Grade 2 Math Lesson Plan: Telling Time — 3 Lessons with Timings

Learning Objectives

• Name the hour hand (short) and the minute hand (long), and read the hour hand first.
• Read, write and draw o'clock and half past times (3:00, 3:30).
• Read quarter past and quarter to times and write them as digital times (3:15, 3:45).
• Count by 5s to read and write the time to 5 minutes on a clock and a digital clock (7:25).
• Use a.m. and p.m. correctly for daily activities.
• Know that 60 minutes = 1 hour, 30 minutes = half an hour and 24 hours = 1 day.
• Solve simple problems: what time is it 1 hour, half an hour or 2 hours later?

Lesson Procedure

• Teach the three lessons in order. Each lesson table shows the stage, minutes, what the teacher does, what students do and the matching PowerPoint slides. Lesson 1: the clock, o'clock and half past. Lesson 2: count by 5s, quarter past, quarter to and times to 5 minutes. Lesson 3: a.m. and p.m., time facts and "1 hour later" problems. Use the optional fourth lesson for review and the test. Print the materials on the prep checklist the day before.

Assessment

Use the exit tickets after each lesson, whiteboard answers and Show Me! checks during lessons, and the Quick Quiz or Unit Test after the unit.

Differentiation

Support: Let children keep their paper clock on the desk and move the hands for every question. Teach o'clock and half past well before quarter times and 5-minute times. Use the clock with the minute numbers (5, 10, 15 …) printed round the outside. Give sentence frames ("It is ___ o'clock." "It is half past ___.") and pair a child who is new to English with a partner who models the sentences.
Extension: Read times to 1 minute (7:23), find times 2 or 3 hours later, work out how long an activity takes (3:00 to 4:30), and make a timetable for a school day. Fast finishers can play Clock Challenge! in Mix mode.

Classroom Activity Ideas

• Show Me!: children hold up paper clocks to show the time you say.
• Arms clock: one child is the clock; a short bent arm is the hour hand and a long straight arm is the minute hand.
• Daily practice: read the classroom clock together at the start of every lesson.

Teacher Tips

The most common mistake is at half past: children see the hour hand close to the next number and say "half past 5" for 4:30. Make one question a habit: "Has the hour hand got to 5 yet?" Move a paper clock slowly from 4:00 to 5:00 so children watch the hour hand travel. The second big mistake is reading the number under the minute hand as the minutes (7:05 for 7:25), so count by 5s with a finger every time until it is automatic. Many Asian textbooks say "half past" and "quarter to", while others say "three thirty"; teach both and accept both. Ask "What time is it now?" at the same moments every day (start of class, break, lunch) so time becomes everyday class English.

What's Included

• Lesson plan, 2 pages: objectives, 3 timed lessons, optional review and test lesson, differentiation, assessment, board plan, prep checklist and 5-minute daily practice (DOCX + PDF)

Additional Files

• Grade 2 Math Lesson Plan: Telling Time (DOCX)

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