# Lesson 101: Understanding time — hour and half-hour

🧮 MATH (40 Lessons) • 🟡 C. Shapes and Measurement

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## Objective

I can read the time to the hour and half-hour on an analog clock. I can use words like o'clock and half past, match times to daily activities, and say which time is earlier or later.

## Materials

- Analog clock with moving hands (toy clock or paper clock with split pins)
- Picture cards or drawings of daily activities (wake up, lunch, homework, bedtime)
- Pencil and notebook or scrap paper

## Mini-lesson — Reading hour and half-hour on a clock

A clock shows us the time. It has a short hand for the hour and a long hand for the minutes.

Clock parts

- The numbers 1 to 12 go around the clock.
- The short hand points to the hour.
- The long hand shows the minutes.

Times to the hour (o'clock)

- When the long hand points to the 12, we say o'clock.
- The short hand tells which hour it is.
- If the short hand points to 3 and the long hand is on 12, the time is 3 o'clock.

Times to the half-hour (half past)

- When the long hand points to the 6, it is half past the hour.
- The short hand is between two numbers.
- If the short hand is between 2 and 3, and the long hand is on 6, we say half past 2.

Time and daily routines

- We can match times to daily activities.
- For example: 7 o'clock might be wake-up time.
- Half past 3 might be play time or snack time.

In this lesson, we will practise reading o'clock and half past times, and connect them to real-life routines.

Picture strip: 3 o'clock and half past 2

3 o'clock

Half past 2

## Guided Practice — Move the hands to show the time

You will use a teaching clock (or paper clock) to show times to the hour and half-hour. Then you will use the tracing pad to practise time words.

1. Review the hands: Touch the short hand and say "hour hand". Touch the long hand and say "minute hand".
2. Make an o'clock time: Move the long hand to 12. Move the short hand to 3. Read the time: "3 o'clock".
3. Try another o'clock: Set the clock to 7 o'clock. Ask, "What could you be doing at 7 o'clock?" (Maybe waking up.)
4. Make a half past time: Move the long hand to 6. Move the short hand so it sits between 2 and 3. Read the time: "half past 2".
5. Link to daily life: Choose one activity card, like "lunchtime". Decide if it might be at 12 o'clock or half past 12. Show it on your clock.
6. Compare two times: Show 3 o'clock and half past 3. Ask, "Which is earlier? Which is later?"
7. Use the tracing pad: Choose time words like hour, o'clock, half past, early, or late and trace them. Draw a tiny clock near each word that matches the time.

Tracing Pad
Lines
Trace
Pen

## Practice 1 — Read o'clock times

[PLACEHOLDER PRACTICE 1]

## Practice 2 — Read half past times

[PLACEHOLDER PRACTICE 2]

## Practice 3 — Match times to daily routines

[PLACEHOLDER PRACTICE 3]

## Quick Check — Understanding time: hour and half-hour

Answer each question about reading the clock. Think about the hour hand, the minute hand, and what you do at different times of day.

1) What does the short hand on the clock show?

The hour. The minutes. The day of the week.
The short hand is the hour hand.

2) What does the long hand on the clock show?

The year. The month. The minutes.
The long hand is the minute hand.

3) When the minute hand points to 12, we say…

half past o'clock midnight
When the minute hand is on 12, we say o'clock.

4) The short hand is on 5 and the long hand is on 12. What time is it?

5 o'clock half past 5 12 o'clock
Minute hand on 12 and hour hand on 5 makes 5 o'clock.

5) When the minute hand points to 6, we say…

o'clock quarter past half past
Minute hand on 6 means half past the hour.

6) The minute hand is on 6 and the hour hand is between 2 and 3. What time is it?

2 o'clock half past 2 half past 3
The hour hand is just after 2, so it is half past 2.

7) Which sentence is correct?

At 7 o'clock, the minute hand is on 12. At 7 o'clock, the minute hand is on 6. At 7 o'clock, there is no minute hand.
O'clock times always have the minute hand on 12.

8) Which time could be a good bedtime for a child?

3 o'clock in the morning 9 o'clock in the morning 8 o'clock in the evening
8 o'clock in the evening is a common bedtime.

9) Which time is earlier in the day?

half past 4 4 o'clock They are exactly the same.
4 o'clock comes before half past 4.

10) Your clock shows half past 3. What could you say?

"It is half past 3." "It is 3 o'clock." "It is half past 12."
Minute hand on 6 and hour hand past 3 means half past 3.

11) At which time does the hour hand point exactly at a number?

half past 1 half past 7 9 o'clock
At o'clock times the hour hand points right at the number.

12) Why is it important to know how to read a clock?

So you can make the numbers disappear. So you know when things happen and can be on time. So you never go to bed.
Reading a clock helps you be on time for daily activities.

13) The clock shows 6 o'clock. Which could be a good activity for that time?

Eating dinner Going to school at midnight Waking up at midnight
Many families eat dinner around 6 o'clock.

14) Which sentence uses good time words?

"I do something sometime." "I play when I want." "I start my homework at 4 o'clock."
Saying the exact time with o'clock is clear maths language.

15) After you read a time on the clock, what is a good way to show your understanding?

Close your eyes and forget it. Say the time aloud and tell one thing you might do at that time. Turn the hands to a different time without saying anything.
Saying the time and connecting it to an activity shows strong understanding.

## Assessment (parent/teacher)

Student can name the hour hand and the minute hand on an analog clock. Student can read and say times to the hour (o'clock). Student can read and say times to the half-hour (half past). Student can match simple daily activities to suitable o'clock or half past times. Student can explain which of two times is earlier or later in simple language.

## Exit ticket (student)

😀 I can read hour and half-hour times easily. 🙂 I can read some times but still need more practice. 😅 Reading the clock still feels tricky for me.

#### Next time I will practise…

Reading o'clock times Reading half past times Matching times to my daily routines
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