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      Tell and write the time to the nearest minute past and to

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can tell and write the time to the nearest minute ‘past’ and ‘to’

      Key learning points

      1. When the minute hand has gone beyond the 6, we count the minutes left to get to the next hour.
      2. The minute hand shows how many minutes past the hour it is.
      3. Between the hours on the clock face the scale also shows five minutes.
      4. After half past the hour we give the time as minutes to the next hour.

      Keywords

      • Minutes past - How many minutes have gone by since the last hour.

      • Minutes to - How many minutes there are until the next hour.

      Common misconception

      When showing times on clocks (for example drawing hands onto blank clock faces or manipulating mini-clocks with movable hands) pupils may not consider the position of the hour hand.

      Frequent exposure to both examples and non-examples (such as those in the slide deck) will help pupils to see that the hour hand will not be in an 'o'clock' position if it is ___ minutes to ___.

      Teacher tip

      Bead strings are used early in the lesson to model pairs of numbers that equal 60. Consider allowing pupils who still need support with the concepts or the arithmetic required to complete the Practice tasks using the bead strings as a scaffold.

      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).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      How many minutes are there in an hour?

      12
      24
      30
      Correct answer: 60

      Q2.
      What do you add to 30 to make 60? 30 + = 60

      Correct Answer: 30, 30., thirty, Thirty

      Q3.
      What do you add to 40 to make 60? 60 = 40 +

      Correct Answer: 20, 20., twenty, Twenty

      Q4.
      What do you add to 35 to make 60? + 35 = 60

      Correct Answer: 25, 25., twenty-five, twenty five

      Q5.
      How many minutes past the hour is this? It is minutes past the hour.

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 50, 50., fifty, Fifty

      Q6.
      How can you describe the position of the minute hand? Select all that apply.

      An image in a quiz
      Quarter past
      Correct answer: Quarter to
      15 minutes past
      Correct answer: 15 minutes to
      Correct answer: 45 minutes past

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Complete the stem sentence: If it is 42 minutes past the hour, it is minutes to the next hour.

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 18, 18., eighteen, Eighteen

      Q2.
      How many minutes to the hour is being shown on this clock?

      An image in a quiz
      9
      14
      Correct answer: 16
      44

      Q3.
      How many minutes to the hour is being shown on this clock? minutes to

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 6, 6., six, Six

      Q4.
      Match the ‘minutes past’ times with the correct ‘minutes to’ times.

      Correct Answer:40 minutes past,20 minutes to

      20 minutes to

      Correct Answer:37 minutes past,23 minutes to

      23 minutes to

      Correct Answer:47 minutes pat,13 minutes to

      13 minutes to

      Q5.
      The clock is showing minutes to 5

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 18, 18., eighteen, Eighteen

      Q6.
      Match the ‘minutes past’ times with the correct ‘minutes to’ times.

      Correct Answer:50 minutes past 2 ,10 minutes to 3

      10 minutes to 3

      Correct Answer:50 minutes past 1,10 minutes to 2

      10 minutes to 2

      Correct Answer:36 minutes past 4 ,24 minutes to 5

      24 minutes to 5

      Correct Answer:36 minutes past 3 ,24 minutes to 4

      24 minutes to 4


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