https://nifa.usda.gov/ 

program/4-h-positive-youthdevelopment 

National Institute 

of Food 

and Agriculture 

United States 

Department of 

Agriculture 

lesson plan: activity 1.2 

introduction 

Time maTTers 

A FederAl PArtnershiP For steM educAtion 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

 

National Aeronautics 

and Space 

Administration 

lesson details 

age/grade level 

Elementary School 

learner outcoMes 

Youth will understand the need for 

time for self. Youth will assess what 

occupies time and determine time 

efficiencies. 

success indicators 

Youth will analyze their personal use 

of time by creating a simple plan to 

improve their time management. 

life skills 

Time management, personal 

accountability, critical thinking, 

self-awareness, personal credibility, 

problem solving, flexibility 

national standards 

21st Century: Learning and 

Innovation Skills / CRITICAL 

THINKING AND PROBLEM SOLVING / Solve Problems / Identify and 

ask significant questions that clarify 

various points of view and lead to 

better solutions 

21st Century: Life and Career Skills / 

FLEXBILITY AND ADAPTABILITY / 

Develop thinking skills, content 

knowledge, and social and emotional 

competencies to navigate complex 

life and work environments.

prep tiMe 

15 minutes 

activity tiMe 

1 hour 30 minutes 

Materials list 

Blank Paper, Pencils, Daily Calendar 


example
 

Handouts 

• Daily calendar

• Weekly calendar

suggested space 

Tables and chairs 

suggested group size 

Any size 

references 

Time Management: You vs The Clock 

http://pbskids.org/itsmylife/school/ 

time/ 

The Instant Guide to Time Management for Kids 

http://www.greatschools.org/gk/ 

articles/time-management-for-kids/ 

Time Management for Kids 

http://www.bhg.com/health-family/ 

parenting-skills/responsible-kids/ 

time-management-for-kids/ 

What are the things we have to do 

in our lives? What are the 

things we want to do? All of 

these take TIME! 

“Have-To’s” need to be a part of almost every day. 

Whether we like it or not, we all have to find 

time to get them done. 

• Family responsibilities. You know the drill:

household chores, keeping your room clean.

• School and homework. You won’t always be a

student, but while you are, it’s your job to give

time and energy to your education.

• Sleep. This may seem like a big “DUH,” but it

helps to be reminded: Sleep is a must for our

bodies and minds, and doctors agree that young 

people need at least eight hours every night.

• Eating and personal hygiene. Many people skip

meals because they’re running late. Taking 

enough time to eat so that you actually enjoy it, 

rather than just shoving cereal down your throat, 

will help you develop healthy food habits. The 

same goes for bathing, dressing, and other 

things that make you presentable to the world.

Fortunately, our time isn’t just about responsibilities— we get to have some fun, too! “Want-To’s”

make our lives a little more fulfilling.

• Activities. You might be a violinist, a soccer

player, a painter, a poet, or a ballet dancer. 

Sports, the arts, and other hobbies are important because they help make us well-rounded 

and develop our bodies and minds. Plus, they 

just plain make us happy. 

continued next page >> 
page 2

lesson plan: activity 1.2 

Time maTTers, conTinued 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

>> continued from previous page

• Chill time. Okay, let’s not forget that you also deserve

some time to just be you and do whatever you feel like, 

whether it’s going to the park, hanging out with friends, 

reading a book, or being alone with your thoughts. 

Many of our Have-To’s and Want-To’s get done because 

we set goals for ourselves. Short-term goals are things we 

want or need to do that can be accomplished in a few 

hours or days. Let’s say you want to bake a birthday cake 

for your dad. You might not think about it, but that’s a 

short-term goal. 

Long-term goals are part of the “bigger picture” of our lives 

-- our dreams and aspirations. Although they may take 

months or years to accomplish, they still take up time on a 

regular basis. These might include becoming a better 

basketball player or learning another language. Goals like 

these can’t be achieved by setting aside one big block of 

time but rather, smaller blocks of time over a period of 

days, months, or even years. 

activity instructions 

activity: tiMe Budget (45 Minutes)

Now that we’ve looked at what takes up time in our lives, 

we’ve got to learn how to make a budget to fit it all together. Let’s say you have a certain amount of money you’ve 

saved up for holiday gifts. If you want to get something for 

everyone on your list, you can’t spend too much on any 

single purchase. To make sure you don’t blow most of your 

moolah on a video game for your BFF and have nothing left 

over for mom, you’ve got to budget your cash. 

Have you ever heard the expression, “Time is money”? 

There’s some truth to it! We “spend” money just like we 

“spend” time, and in both cases, we have to spend it wisely 

if we want to get something good in return. Just like you 

might get an allowance of 10 dollars a week, or 30 dollars 

for a trip to the mall, each day we’re given 24 hours of 

time. 

The easiest way to help you get everything done is to 

budget that time! This is all about: 

• Examining your Have-To’s and Want-To’s, and how much 

time they’ll take up. 

• Working out a plan that lets you spend the right amount

of minutes or hours on each one.

Let’s look at a sample time budget. (This should be 

prepared prior to the lesson and put in a format that 

everyone can see such as a poster or AV screen.) 

Wednesday: 

Sleep 8 hours 

Shower, dressing, ready for school 1/2 hour 

Breakfast 1/2 hour 

Bus to school 1/2 hour 

School 7 hours 

Bus home 1/2 hour 

Soccer practice 2 hours 

Household chores 1/2 hour 

Homework 2 hours 

Dinner 1/2 hour 

TV time 1 hour 

Reading/personal time 1 hour 

Total time spent: 24 hours 

This day’s budget works out, because it all adds up to 24 

hours. If the total came out to more than that, we would 

have to choose something to cut back on or drop from that 

day. A Daily Calendar will help you plan every part of your 

day, from the moment you wake up to the moment you 

crawl into bed at night. You’ll be able to take control of 

how you spend your time from one hour to the next. 

