendar taught?
The calendar and dates are usually taught from Grade 1 to Grade 3. Children learn the days and months in order, read a month grid, find dates and days, and count spans of days, building from naming the sequence to using it.
How do you count the days between two dates?
Count on through the grid from the start date to the end date, watching the jump from the end of one week to the next. From Monday the 3rd to Monday the 17th is 7 days to the 10th and 7 more to the 17th, giving 14 days in total.
How many days are in each month?
Most months have 30 or 31 days, and February has 28, or 29 in a leap year. The rhyme 'thirty days has September, April, June and November' or the knuckle trick helps children remember which months are which length.
Why does my child count the days between dates wrongly?
The usual slip is counting both the start and end date, or neither, so the total is out by one, or losing count when a span crosses from one week or month into the next. Counting on carefully through the grid, one week at a time, avoids these.
Why do children need to learn the days and months in order?
Because everything else in calendar work depends on the sequence. Finding a date, working out a weekday, or counting a span all rely on knowing the seven days and twelve months in order, so this is the first thing to secure.
How does a month grid work?
In a month grid each column is a weekday and each row is a week, so the same weekday always sits in one column. Reading down a column finds every Tuesday, for example, and reading across a row follows one week. This structure makes finding dates and days straightforward.
Practise with free worksheets
Printable worksheets with answer keys that are never wrong.