Tell and write the time to five minutes past and to on a clock face | Maths

Starter quiz

Look at the number line. Is a closer to 2 or closer to 3?
- 2 ✓
- 3
When it is half past the hour, to which number does the minute hand point? ______
- '6' ✓
When it is half past 8, where should the hour hand be pointing?
- At the number 8
- At the number 9
- Halfway between 8 and 9 ✓
What time is being shown here?
- 45 minutes past 1 ✓
- 9 minutes past 2
- 10 minutes past 9
Complete the sequence: 30, 25, 20, ______
- '15' ✓
Match the number pairs that make 60
- 35
  
  ⇔
  
  25 ✓
- 10
  
  ⇔
  
  50 ✓
- 40
  
  ⇔
  
  20 ✓

Exit quiz

Which of the letters is exactly halfway between 1 and 2 on the number line?
- a
- b ✓
- c
- d
What does it mean when the hour hand is pointing exactly halfway between two hour numbers?
- It is half past. ✓
- It is 30 minutes past. ✓
- It is 15 minutes past.
- It is an o’clock time.
Complete the stem sentence: If it is 40 minutes past the hour, it is ___ minutes to the next hour.
- 4
- 20 ✓
- 40
How many minutes are there until the next hour?
- 3
- 15 ✓
- 45
The clock is showing 55 minutes past, or ______ minutes to.
- '5' ✓
The clock is showing ______ minutes to the next hour.
- '25' ✓

Worksheet

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Presentation

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

When telling and writing the time to five minutes past and to on a clock face, both the hour and minute hand are used.
When we go past the half hour, we often say how many minutes to the next hour.
We can use how many minutes 'past' to help us say how many minutes 'to'.

Common misconception

The 10 on a clock is unusual as when the minute hand is pointing to 10, it is 10 minutes to the next hour. Pupils may overgeneralise, thinking, for example, when it points to 9, it is 9 minutes to.

As with many mathematical ideas, regular exploration and practise outside of the lesson is key to truly understanding them. Take frequent opportunities to count in five-minute intervals on a clock using minutes past and minutes to.

Keywords

Hour - A unit of time equal to one of 24 equal parts of the day. An hour is equal to 60 minutes.
Minute - A unit of time equal to 60 seconds. There are 60 minutes in an hour.
Minutes past - The number of minutes that have gone past the hour (up to 30 minutes past).
Minutes to - The number of minutes there are to the next hour (after 30 minutes past).