Teaching pack: Reading the Clock (Year 2) -- a week of maths lessons

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Teaching pack · Year 2 Measurementseegongsik /au

Reading the Clock: a week of ready-to-teach maths

Five days of lessons for Year 2 Measurement. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus a cut-out clock, time cards, a mini-check and every answer.

AC9M2M04

recognise and read the time represented on an analog clock to the hour, half-hour and quarter-hour

Start here: five minutes to Monday

Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
Cut out the two card sheets once: a clock face with movable hands, and the time cards. They are reused all week.
Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which clock to show and when.
Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. Each plan explains the idea in plain words, lists the misconceptions children bring, and gives model answers, so you can walk in and teach it.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 50 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day stands on the one before. Every lesson can also split into a short warm-up and a main session if your timetable runs small blocks.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. The on-screen half has five interactive clocks — sort out the two hands and their jobs, watch one hour creep by in quarter-hour jumps, read a time off the face, set the hands from a spoken time, and read the lone hour hand — plus a self-check quiz you can run as a class game on Day 5.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9M2M04). This pack is original material from seegongsik, independently produced and not endorsed by ACARA. Curriculum content descriptors are (c) ACARA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to print and use in class.

The week at a glance5 lessons

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day stands on the day before, so run them in order.

Day	Lesson	Children learn and do	On screen
1	Two hands and o'clock	Name the two hands; read and make o'clock times	The two hands
2	Half past	Read half past; the short hand sits halfway between two numbers	The creeping hour
3	Quarter past	Read quarter past; the long hand points to the 3	Read it
4	Quarter to	Read and make quarter to; the long hand points to the 9	Set the clock
5	Read and match all four	Read all four times; read the lone hour hand	The hour hand detective

How the week builds

Day 1 sorts out the two hands and reads o’clock; Day 2 adds half past; Day 3 adds quarter past; Day 4 adds quarter to; and Day 5 reads and matches all four. It builds on the halves and quarters children met in the fractions unit, where a circle was cut into halves and quarters, and it opens the way to telling time to five minutes later on.

Materials for the week (one trip)

From the classroom: scissors, pencils, coloured pencils, this pack printed.
One split pin (a paper fastener) per child or per pair, to pin the clock hands so they turn. A butterfly clip or a small blob of adhesive putty works too.
Cut out once, use all week: the clock face and its two hands, and the time cards in this pack. A wall clock in the room is a bonus but not needed.

A note homeHome practice

Dear families

This week in maths, Year 2 learns to read the round clock with two hands. We read o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to, and we watch how the short hour hand and the long minute hand work together.

Try this at home

Read a real clock together at tidy times: breakfast, bath, bedtime. Ask which hand is the hour hand (the short one) and which is the minute hand (the long one).
Catch a half past: when the long hand points straight down to the 6, it is half past. Ask which hour the short hand has just left.
On the way somewhere, call quarter past (long hand on the 3) and quarter to (long hand on the 9).
Make a time on the cut-out clock and ask a grown-up to read it, then swap over.

My clock this week

Fill one row a day. Tick when you have said the time and made it on your clock.

Day	I said it in words	I made it on my clock
Monday	□	□
Tuesday	□	□
Wednesday	□	□
Thursday	□	□
Friday	□	□

Printed from the free seegongsik Reading the Clock teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04/pack

Day 1 · Teacher planDay 1 of 5

Two hands and o’clock

Everything about the clock starts with sorting out its two hands. The short hand names the hour; the long hand tells how much of the hour has gone. When the long hand rests on the 12, none of the hour has gone, and we say o’clock.

We are learning to

name the hour hand (the short one) and the minute hand (the long one),
read an o’clock time from a clock,
make an o’clock time by putting the hands in the right place.

Success criteria

I can point to the hour hand and the minute hand.
I can read and make o’clock times.

You need

The cut-out clock with movable hands (cut-out sheet 1), one per child or per pair, pinned with a split pin. The worksheet, one per child. Coloured pencils.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Two hands, two jobs Hold up the cut-out clock and wiggle each hand in turn. The class names the short hand and the long hand and says what each one is for. Ask: “Which hand is short, and which is long? What is each hand for?”
30 min	Make the hour Call an o’clock time. Pairs turn the hands: the long hand to the 12, the short hand to the hour. Read it back together, then try three or four more. Ask: “Where does the long hand go for every o’clock time?”
10 min	Read it back Show a time on your clock; children write the o’clock time on the worksheet. Ask: “The short hand points at the 7 and the long hand at the 12. What is the time?”

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after making three o’clock times. Start Session B by reading times back off the clock.

