L2 Telling the Time

This Year 2 Working Without Worksheets lesson develops children’s understanding of telling the time to the nearest quarter hour, focusing on quarter past and quarter to. Using clocks, discussions, and practical exploration, children gain a secure understanding of how the hour and minute hands work together to show time. The lesson begins with a recap of prior learning, reminding pupils how to read o’clock and half past times. Children identify the minute and hour hands, discuss their differences, and describe how they move around the clock face. In the main teaching input, the class explores how a clock can be divided into four equal parts, introducing the term quarter. The teacher models how quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour and quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour. With visual animations and clear examples, pupils observe how the hands move to show quarter past 4 and quarter to 2. The lesson reinforces where the minute hand points at quarter past (3) and quarter to (9), helping children recognise the visual pattern on any clock face. During the main activity, pupils use small clocks to practise making different times shown on the slides. They then select time cards and draw the correct times onto blank clocks, sticking these into their maths books to demonstrate understanding. The plenary consolidates learning through practical reasoning problems: “If playtime starts at 10 o’clock and lasts 15 minutes, what time does it finish?” “Lunch starts at 12 o’clock. How long until lunch time?” This lesson builds both mathematical fluency and real-world understanding, ensuring children can connect telling the time to everyday events — all while learning without worksheets. What’s Included in the Pack ✔ Full lesson plan with learning objectives, teaching guidance, and key questions ✔ Animated teaching slides for visual modelling of time concepts ✔ Starter recap: identifying o’clock and half past times ✔ Introduction to quarter past and quarter to us