Telling the Time to 5 Minutes Game

What children learn: telling the time to the nearest 5 minutes

Each number on the clock face is 5 minutes for the minute hand: 1 is 5 minutes, 2 is 10, 3 is 15, and so on. Children count in fives round the clock to find the minutes.

In the UK children learn these as "20 past 4" and "10 to 5". In the US the digital form, 4:20 and 4:50, comes first, so the game shows digital times when the wording is set to US.

Common mistakes

The most common mistake is reading the number the minute hand points at as the minutes, so 4 becomes "4 minutes" instead of 20. Others mix up past and to, or pick the wrong hour once the minute hand passes 6. Hints in the game name the exact slip.

Tip for parents

Count in fives together while pointing at each number on a clock. A common mistake is reading the number itself as the minutes ("it's on the 4, so 4 minutes"). Ask "How many fives is that?"

Tip for teachers

Turn on minute numbers on the teaching clock for children who still need them, then turn them off. The game spots children who read the number as the minutes and serves more of those times.

A five-minute class activity

Fives round the room: put the numbers 1 to 12 on the classroom walls like a clock face. Point to a number, and the class calls out the minutes, past or to. Speed up as they get confident.