Today is rung 5 of 11 on this topic
Telling time to the hour and half hour
Can do: Reads an analogue clock to the hour and half hour, and links it to what actually happens then.
Why it matters
Analogue clocks teach fractions of a circle and counting by fives before either is taught formally — and digital-only children lose that for free.
What it looks like when it's wobbly
Reads the minute hand as the hour hand, or says "6:30" as "half past six" without knowing they're the same.
⏱️ Two-minute check
Set a clock to 3:00 and then 7:30. "What time is it?"
Solid looks like: Both, and they can say it both ways: seven thirty, half past seven.
The full activity for this topic · 10 minutes
The Day in Clocks
- 1Make a clock face together — writing the twelve numbers in the right places is half the lesson.
- 2Set it to the times of their real day: school, lunch, football, bed.
- 3Talk about the hands: short one is slow and shows the hour, long one is fast and shows the minutes.
- 4Play "set the clock": you say a time, they set it. Then swap.
- 5Put an analogue clock somewhere they'll see it every day and ask the time at random.
If it's too hard
Hours only, and hide the minute hand with tape.
If it's too easy
Quarter past and quarter to, and how many minutes until dinner.
Say this
"The short hand is lazy — it tells the hour. The long hand runs fast — it counts minutes."