Being able to read the time quickly and accurately is one of the basic skills that we expect our children to crack when they are round about 7 or 8 years old. However, I feel we make it overly complicated and difficult to learn (and to teach). There are a few hurdles for children to overcome when reading an analogue clock, so I would suggest keeping it a simple process.
My main suggestion is very simple, leave out the word ‘to’ and stick with ‘past’ the hour.
A continuous circular number line is an interesting model to start with, made almost magical to children when the numbers 1-12 that relate to the hours also relate to 5, 10, 15, 20… minutes past the hour.
Then, just when they get this sorted in their heads, we introduce minutes to the hour, so a time is read as 20 to 6 even though they have just learnt that ‘20 to 6’ did have the minute hand pointing to 40 and it is also the same as 5.40 when read on a digital clock.
And we wonder why children struggle to tell the time!
A continuous circular number line is an interesting model to start with, made almost magical to children when the numbers 1-12 that relate to the hours also relate to 5, 10, 15, 20… minutes past the hour.
Then, just when they get this sorted in their heads, we introduce minutes to the hour, so a time is read as 20 to 6 even though they have just learnt that ‘20 to 6’ did have the minute hand pointing to 40 and it is also the same as 5.40 when read on a digital clock.
And we wonder why children struggle to tell the time!
Year 1
Learn o’clock times, counting the hours around the clock face 1-12. Model the minute hand moving around 60 minutes as the hour hand moves on to the next hour. Children record as 7 o’clock, not 7.00, for example.
Introduce ‘half past’ the hour, relating it to a fraction (1/2) of the clock face. Show that the minute hand goes around 30 minutes to reach half-past but only record as ‘half-past 5’, not 5.30, for example.
Year 2
Consolidate ‘half past’ the hour, relating it to a fraction of the clock face. Show that the minute hand goes around 30 minutes to reach half-past. Show that, for example, 4 o’clock is written as 4.00 and ‘half-past 4’ is written as 4.30. Match this to times on a digital clock.
If you choose to, show the clock face in quarters and discuss that we also say ‘quarter to’ and ‘quarter past’ an hour, in a similar way to ‘half-past’. Demonstrate this and show it is an informal spoken form of telling the time. Don’t spend long on this, it is more important to concentrate on minutes past the hour.
Introduce 5 minute intervals on the clock face, reminding them that there is a minute for each of the unnumbered lines. Use a clock face numbered 5-55 and count round in fives and focus on the value in each position as the minute hand is moved. Use missing number activities to help them learn the value of each position.
Show how time moves forward from one hour to the next, spoken and recorded in 5 minute steps as minutes past the hour. Model it, for example, showing 8 o’clock, 5 minutes past 8, 10 minutes past 8… 30 minutes past 8, 35 minutes past 8, 40 minutes past 8… 55 minutes past 8, 9 o’clock. These can be recorded as 8.00, 8.05, 8.10… 8.35, 8.40… 8.55, 9.00 and matched to a digital clock.
Children write times to the nearest 5 minutes from clocks, draw missing hands on faces from times given and match digital and analogue clocks. All recording and spoken form of telling the team is as minutes past the hour, for example 40 minutes past 6 or 6.40 (said as six forty), so that the first number shows the hour and the second number shows the number of minutes past the hour.
Year 3
Consolidate telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes using minutes past the hour to record and say the time as detailed above.
Use the same approach to show exact minutes past the hour. Make sure the children know that the unnumbered marks on the clock face are groups of 4 minutes that can be counted on from the previous 5-minute mark. So, for example, if a clock shows 4.18, it is 4.15 with 3 more minutes added. Continue reading the times as minutes past the hour, so, for example a clock showing 10.53 is 53 minutes past 10 or 10.53 (said as ten fifty-three).
Year 4 - Year 6
When appropriate (i.e. as soon as the children are super-confident at reading the time) discuss the fact that an informal method of saying the time is to use ‘to the hour’. Say that the time is now 10 to 11 and ask the class if they know what that could mean. Discuss and use examples to show this form of spoken language, matching them to the digital time, for example, 7.35 is 25 to 8, 11.42 is 18 to 12… Explain that we often use this for approximate times, so 11.42 is just after 20 to 12.
