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      Read the time on a 12 and 24 hour digital clock

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can read the time on a 12 and 24 hour digital clock.

      Key learning points

      1. There are 24 hours in a day
      2. Times after midday keep counting on from 12
      3. On the 24 hour clock the hours start at 0 and end at 23

      Keywords

      • 24 hour clock - A way of expressing the time using the numbers 0-23 for the hours.

      • Am - The hours between midnight and midday.

      • Pm - The hours between midday and midnight.

      Common misconception

      Part of the lesson requires pupils to decide whether times are before midday, at midday or after midday. Pupils can find categorising 12:00 and 00:00 tricky.

      Explicit teaching points are made based around this in the slide deck. However, it is worth really focusing on these points as they come up and, when assessing the pupils during the Practice tasks, paying particular attention to those times.

      Teacher tip

      As adults, there is probably no calculation involved when expressing a 12 hour digital time in its 24 hour form, and vice-versa. It is automatic, because it is embedded. To aid with this automaticity process, use flashcards outside of the Maths lesson to provide quickfire instant recall practice.

      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.
      What time is midday? Midday is o'clock.

      Correct Answer: 12, 12 o'clock

      Q2.
      Match the activity to the time of day that it usually takes place.

      Correct Answer:Breakfast,Before midday

      Before midday

      Correct Answer:Lunchtime,Midday

      Midday

      Correct Answer:Walking home from school,After midday

      After midday

      Q3.
      How many hours are there between midnight and midday? There are ___ hours between midnight and midday.

      10
      Correct answer: 12
      24

      Q4.
      How many hours are in a day? hours.

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer: 24

      Q5.
      Match the part of the day with the correct meaning.

      Correct Answer:am,The time between midnight and midday.

      The time between midnight and midday.

      Correct Answer:pm,The time between midday and midnight.

      The time between midday and midnight.

      Q6.
      Match the part of the day with am or pm.

      Correct Answer:midday,pm

      pm

      Correct Answer:midnight,am

      am

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Match the part of the 12 hour digital clock to the time it shows.

      An image in a quiz
      Correct Answer:a,hours

      hours

      Correct Answer:b,minutes past

      minutes past

      Correct Answer:c,before midday or after midday

      before midday or after midday

      Q2.
      Match the times to the correct part of the day.

      Correct Answer:06:00,before midday

      before midday

      Correct Answer:12:00,midday

      midday

      Correct Answer:18:00,after midday

      after midday

      Q3.
      This is a 24 hour digital clock. What numbers can be displayed on the part marked a?

      An image in a quiz
      0 to 12
      1 to 12
      0 to 24
      1 to 24
      Correct answer: 0 to 23

      Q4.
      Select all of the times that are after midday.

      Correct answer: 6:23 pm
      6:23 am
      Correct answer: 21:00
      Correct answer: 7:05 pm

      Q5.
      Order these 24 hour times from earliest to latest.

      1 - 03:45
      2 - 13:05
      3 - 17:50
      4 - 23:40

      Q6.
      Match the analogue times to the correct digital times.

      Correct Answer:2 o'clock in the morning,2:00 am

      2:00 am

      Correct Answer:midday,12:00 pm

      12:00 pm

      Correct Answer:4 o'clock in the afternoon,4:00 pm

      4:00 pm

      Correct Answer:9 o'clock at night,21:00

      21:00


      To help you plan your 4 maths lesson on: Read the time on a 12 and 24 hour digital clock, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...