Clock Tower

Little levels (ages 4 to 6)

1. What time is it? Read o'clock times from the short hand.
2. Set the clock Drag the short hand to 7, 11 and 4 o'clock.
3. Morning, afternoon, evening Sort waking up, lunch, play and bedtime into parts of the day.
4. Half past The long hand on the six: read half past three, eight and one.
5. The day in order Tap wake up, breakfast, school, lunch, dinner and bed in order.

Big levels (ages 7 to 9)

1. Minutes by fives Count five, ten, fifteen around the clock, then read minutes past.
2. Quarter past, quarter to The long hand on the three and on the nine.
3. Set any time Drag both hands to 4:35, 9:10 and 1:50.
4. How long until? From now until the movie, dinner, bath and bedtime.
5. Digital and clock face Match 3:00, 6:30, 9:15 and 11:45 to their clocks.
6. Bus timetable Add twenty, thirty and fifteen minutes to a leaving time, past the hour.

The big ideas

• The short hand tells the hour. When the long hand points straight up to the twelve, it is something o'clock, and the short hand says what hour.

• The long hand counts minutes, five per number. Each number on the clock is five minutes for the long hand: the three is fifteen, the six is thirty (half past), the nine is forty-five (quarter to).

• Sixty minutes make an hour. The long hand goes all the way round once while the short hand moves from one number to the next. After 59 minutes comes the next hour, so there is no 2:70.

• The day has an order. Morning, afternoon and evening always come in the same order, and so do waking up, meals and bedtime.

• Count on to find how long until. From 2:30 to 3:00 is thirty minutes; from 9:15 plus twenty minutes is 9:35. Counting by fives around the clock does it.

Try it at home

1. Paper plate clock Write the numbers on a paper plate and pin on two paper hands. Set it to breakfast time, school time and bedtime.
2. O'clock watch Each time a clock at home shows something o'clock, call it out. Who spots the most in a day?
3. Minute count Watch a clock for one minute without talking. Then guess how long it takes to brush your teeth, and time it.
4. How long until? Before something you are looking forward to, look at the clock and work out how many minutes are left.

Ask after playing

• Where does the long hand point at half past?
• If it is 4:00 and dinner is at 5:00, how long is that?
• Why is there no such time as 2:70?