Time (o'clock and half past)
Time (o'clock and half past) is the skill of reading and drawing clock hands to show the time to the hour and the half hour, and solving simple time problems. It is a Year 1-2 National Curriculum measurement topic that introduces analogue clocks before pupils move on to quarter hours and minutes.
Method
- Look at the short hour hand first: when it points exactly at a number, the time is that many o'clock.
- Check the long minute hand: if it points exactly at the 12, the time is an exact hour (o'clock).
- If the minute hand points exactly at the 6, the time is half past the hour, and the hour hand sits halfway between two numbers.
- To draw hands for a given time, draw the short hour hand first, then add the long minute hand pointing at 12 or 6.
- To find a time after hours or half hours have passed, count on around the clock face from the starting time.
- Write digital times with a colon: o'clock is the top of the hour (e.g. 4:00) and half past is 30 minutes past (e.g. 4:30).
Worked example
It is half past 6. What time will it be in 2 hours?
- Start at half past 6 (6:30).
- Count on 1 hour: half past 6 becomes half past 7 (7:30).
- Count on another hour: half past 7 becomes half past 8 (8:30).
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a KS1 Maths exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Three clocks show different times. Clock A: hour hand at 2, minute hand at 12. Clock B: hour hand halfway between 5 and 6, minute hand at 6. Clock C: hour hand at 11, minute hand at 12. Write the time shown on each clock.
A film starts at half past 4 and lasts for 1 hour. What time does the film finish? Show your working.
Explain why the hour hand is not pointing exactly at the 9 when a clock shows half past 9.
Free printable worksheet
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