Learn o’clock times, counting the hours around the clock face 1-12. Model the minute hand moving around 60 minutes as the hour hand moves on to the next hour. Children record as 7 o’clock, not 7.00, for example.
Introduce ‘half past’ the hour, relating it to a fraction (1/2) of the clock face. Show that the minute hand goes around 30 minutes to reach half-past but only record as ‘half-past 5’, not 5.30, for example.
Year 2
Consolidate ‘half past’ the hour, relating it to a fraction of the clock face. Show that the minute hand goes around 30 minutes to reach half-past. Show that, for example, 4 o’clock is written as 4.00 and ‘half-past 4’ is written as 4.30. Match this to times on a digital clock.
If you choose to, show the clock face in quarters and discuss that we also say ‘quarter to’ and ‘quarter past’ an hour, in a similar way to ‘half-past’. Demonstrate this and show it is an informal spoken form of telling the time. Don’t spend long on this, it is more important to concentrate on minutes past the hour.
Introduce 5 minute intervals on the clock face, reminding them that there is a minute for each of the unnumbered lines. Use a clock face numbered 5-55 and count round in fives and focus on the value in each position as the minute hand is moved. Use missing number activities to help them learn the value of each position.
Show how time moves forward from one hour to the next, spoken and recorded in 5 minute steps as minutes past the hour. Model it, for example, showing 8 o’clock, 5 minutes past 8, 10 minutes past 8… 30 minutes past 8, 35 minutes past 8, 40 minutes past 8… 55 minutes past 8, 9 o’clock. These can be recorded as 8.00, 8.05, 8.10… 8.35, 8.40… 8.55, 9.00 and matched to a digital clock.
Children write times to the nearest 5 minutes from clocks, draw missing hands on faces from times given and match digital and analogue clocks. All recording and spoken form of telling the team is as minutes past the hour, for example 40 minutes past 6 or 6.40 (said as six forty), so that the first number shows the hour and the second number shows the number of minutes past the hour.
Year 3
Consolidate telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes using minutes past the hour to record and say the time as detailed above.
Use the same approach to show exact minutes past the hour. Make sure the children know that the unnumbered marks on the clock face are groups of 4 minutes that can be counted on from the previous 5-minute mark. So, for example, if a clock shows 4.18, it is 4.15 with 3 more minutes added. Continue reading the times as minutes past the hour, so, for example a clock showing 10.53 is 53 minutes past 10 or 10.53 (said as ten fifty-three).
Year 4 - Year 6
When appropriate (i.e. as soon as the children are super-confident at reading the time) discuss the fact that an informal method of saying the time is to use ‘to the hour’. Say that the time is now 10 to 11 and ask the class if they know what that could mean. Discuss and use examples to show this form of spoken language, matching them to the digital time, for example, 7.35 is 25 to 8, 11.42 is 18 to 12… Explain that we often use this for approximate times, so 11.42 is just after 20 to 12.
National Curriculum
These are the Programmes of Study directly related to telling the time, not including duration of time or time problems:
Y1
• tell the time to the hour and half past the hour and draw the hands on a clock face to show these times
Y2
• tell and write the time to five minutes, including quarter past/to the hour and draw the hands on a clock face to show these times.
• know the number of minutes in an hour and the number of hours in a day
Y3
• tell and write the time from an analogue clock, including using Roman numerals from I to XII, and 12-hour and 24-hour clocks
• estimate and read time with increasing accuracy to the nearest minute; record and compare time in terms of seconds, minutes, hours and o’clock; use vocabulary such as a.m./p.m., morning, afternoon, noon and midnight
Y4
• read, write and convert time between analogue and digital 12 and 24-hour clocks
Broadbent Maths Users
There small steps of progression charts for 19 different areas of maths, including time.
They are used in a number of ways in schools; some teachers laminate each one and have the relevant maths strand on their desk for easy reference, while others share them with their children for their own self assessment.
Also there is a clockface resource to print and use with your class.
There small steps of progression charts for 19 different areas of maths, including time.
They are used in a number of ways in schools; some teachers laminate each one and have the relevant maths strand on their desk for easy reference, while others share them with their children for their own self assessment.
Also there is a clockface resource to print and use with your class.
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