Math // Measurement

Telling Time: Minutes

Tell and write the time to five minutes, including quarter past and quarter to, and draw clock hands to show these times

Ages
6 to 7
Type
Representation
Builds on
2 topics
Leads to
1 topic
Standards
2 codes

Quick check

If the clock shows quarter to four, can the learner tell you the time — and draw hands on a blank clock face to show twenty past three?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Read an analogue clock showing 3:25
  • Write 'quarter past 9' or '9:15'
  • Draw clock hands to show twenty to four

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

2 topics
  • Telling Time: Hours and Half HoursRequired

    Measurement // Ages 5 to 6

    Telling time to 5 minutes extends from telling time to the hour and half past

  • Counting in 2sHelpful

    Counting & Cardinality // Ages 5 to 7

    Reading 5-minute intervals benefits from skip counting in 5s

You are here

Telling Time: Minutes

Ages 6 to 7 // Representation

Leads to

1 topic

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

Children aged 6–7 read and write time to five minutes — including quarter past and quarter to — and draw the clock hands. Two representational hurdles dominate: reading the minute hand in fives (the minute hand on the 5 means 25 past, not 5), and the 'to' side, where times after half past are named in relation to the NEXT hour (although the digital hour stays as the earlier hour, e.g. quarter to 4 = 3:45) and the hour hand sits over halfway toward it. 'Quarter to' is new and easily confused with 'quarter past'. The core teaching moves are counting round the clock in fives and splitting the clock into a 'past' (right) and 'to' (left) side.

Common misconceptions

  • Reads the minute-hand number directly (minute hand on 5 → '5 past' not 25 past; on 2 → '2 past' not 10 past)
  • Confuses quarter past and quarter to
  • After half past, keeps counting 'past' (35 minutes past) instead of switching to 'to' (25 to)
  • Names the wrong hour for a 'to' time, or puts the hour hand on a number instead of partway toward the next

Useful representations

  • A clock with the 5-minute counts marked around it
  • A past/to split clock (right = past, left = to)
  • A geared clock for the hour-hand position
  • Triple cards: words / analogue / digital (quarter past 9 – 9:15)

Teaching practices

  • Count the minute intervals in fives round the clock so each number stands for a multiple of 5
  • Split the clock: right-hand side = 'past', left-hand side = 'to'
  • Teach that after half past, times are 'minutes to' the NEXT hour and the hour hand is over halfway between the two numbers
  • Contrast quarter past (hour hand just past a number) with quarter to (hour hand nearly at the next number)
  • Read AND write — analogue ↔ words ↔ digital (quarter past 9 / 9:15) — and draw the hands

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Count round the clock in fives

    Why it works: The number the minute hand points to is NOT the number of minutes — each number stands for its multiple of five, so the minute hand on the 5 means 25 minutes, not 5.

    1. Starting at the 12, count the minute marks in fives round the clock, saying the running total at each number: 1→5, 2→10, 3→15, 4→20, 5→25, and so on.
    2. Label (or tap, if using an interactive clock where each number lights its running five-count) each number with its minute value.
    3. Then read a real clock showing 3:25: minute hand on the 5, hour hand between the 3 and the 4 but not yet halfway, so the hour is still 3. State the minutes as twenty-five, not five.
    4. Repeat with other 'past' times to five minutes.
  2. 2

    The 'past' to 'to' switch at the bottom of the clock

    Why it works: After half past, we count the minutes remaining until the NEXT hour and name that next hour; the hour hand sits over halfway between the current and next number to show this.

    1. Split the clock down the middle: the right-hand side is 'past', the left-hand side is 'to'.
    2. Watch (or move the minute hand) as it travels from twenty-five past across the 6 and up the left side. As it crosses the bottom, start counting the minutes BACK to the next hour instead of forward.
    3. Note that once past the half hour, the named hour becomes the NEXT hour, and the hour hand moves over halfway between the two numbers toward it.
    4. Read twenty-five to four: minute hand on the 7, hour hand over halfway from 3 to 4 — and say why it is 'to four' and not '35 past three'.
  3. 3

    Quarter past versus quarter to, and placing the hour hand

    Why it works: 'Quarter to' and 'quarter past' are different sides of the clock with different named hours; the hour hand moves gradually and, for 'to' times, sits part-way toward the next number rather than on a number.

    1. Contrast two clocks: quarter past 9 (minute hand on the 3, hour hand just past the 9) and quarter to 4 (minute hand on the 9, hour hand nearly at the 4).
    2. Say which side of the clock each is on (quarter past = right side; quarter to = left side) and which hour is named.
    3. For a 'to' time, draw the hour hand over halfway toward the next number — NOT resting on a number. For quarter to 4, place the hour hand nearly at the 4; for twenty to four, place the hour hand over halfway from the 3 to the 4 with the minute hand on the 8.
    4. Check: is the hour hand closer to the current number or the next number?

Topic // Standards

Curriculum standards

Codes for the curriculum statements this topic maps to. Each publisher owns its standard text.
Common Core State Standards for Mathematics
1.MD.3
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document
Maths/Y2/M/7

Math // Measurement

More in Measurement

All 68 topics