About Clocktopus
Clocktopus is a free website that teaches children aged 5 to 9 to tell the time. It has a game with seven levels, a teaching clock for the classroom whiteboard, and printable worksheets and clock templates. There are no ads, no accounts and nothing to pay for.
Why we made it
Telling the time is hard to practise. A child needs lots of short goes, with someone checking each answer, and most clocks at home are digital. Clocktopus gives children that practice as a game, and gives parents and teachers the printables and explanations to go with it, all in one place.
How it follows the curriculum
The levels follow the order used in the National Curriculum for England and the US Common Core: o'clock and half past first, then quarter past and quarter to, then 5 minutes, then the nearest minute, then the 24-hour clock (a.m. and p.m. in the US) and elapsed time.
| Level | England | US |
|---|---|---|
| 1. O'clock | Year 1 | Grade 1 |
| 2. Half past | Year 1 | Grade 1 |
| 3. Quarter past and quarter to | Year 2 | Grade 2 |
| 4. To 5 minutes | Year 2 | Grade 2 |
| 5. To the minute | Year 3 | Grade 3 |
| 6. 24-hour clock | Year 3–4 | Grade 3 |
| 7. How long? | Year 3–4 | Grade 3 |
How the game teaches
- Children set the hands themselves, not just pick an answer, so mix-ups between the hands show up quickly.
- A wrong answer gets a short hint about what went wrong, and a similar question comes back a little later.
- Every time can be shown in UK wording (“quarter past”) or US wording (“quarter after”).
- Rounds are short, so a child can stop after a few minutes and pick up where they left off.
Safe for children
Clocktopus collects no personal information, shows no adverts and shares nothing with advertisers or data companies. Progress is saved only in the browser on the device a child plays on. The privacy page has the details, and the terms explain how you can print and share the worksheets.
Contact
Ideas, corrections or a question? Email hello@playclocktopus.com. We read every message.