On the board

Open the interactive unit and show “The two hands”. Press “One hour later” to move the short hand on one hour at a time while the long hand stays on the 12; press “Back to 3” to return to the start. Read each o’clock time aloud.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Watch for these ideas

Mixing up the hands: the short hand is the hour, the long hand is the minute.
Reading the hour off the long hand. At o’clock the long hand only points at the 12; the short hand names the hour.
Forgetting the long hand still belongs on the 12 for every o’clock time.

Answers

The short hand is the hour hand; the long hand is the minute hand.
The clock in Name the hands shows 3 o’clock (long hand on the 12, short hand on the 3).
Read: 2 o’clock, 7 o’clock, 9 o’clock.
Draw: 5 o’clock and 11 o’clock both have the long hand on the 12; the short hand points at the 5, then the 11.

Day 1 · Worksheet

Two hands, one time

NameClassDate

The short hand is the hour hand. The long hand is the minute hand. At o’clock the long hand always points to the 12.

Name the hands

Colour the short hour hand. Circle the long minute hand. This clock shows ____ o’clock.

Read the clock

Write the o’clock time under each clock.

o’clock

Draw the time

Draw the hands on each clock. Put the long hand on the 12 and the short hand on the hour.

5 o'clock

11 o'clock

Day 2 · Teacher planDay 2 of 5

Half past

Half past is the first move off the exact hour. The long hand swings halfway round to the 6, and the short hand creeps to sit halfway between two numbers. At half past 3 the short hand is halfway between the 3 and the 4 — still inside the 3 hour, not yet the 4.

We are learning to

read a half past time,
know the long hand points to the 6 at half past,
know the short hand sits halfway between two numbers at half past.

Success criteria

I can read half past times.
I can say where both hands are at half past.

You need

The cut-out clock with movable hands (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Swing to the 6 Turn the long hand from the 12 halfway round to the 6, and watch the short hand begin to creep. Ask: “The long hand has gone half way round. How much of the hour has gone?”
30 min	Half past on the clock Call half past 2, then half past 5. Pairs set the long hand on the 6 and the short hand halfway between the two numbers. Watch the short hand carefully. Ask: “At half past 3, is the short hand on the 3, on the 4, or between them?”
10 min	Read half past Show half past times; children read and write them on the worksheet. Ask: “The long hand is on the 6 and the short hand is between the 8 and the 9. What is the time?”

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after setting half past; start Session B by reading half past.

On the board

Show “The creeping hour”. Press “Quarter of an hour on” twice to reach half past 4: the long hand leaps to the 6 and the short hand has crept halfway between the 4 and the 5, shading half the wedge. Press “Back to four” to start again.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Watch for these ideas

Reading half past off the nearer number: at half past 7 the short hand is closer to the 8, but the hour is still 7, the number it has left.
Putting the short hand exactly on a number at half past; it belongs halfway between two numbers.
Forgetting the long hand goes to the 6, not the 12.

Answers

Read: half past 1, half past 4.
At half past 3 the short hand is halfway between the 3 and the 4.
Draw: half past 8 and half past 11 both have the long hand on the 6; the short hand sits halfway between the 8 and the 9, then between the 11 and the 12.

Day 2 · Worksheet

Halfway round the hour

NameClassDate

At half past, the long hand points to the 6. The short hand sits halfway between two numbers.

Read half past

Write the time under each clock.

half past

Where is the short hand?

At half past 3, the short hand is between the ____ and the ____ .

Draw the time

Draw the hands on each clock. Put the long hand on the 6 and the short hand halfway between the numbers.

half past 8

half past 11

Day 3 · Teacher planDay 3 of 5

Quarter past

A quarter of an hour is fifteen minutes, and the long hand marks it by going a quarter of the way round the clock, onto the 3. By then the short hand has crept only a little way past its number, so the hour has hardly changed.

We are learning to

read a quarter past time,
know the long hand points to the 3 at quarter past,
know a quarter of an hour is 15 minutes.

Success criteria

I can read quarter past times.
I can put the long hand on the 3 for quarter past.

You need

The cut-out clock with movable hands, and the time-word cards (cut-out sheet 2). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	A quarter turn Turn the long hand a quarter of the way round, from the 12 to the 3, and hold up the quarter past word card. Ask: “The long hand has gone a quarter of the way round. How many minutes is that?”
30 min	Quarter past on the clock Call quarter past 4, then quarter past 8. Pairs set the long hand on the 3 and the short hand a little way past the hour. Read each one back. Ask: “At quarter past 8, has the short hand reached the 9 yet, or only just left the 8?”
10 min	Read quarter past Show quarter past times; children read and write them on the worksheet. Ask: “The long hand is on the 3 and the short hand is just past the 2. What is the time?”