1. Hand out the Daily Calendar worksheet.

2. Have youth label each square with the starting time for

that half-hour block of time. For example, if you wake

up at 6:00 in the morning, label the first half-hour

square 6:00 a.m., and the next one 6:30 a.m., and so

on.

3. Sit down and examine your day. Make a list of all the

things you need to do, from taking a shower to doing

homework and afterschool activities.

continued next page >> 
page 3

lesson plan: activity 1.2 

Time maTTers, conTinued 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

>> continued from previous page

4. When you begin to write things into your schedule

chart, start with those things that have specific start

times. For instance, if you know you have to be at the

bus stop at 7:00 a.m., fill in that square with “Bus stop.”

If you have to be at band practice from 5:00 p.m. to

6:00 p.m., write “Band practice” across both the 5:00

and the 5:30 squares.

5. Next, move on to the things that don’t have specific

start times, but that you have to get done. When

finding squares of time to fit them in, think about the

time of day. For example, it may be a good idea to

schedule homework before dinner, since after your

meal you may get too sleepy to concentrate.

6. Give yourself a break-or several! If doing all of your

homework in one chunk is too much for you, schedule a

little bit of free time between subjects.

7. If you have an important event like band practice that

falls right in the middle of your evening, talk to a parent

about adjusting other things, such as dinnertime, so

you can make your schedule work out.

8. Consider using a different colored pen or marker to

color in different types of responsibilities. You could use

yellow for family chores, red for school events, blue for

sports and activities, and so on. This way, you’ll get a

good sense of how your day is planned out just by

glancing at your schedule. If there’s way too much blue,

for example, you’ll know that you’re probably overloaded with sports and activities.

9. Remember that we can’t predict what’s going to

happen every day, and time management involves

being flexible, too. If you hurt your ankle on a Wednesday afternoon and have to spend two hours at the

hospital, you probably won’t be able to stick to your

schedule-and that’s okay. When this type of thing

happens, use that schedule to help you juggle your

time. For instance, your trip to the hospital may have

cut into your homework square, but you can make it up

by giving yourself an extra homework square the next

day. 

deBrief activity: action replay 

(15 Minutes) 

1. Everyone should sit down (typically on the floor or

ground)

2. Suggest that everyone close their eyes and create a

picture in their mind as the facilitator replays the

activity. NOTE: add sufficient detail but don’t take a lot

of time

3. When you have concluded recapping the activity, ask

everyone to choose one thing that stood out to them 

and consider why it stood out.

4. Allow youth to contemplate your question. If time

allows you can have them break into groups of 3-5 and

discuss what each youth considered “the one thing” and

why.

applied cHallenge (30 Minutes) 

Some things happen every day, but others don’t. Most 

people look at their lives not just one day at a time, but 

also a week at a time. A Weekly Calendar will help you 

keep track of homework assignments, weekly appointments, and important dates. 

1. Hand out the Weekly Calendar worksheet. A good

Weekly Planner will show the entire week on one page.

With one glance, you’ll be able to see how your schedule looks for the 7-day period.

2. Under the date for each day, there are lines representing the hours, so you can write in each task or event at

the correct time, like a 5:00 p.m. dentist appointment

or a 6:00 p.m. astronomy club meeting.

3. Fill out your calendar with your appointments and

activities for the whole week. This will help you picture

and predict how it will play out. You should be able to

see possible conflicts, like two events that overlap, or

other problems, like too many major assignments due

on the same day.

4. When you find conflicts or schedule problems, you can

work towards solving them. This might mean rescheduling an appointment, or getting a particular assignment done a few days early so you’ll have time to do

the other one as well.

continued next page >> 
page4

lesson plan: activity 1.2 

Time maTTers, conTinued 

expeditionary

skills

for life 

>> continued from previous page 

5. Like with a Daily Planner, it’s a good idea to color code 

your Weekly Planner so you’ll easily see what’s going 

on. 

6. Take your Weekly Planner with you everywhere, so you 

can write down assignments and appointments when 

you first learn about them, and double-check to see if 

you can make a certain commitment, like meeting your 

friends at the movies. 

did you know? 

Astronauts on the ISS work hard, but they also have time 

to relax. They get weekends off, just like many of us on 

earth. Flight planners build free time into their schedules 

each day, too. During free time, astronauts like to watch 

movies, play music, read, play cards, exercise, talk to their 

families, or just relax and look out the windows at the 

earth and space. 

You can learn more about a day in the life of an ISS astronaut at https://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreducators/ 

stem-on-station/dayinthelife. There are videos and 

activities to show you how astronauts, eat, sleep, work 

and play while on the International Space Station. 

instructor’s notes 

  
activity 1.2: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 1.2: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 1.2: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

Q1 

Q2 

Q3 

activity 1.2: learner assessMent 

These questions are about things you learned during this 

activity. Please check the circle that best describes you. 

expeditionary

skills


expeditionary

skills


for life for lifefor life for life 

I understand how I spend my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each week. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

expeditionary

skills


I understand how I spend my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each week. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

expeditionary

skills


I understand how I spend my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each week. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

Q1
 

Q2
 

Q3
 

I understand how I spend my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each day. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me 

I know how to plan my time each week. 

Not at all like me 

A little like me 

Somewhat like me 

A lot like me