Tell the time to the half hour using the hour hand

I can use the hour hand to show half past the hour.

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Lesson 9 of 10

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Tell the time to the half hour using the hour hand

I can use the hour hand to show half past the hour.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

The hour hand moves between the hours.
When the hour hand is halfway between two hours, it is half past the last hour.

Keywords

Half past - Half of an hour has passed.
Hour hand - The small hand on a clock that points to the hour.

Common misconception

The left hand side of the clock can cause pupils problems when reading the clock to the half hour. For example, because half past nine is between nine and ten, pupils might read it as half past ten.

Encourage pupils to focus on the word ‘past’ - which number has it gone past?

Whilst many schools have access to small clocks on which pupils can manipulate the hands in order to show a time, resist using them in this lesson so that pupils can really focus on the role of the hour hand. The final lesson in this unit will cover time using both the hour hand and minute hand.

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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).