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after setting quarter past; start Session B by reading quarter past.

On the board

Show “Read it”. Read the time on the face, then press “New clock” for another. Stop on the one the buttons call “quarter past 9”: the long hand is on the 3 and the short hand has only just left the 9.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Watch for these ideas

Sending the short hand too far: at quarter past it has barely moved off its number.
Hunting for a 15 among the numbers; there is none. A quarter past is the long hand on the 3.
Confusing quarter past (long hand on the 3) with quarter to (long hand on the 9).

Answers

A quarter of an hour is 15 minutes; the long hand points to the 3.
Read: quarter past 2, quarter past 9.
Draw: quarter past 6 and quarter past 10 both have the long hand on the 3; the short hand is just past the 6, then just past the 10.

Day 3 · Worksheet

A quarter of the way round

NameClassDate

A quarter past means the long hand points to the 3. That is a quarter of the way round, or 15 minutes.

Read quarter past

Write the time under each clock.

quarter past

Draw the time

Draw the hands. Put the long hand on the 3 and the short hand just past the hour.

quarter past 6

quarter past 10

Fill in

The long hand for quarter past points to the ____ .

A quarter of an hour is ____ minutes.

Day 4 · Teacher planDay 4 of 5

Quarter to

Quarter to is the one that looks forward. The long hand has gone three quarters of the way round to the 9, with one quarter still to go, so we name the hour that is coming. At quarter to 5 the time is 4:45: the short hand has crept nearly all the way to the 5.

We are learning to

read a quarter to time,
know the long hand points to the 9 at quarter to,
name the hour that is coming for quarter to.

Success criteria

I can read quarter to times.
I can match a spoken time to the right clock.

You need

The cut-out clock with movable hands (cut-out sheet 1). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Three quarters round Turn the long hand round to the 9, and count the quarters gone: one, two, three. Ask: “The long hand has gone three quarters of the way round. How much of the hour is left?”
30 min	Words into hands Say quarter to 6, then quarter to 10. Pairs set the hands, then match a spoken time to one of three clocks on the worksheet. Ask: “Quarter to 6 — which hour is coming, and where is the short hand?”
10 min	Read quarter to Show quarter to times; children read and write them on the worksheet. Ask: “The long hand is on the 9 and the short hand is nearly at the 12. What is the time?”

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the words-into-hands task; start Session B by reading quarter to.

On the board

Show “Set the clock”. The spoken time comes first; press “Clock A”, “Clock B” or “Clock C” to pick the face that matches, then “New time” for the next. It asks for times like quarter to 6, so the long hand must land on the 9.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Watch for these ideas

Naming quarter to by the hour just left instead of the hour coming: quarter to 5 is coming up to 5, not 4.
Putting the long hand on the 9 but leaving the short hand on the old number; it should be nearly at the next one.
Mixing quarter to (long hand on the 9) with quarter past (long hand on the 3).

Answers

Read: quarter to 5, quarter to 12.
Match: Clock A shows quarter to 8 (long hand on the 9, short hand nearly at the 8). Clock B is quarter past 8; Clock C is half past 7.
Draw: quarter to 3 has the long hand on the 9 and the short hand nearly at the 3, three quarters of the way from the 2.

Day 4 · Worksheet

Nearly the next hour

NameClassDate

Quarter to means the long hand points to the 9. We say the hour that is coming.

Read quarter to

Write the time under each clock.

quarter to

Which clock shows quarter to 8?

Tick the clock that matches. Remember: quarter to means the long hand is on the 9.

Clock A

□

Clock B

□

Clock C

□

Draw the time

Draw the hands. Put the long hand on the 9 and the short hand nearly at the next number.

quarter to 3

Day 5 · Teacher planDay 5 of 5

Read and match all four

The last day gathers the week. Children read all four times — o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to — and then meet the detective’s trick: the short hand alone is almost enough to tell the time.

We are learning to

read all four times off a clock,
match a spoken time to a clock,
read the rough time from the hour hand alone.

Success criteria

I can read o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to.
I can tell roughly what time it is from the short hand.

You need

The cut-out clock, the time-word and digital-time cards (cut-out sheet 2). The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	All-four read-around Reopen “Read it” and press “New clock” a few times; the class reads each time together. Ask: “Long hand first, then the short hand. What time is it?”
30 min	Match the cards Lay out the time-word and digital-time cards. Children set a time on the cut-out clock and match it to its word card and its digital card. Then hide the long hand and read the short hand alone. Ask: “The long hand is hidden and the short hand is halfway between the 5 and the 6. About what time is it?”
10 min	Detective clocks Children estimate the time from the short hand alone on the worksheet. Ask: “The short hand has only just left the 2. Is it nearer 2 o’clock or 3 o’clock?”

