Tell and write quarter past and quarter to on a clock face

I can tell and write quarter past and quarter to on a clock face.

Download all

View unit

Lesson 4 of 5

New

Tell and write quarter past and quarter to on a clock face

I can tell and write quarter past and quarter to on a clock face.

Download all

These resources were made for remote use during the pandemic, not classroom teaching.

Switch to our new teaching resources now - designed by teachers and leading subject experts, and tested in classrooms.

View new resources

Lesson slides

Download lesson slides

Skip lesson slides

Lesson details

Key learning points

Quarter past and quarter to are special points on a clock.
When the minute hand is pointing to 3, it is a 'quarter past' time.
When the minute hand is pointing to 9, it is a 'quarter to' time.

Keywords

Quarter past - 15 minutes past the o'clock time.
Quarter to - 45 minutes past / 15 minutes to the o'clock time.

Common misconception

Pupils sometimes forget to move the hour hand when showing quarter to or quarter past, instead leaving it pointing to the o'clock time.

This is covered in Cycle 2 of the lesson. Continual access to a geared clock allows this idea to be revisited both in and beyond the lesson. Plan opportunities for children to see the positions of both hands at quarter past and quarter to.

If pupils are still struggling to recall names for the positions of the minute hand, you could get them to fold a paper plate into quarters, unfold it and write 'o'clock', 'quarter past', 'half past' and 'quarter to' on it. This model can then act as a scaffold, being displayed in the environment.

Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).