My Daily Time Plan

Overview

Students learn to read analogue and digital time to the nearest five minutes and connect the two representations. They create a short daily timetable, then calculate how long familiar activities last using minutes and hours.

Learning intentions

• WALT read analogue clocks to the nearest five minutes.
• WALT match analogue clock faces with digital times.
• WALT create a daily timetable using times.
• WALT work out how long familiar activities last.

Success criteria

• I can identify the hour hand and minute hand.
• I can read and write times such as 8:15 and quarter past 8.
• I can match an analogue clock to its digital time.
• I can calculate the duration of an activity in minutes or hours.

Curriculum links

• Measurement — describing the relationship between hours and minutes on analogue and digital clocks and reading time to the nearest minute.
• Measurement — recognising relationships between days, hours and minutes and estimating and comparing durations.
• Number — adding and subtracting using place value and mental strategies to calculate elapsed time.
• Number — modelling practical problems and explaining solutions in context.

Lesson structure (20 minutes)

1. 0–3 min · Hook and WALT. Teacher opens with the timetable hook and learning intention and asks, “If breakfast starts at 7:30 and finishes at 7:45, how long does it last?” Student gives an estimate and shares what they already know about clock hands.

2. 3–7 min · Explicit teaching. Using the clock-reading teaching slides, teacher models that the short hand shows the hour and the long hand shows the minutes; each number on the clock represents five minutes. Student reads example clocks aloud, first counting by fives and then matching each time to a digital display.

3. 7–12 min · Build a timetable. Teacher provides the analogue clock faces and the daily timetable and time practice worksheet. Together, teacher and student choose four familiar activities, such as breakfast, learning time, lunch and play, and record a start time, finish time, analogue clock drawing and digital time for each.

4. 12–15 min · Check and explain. Teacher returns to the timetable checking prompts and asks the student to check each entry: “Does the hour hand sit between the correct hours?” and “Does the minute hand show the correct number of minutes?” Student checks their timetable with the analogue clock reference, corrects any errors and explains one choice.

5. 15–18 min · Duration challenge. Teacher models one example from the timetable, such as 9:10 to 9:35: “Count on from 9:10 to 9:35 — that is 25 minutes.” Student completes two duration questions on the daily timetable and time practice worksheet, using a number line or clock face if needed.

6. 18–20 min · Plenary and exit check. Teacher displays the final review slide and asks the student to read one analogue time, write its digital equivalent and state how long one timetable activity lasted. Student completes the final worksheet response: “I can tell time when…”

Resources

• the time-telling and timetable slide deck
• the daily timetable and time practice worksheet
• the analogue clock faces
• Pencil, eraser and coloured pencils
• Demonstration clock or movable clock hands
• Optional minute number line from 0 to 60
• Timer or digital clock for checking durations

Assessment

• Observe whether the student correctly identifies the hour and minute hands and counts minutes in fives.
• Check the timetable for accurate analogue drawings, digital times and sensible start and finish times.
• Use the final response to assess whether the student can read a clock and calculate a duration independently.

Differentiation

• Support: Use only five-minute times initially, keep the clock face visible, and provide the sentence frames “The time is ___” and “The activity lasted ___ minutes.” Count around the clock together before expecting independent work.
• Dyslexia-friendly options: Use a clear sans-serif font, large uncluttered clock faces, high contrast, minimal written instructions and read each question aloud. Allow the student to answer orally or use coloured hands to distinguish hours from minutes.
• Additional support: Begin with times on the hour and half-hour, then move to quarter past and quarter to before using other five-minute times. Use a physical clock and let the student move the hands.
• Extension: Ask the student to add a fifth activity or create a timetable containing one time such as 10:25 and one duration crossing the hour, such as 10:45 to 11:10. The student explains the calculation using a number line or an addition and subtraction sentence.