ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a limited amount of data on the broad temporal parameters that organize an elementary school day. It discusses the constructs of classroom activities and tasks as a means of conceptualizing how the time in a school day is used. The chapter analyzes descriptive time use data that are presented on seven of the properties of lessons includes: grouping arrangement, delivery system, activity format, teacher behaviour, student behaviour, pacing of an activity, and the cognitive level of tasks. Time metrics vary widely across studies, curriculum areas are different, and grade levels change. The amount of student time spent practising skills is striking. This one category accounts for roughly 50 per cent of student time regardless of grade level or curricular topic. The chapter concludes that a major temporal dimension of classroom activities is not necessarily what activities fill school time, but rather how these activities flow in time.
