How to teach measures of turn

Grade 1 to Grade 3

A turn is a rotation, and young students measure it in fractions of a full circle: a quarter turn, a half turn, a three-quarter turn and a full turn. This is the first idea of angle and of direction (clockwise or anticlockwise), and it links to the points of the compass and to telling the time.

How to teach it

1. Have students turn their own bodies: a full turn brings you back to facing the start, a half turn faces you the opposite way.
2. Fix the fractions to the circle: a quarter turn is a right angle, two quarters make a half, four quarters make a full turn.
3. Teach direction: clockwise follows the clock's hands, anticlockwise is the other way.
4. Link to compass points: from north, a quarter turn clockwise faces east, a half turn faces south.
5. Practise describing the turn between two directions, and reading turns on a clock face.

Worked example

Facing north, make a half turn clockwise:

   a quarter turn -> east
   another quarter -> south
   a half turn is two quarter turns
   you now face south

Common mistakes

• Mixing up clockwise and anticlockwise.
• Thinking a half turn is a right angle (a quarter turn is the right angle, a half turn is two).
• Losing track of the starting direction.
• Confusing a quarter turn with turning by only a small amount.