Quarter past
When the minute hand points to 3, it is quarter past the hour.
quarter past 3
Quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour.
Year 2
Tell and write the time to five minutes, including quarter past and quarter to the hour, and draw the hands on a clock face to show these times
Read and write analogue clock times to five minutes, including quarter past and quarter to.
Lesson overview
Time
When we tell time to five minutes, the minute hand points to a number on the clock in steps of five. Quarter past means 15 minutes past the hour. Half past means 30 minutes past. Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour.
Half past
When the minute hand points to 6, it is half past the hour.
half past 7
Half past means 30 minutes after the hour.
Quarter to
When the minute hand points to 9, it is quarter to the next hour.
quarter to 6
Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour.
Worked example
What time is shown when the minute hand points to 9 and the hour hand is nearly on 8?
quarter to 8
- The minute hand points to 9, so it is quarter to the next hour.
- The hour hand is nearly on 8.
- That means the next hour is 8 o'clock.
- So the time is quarter to 8.
Try it
Check the minute hand first, then decide which hour to say.
Question 1
What time is shown?
?
Question 2
What time is shown?
?
Question 3
What time is shown?
?
Question 4
When the minute hand points to 6, what does it mean?
minute hand on 6
Question 5
How many minutes past the hour is 5:20?
Common mistakes
Watch for these when working through the lesson.
- Saying quarter past when the minute hand points to 9 instead of 3.
- Reading the current hour for quarter to instead of the next hour.
- Forgetting that each number on the clock face marks 5 minutes.
Related topics
These ideas fit closely with this lesson.
- Compare and sequence intervals of time.
- Know the number of minutes in an hour and the number of hours in a day.