7 Time

Time written by Jack Gabolinscy

Thousands of years ago, cave people knew about time. The sun and the stars were their clocks. At sunrise, they knew it was time to get out of bed. They could tell it was midday when the sun was overhead. At sunset, the sun told them it was time to go back to bed. Night started with the sunset. By watching the stars in the sky, people knew when it was early at night. They could tell when it was near midnight and when it was nearly morning.

sundial The first clocks were sundials. A sundial used the sun's shadow to show the time of the day. Sundials only worked on sunny days and they couldn't show the time at night. sand clock Then there were sand clocks. Sometimes a sand clock was called an hourglass because it took one hour for the sand to fall from the top to the bottom.

Big Ben The first real clocks were made in towers. Bells were rung to tell people when it was time to start work, when to rest, and when to go to the market. Many towns and cities have clock towers on important buildings. Big Ben is a famous clock tower. Its huge bell has been ringing out in London for about one hundred and fifty years.

pendulum clock Next came pendulum clocks, which keep good time. Large ones, called Grandfather clocks, often have chimes. Some people still have pendulum clocks in their homes. They like the chimes and the swinging pendulum.

pocket watches There are lots of different clocks and watches to help us know the time. Today many people wear a watch on their wrist. Some people have an alarm clock to wake them up in the morning. A timetable is a chart that helps us know when to go to class. We need to know when to go to sports practice. We don't want to be late for a birthday party or for a special dinner.