Telling the time to five minutes

Telling the time to five minutes: what children learn

In this game each card describes where the hands are pointing, and children match it to the time it shows, such as quarter past 7, 20 to 6 or 5 past 9. Picturing the hands helps children draw them correctly too.

Supports part of Common Core 2.MD.C.7: telling time to the nearest five minutes. This focused game does not cover the entire standard.

Common Core connection: 2.MD.C.7. This is focused practice for part of the standard.

How to play

Pick a card on the left, then the card on the right that matches it. Each game has 6 pairs. Wrong matches are counted as mistakes, and you get three stars for a game with no mistakes.

Step by step

1. Count in fives. The minute hand moves 5 minutes from one number to the next. Pointing to 1 is 5 minutes past, 2 is 10 minutes past, 4 is 20 minutes past.
2. Past or to?. On the right-hand side of the clock (from 12 round to 6) we say minutes past. On the left-hand side (from 6 round to 12) we say minutes to the next hour.
3. Quarter past and quarter to. Minute hand on 3 is quarter past. Minute hand on 9 is quarter to the next hour.
4. Check the hour hand. For past times the hour hand is just after an hour. For to times it is nearly at the next hour, so quarter to 3 has the hour hand nearly at 3.

Worked examples

Common mistakes and how to fix them

• Reading the minute hand on 4 as 4 minutes past. Count in fives from 12: 5, 10, 15, 20.
• Saying quarter to 2 when the hour hand is just past 2. Quarter to means nearly the next hour. If the hour hand has just passed 2, it is a past time.
• Counting 'to' times forwards from 12. For 'to' times, count the fives from the minute hand forwards to 12.

Activities to try at home

• Ask the time on an analogue clock at home several times a day.
• Count round a clock face in fives together.
• Set a clock and ask: 'What time will it be in 5 minutes?'

Ideas for the classroom

• Students set geared clocks to times called out by the teacher.
• Play 'What's the time, Mr Wolf?' using times to five minutes.
• Match clock faces to digital and written times.

Free printable game and worksheet

The free printable starts with a game sheet, such as a color-by-answer picture, an answer maze or a secret-code joke, followed by a worksheet. Both use the same checked questions as the online game, and the answers are on the last page. Print it, or save it as a PDF from your browser’s print menu.

Open the free printable game and worksheet

Frequently asked questions

Related topics

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Back to Grade 2 math