Measuring
Year 1 · Maths
Explore numbers, spot patterns and explain how you worked it out.
Choose a game
Take your time, try a game and collect stars.
O'clock and half past
Where do the hands point at 4 o'clock or half past 4? Match each clock to its time in this
Play O'clock and half pastCoins and notes
Put UK coins and notes in order of value, from 1p to £50.
Play Coins and notesDays of the week and months of the year
Put the days of the week and the months of the year in order.
Play Days of the week and months of the year
Learning about measuring
These Year 1 Maths games practise O'clock and half past, Coins and notes, Days of the week and months of the year. Choose a game above for a short activity, or explore the examples below before you play. The full guide for each game explains its controls, gives more examples and includes a free printable for practice away from the screen.
Talk it through
Use counters, a drawing or a number line before moving to a mental method. Ask your child to explain a choice, then change one number and try the method again.
Ask: “How could you show the same answer another way?” Give your child time to explain. Return to an example after playing and ask whether they would approach it differently.
O'clock and half past
Year 1 pupils learn to tell the time to the hour and half past the hour, and to draw the hands on a clock face to show these times. The two hands do different jobs: the long minute hand shows the minutes and the short hour hand shows the hour.
Try an example: The minute hand points to 12. The hour hand points to 9. What time is it?
Minute hand on 12 means o'clock. Hour hand on 9.
Show the answer
9 o'clock
What to look out for
Mixing up the hands, so the time is read from the minute hand instead of the hour hand. Say 'long hand, minutes; short hand, hours' each time, and check which hand is longer.
Coins and notes
Year 1 pupils learn to recognise UK coins and notes and to know what each one is worth. There are eight coins in everyday use (1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1 and £2) and four Bank of England notes (£5, £10, £20 and £50).
Try an example: Put 20p, 2p, £1 and 10p in order, smallest first.
Pence first: 2p, 10p, 20p. £1 is 100p, so it is last.
Show the answer
2p, 10p, 20p, £1
What to look out for
Thinking a bigger coin is worth more, so 2p is put after 5p. Hold the coins side by side and read the number on each one aloud.
Days of the week and months of the year
Year 1 pupils learn the language of dates: the days of the week, weeks, months and years. They learn that there are 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year, and say them in order.
Try an example: Which day comes after Wednesday?
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Show the answer
Thursday
What to look out for
Mixing up Tuesday and Thursday. Tuesday comes straight after Monday; Thursday comes just before Friday.
Practise away from the screen
- Point out o'clock and half past times during the day: 'It's half past 3, time to go home.'
- Empty a purse and sort the coins by value together.
- Look at a calendar each morning and say today's day and date.
Curriculum connections
These games support selected practice connected to Measurement in the National Curriculum in England. Use your school’s sequence to decide when to introduce and revisit each skill. A game covers selected examples, rather than assessing every requirement.
Questions families ask
Where should we start with measuring?
Start with O'clock and half past. Look at the worked example together, then try a round. If the task feels unfamiliar, use the full game guide or its free printable before trying again.
Does this cover everything taught at this level?
No. This page brings together the games currently available for this topic. It supports selected skills and does not replace the full programme of study or practical teaching.