L8 Half Past

Help children confidently tell the time to half past the hour with this engaging Working Without Worksheets lesson for Year 1 Measurement – Time. Designed for classrooms that focus on active, practical learning, this resource combines teaching clocks, games, and real-life links to build secure time-telling skills—without a single worksheet. The lesson begins with a recap of ‘o’clock’ times from previous sessions. Pupils explain how they know what time it is by describing the position of the hour and minute hands, reinforcing their understanding of key features on a clock face. During the introduction, the teacher demonstrates how to read half past the hour using a large moveable teaching clock. Pupils learn that when the minute hand points to 6, it has travelled halfway around the clock, showing that it is half past. The hour hand sits halfway between two numbers, showing that the time is halfway between one hour and the next. Using teaching slides and individual clocks, children practise making and reading times such as half past 1 or half past 6, checking and correcting their work as the times are revealed. The main activities build fluency and confidence through interactive learning: Task 1: Partner Clock Challenge – One child selects a time card and the other makes it on their clock. They then swap roles. Task 2: What’s the Time, Mr Wolf? – Pupils make half-past times on their clocks while their partner reads and names the time aloud before switching roles. In the plenary, pupils connect time to daily routines, making half-past times for real-life events such as lunchtime or bedtime. The teacher assesses understanding as children hold up their clocks to show the times. What’s Included in the Pack? ✔ Full teacher planning with objectives, activities, and plenary guidance ✔ Starter: recap telling the time to the hour using the position of the hands ✔ Vocabulary focus: half past, hour hand, minute hand, clock face ✔ Teacher modelling: demonstrate half past u