Two half-sessions instead? End Session A after the card match; start Session B with the detective clocks.

On the board

Show “The hour hand detective”. The long hand is hidden, so read the lone short hand, then press “New mystery” for another. A short hand just past a number means a little past that hour; halfway between two numbers means about half past.

seegongsik.com/au/y2/measurement/AC9M2M04

Watch for these ideas

Reading only one hand when both are shown; the two hands must agree.
At half past, quarter past and quarter to, forgetting the short hand has moved off its number.
Guessing the detective time from the wrong side: a short hand just past the 4 is a little after 4, not almost 5.

Answers

Read all four: 6 o’clock; half past 10; quarter past 4; quarter to 9.
Detective: about 2 o’clock (the short hand has only just left the 2); about half past 5 (halfway between the 5 and the 6).
Match the long hand: o’clock to the 12, quarter past to the 3, half past to the 6, quarter to to the 9.

Day 5 · Worksheet

Read the whole clock

NameClassDate

Read the long hand first for the part of the hour, then the short hand for the hour.

Read the clock

Write the time under each clock.

It is

The hour hand detective

The long hand is hidden. Read the short hand and write about what time it is.

About

Match the long hand

Where does the long hand point for each time? Write 12, 3, 6 or 9.

o’clock

quarter past

half past

quarter to

Cut-out cards 1 of 2Make a clock

Make a clock

Cut out the clock face and the two hands. Ask an adult to help push a split pin through the small hole in each hand and the centre of the clock, so the hands turn. The long hand is the minute hand; the short hand is the hour hand. Now you can set any time.

The two hands

Minute hand (long)

Cut out. The small circle is the hole for the split pin.

Hour hand (short)

Cut out. The small circle is the hole for the split pin.

Teacher note: the hands turn on a split pin so children can set any time. This is the same clock they read on screen; the long hand is the minute hand and the short hand is the hour hand.

Cut-out cards 2 of 2Time cards

Time-word and digital-time cards

Cut out the cards. Set a time on your clock, then find the word card and the digital card that match it. Use them for the matching game on Day 5.

Time-word cards

o'clock

half past

quarter past

quarter to

Digital-time cards

3:00

6:00

1:30

8:30

4:15

10:15

5:45

11:45

Teacher note: each digital card matches a word card. A time ending in :00 is an o’clock time, :30 is half past, :15 is quarter past and :45 is quarter to. Set the same time on the cut-out clock to complete the three-way match.

Mini-check · End of the weekReading the Clock

What we know: Reading the Clock

NameClassDate

Work on your own. You can draw a clock to help if you like.

The long hand points to the 12 and the short hand points to the 5. The time is ____ .
At any o’clock time, the long hand points to the ____ .
It is half past 9. The long hand points to the ____ .
At half past 2, the short hand is ____ (on the 2, halfway between the 2 and the 3, or on the 3).
Quarter past 10: the long hand points to the ____ .
It is quarter to 5. The long hand points to the ____ .
The short hand is a little past the 6 and the long hand is on the 3. The time is ____ .
At quarter to 8, the short hand is ____ (on the 7, almost at the 8, or on the 12).

Mini-check · Answers and markingFor the teacher

Answers and marking guide

Answers

5 o’clock.
the 12.
the 6.
halfway between the 2 and the 3 (the hour hand has crept half the way to the 3).
the 3.
the 9.
quarter past 6.
almost at the 8 (three quarters of the way from the 7 to the 8).

A quick three-level guide

Idea	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
O'clock and half past (Q1, Q2, Q3)	reads an o'clock time when the long hand is on the 12	reads o'clock and half past, and knows the long hand sits on the 12 or the 6	explains why the long hand on the 6 always means half past
Quarter past and quarter to (Q5, Q6, Q7)	points the long hand to the 3 for quarter past with help	reads quarter past (long hand on the 3) and quarter to (long hand on the 9)	names the coming hour for quarter to without slipping to the hour just left
How the hour hand moves (Q4, Q8)	puts the short hand on a number	places the short hand between numbers: halfway for half past, nearly at the next for quarter to	explains that the hour hand belongs to the number it has left until it arrives

Eight questions, three ideas. A child at standard reads all four times and can say where each hand points.

Weekly recordClass checklist

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

Name	Two hands, o'clock	Half past	Quarter past	Quarter to	Read and match

The five columns are the five days: two hands and o’clock, half past, quarter past, quarter to, and read and match.