Quarter Past and Quarter To Game
Level 3 · Year 2 (UK) · Grade 2 (US)
Level 3 · Quarter past and quarter to
The big ferry trip
10 rounds. Take your time and have a go!
What children learn: quarter past and quarter to
Quarter past means the minute hand has gone a quarter of the way round and points at 3. Quarter to means there is a quarter of the way left before the next o'clock, so the minute hand points at 9.
"To" is the big step. At quarter to 4 the hour hand is nearly on 4, but the time still says 4, not 3. The game uses past and to in UK wording, and quarter after and quarter to in US wording.
Common mistakes
Expect children to say quarter past when they mean quarter to, and to name the wrong hour for "to" times: quarter to 4 read as quarter to 3. The game notices which of these a child makes most, and gives them more of those times to practise.
Tip for parents
Fold a paper circle in half and then in quarters. Colour the right half "past" and the left half "to". It shows why quarter to sits on the left, and why it belongs to the next hour.
Tip for teachers
Open the teaching clock alongside the game and turn on past/to shading. When children get quarter to wrong, the hint says how far is left to go until the next o'clock.
A five-minute class activity
Quarter turns: everyone faces the front (o'clock). Call quarter past, half past or quarter to, and children make a quarter, half or three-quarter turn to the right. Ask what the next o'clock will be.