Calendars & dates
Year 3 students working towards NSW Stage 2 outcome MA2-NSM-02 learn the days of the week and the months of the year in order, how many days each month has, and the four Australian seasons.
Students read a month calendar to find the weekday of a date, jump a week by adding 7, count the days and weeks between two dates in the same month, and write dates in DD/MM form with the day first.
Theory
Calendars and dates is a Year 3 time skill: naming the days of the week and months of the year, knowing how many days are in each month, reading a month calendar grid, and writing dates in DD/MM form. This page covers 7 days in a week, 12 months in a year, 365 days in a normal year, the four Australian seasons, how to find the day of any date and how to count the days between two dates.
A week is made of 7 days: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. They always come in the same order and repeat over and over.
A year is made of 12 months: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November and December. A normal year has \(365\) days and a leap year has \(366\). Most months have 31 or 30 days, but February has only 28 days (29 in a leap year).
A calendar shows one month as a grid. The columns are the weekdays and each row is one week. A date tells the day number and the month, and can be written in short DD/MM form, such as \(06/03\) for the 6th of March.
In Australia the year has four seasons of three months each: summer (December, January, February), autumn (March, April, May), winter (June, July, August) and spring (September, October, November).
These time facts stay the same for every calendar. Learn them so you can build and read any date.
Days in each month:
| Days | Months |
|---|---|
| 31 | Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Aug, Oct, Dec |
| 30 | Apr, Jun, Sep, Nov |
| 28 | Feb (29 in a leap year) |
Seasons in Australia:
| Season | Months |
|---|---|
| Summer | Dec, Jan, Feb |
| Autumn | Mar, Apr, May |
| Winter | Jun, Jul, Aug |
| Spring | Sep, Oct, Nov |
How to find the day of a date on a calendar
- Find the number. Look through the grid until you see the date you want.
- Look up the column. Follow that cell straight up to the weekday name at the top of the column.
- Read the weekday. That name is the day of the week for your date. To jump one week on, add 7 and move down one row in the same column.
How to count the days between two dates
- Same month: take the earlier date away from the later date. From the 4th to the 11th is \(11 - 4 = 7\) days.
- Change days to weeks: divide by 7. \(35\) days is \(35 \div 7 = 5\) weeks.
- One week later is 7 days later, so add 7 to the date.
Say the days in order: Friday, Saturday, Sunday. The day just before Sunday is Saturday.
| \(\text{before Sunday}\) | \(=\) | \(\text{Saturday}\) |
September is named in the rhyme "Thirty days has September", so it has 30 days.
| \(\text{September}\) | \(=\) | \(30 \text{ days}\) |
Read down the Sat column. The Saturdays are the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th.
| \(\text{Saturdays}\) | \(:\) | \(5,\ 12,\ 19,\ 26\) |
| \(\text{second one}\) | \(=\) | \(\text{the } 12\text{th}\) |
The second Saturday is the 12th.
DD/MM means the day first, then the month. December is the 12th month.
| \(\text{day}\) | \(=\) | \(07\) |
| \(\text{December}\) | \(=\) | \(12\) |
| \(\text{date}\) | \(=\) | \(07/12\) |
The date is \(07/12\).
(i) How many days is it until the fete?
(ii) How many weeks is that?
| \(30 - 2\) | \(=\) | \(28\text{ days}\) |
| \(28 \div 7\) | \(=\) | \(4\text{ weeks}\) |
(i) 28 days.
(ii) 4 weeks.
Find the season that has February in its three months.
Summer is December, January and February, so February is in summer.
Common pitfalls
Frequently asked questions
How many days are there in a week?
There are 7 days in one week: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. So 5 weeks are \(35\) days.
How many months are there in a year?
There are 12 months in one year, from January to December. A normal year has \(365\) days.
How many days are there in each month?
Seven months have 31 days and four months have 30 days. February is the odd one with 28 days, or 29 in a leap year. The rhyme "thirty days has September, April, June and November" helps you remember the 30-day months.
How do you read a calendar to find the day of a date?
Find the date number in the grid, then look up its column to the weekday name at the top. Dates in the same column are the same weekday, 7 days apart.
What does DD/MM mean when you write a date?
DD/MM means the day first, then the month, each with two digits. The 6th of March is \(06/03\), because March is the 3rd month.
How many days are there in a year?
A normal year has \(365\) days. Every fourth year is a leap year with \(366\) days, because February gains an extra day and has 29.