Teacher guide · Think Lab · Easier · about 30 min

🕒 O'Clock and Half Past

Pupils practise problem solving through "O'Clock and Half Past": Read simple times on a clock.

Lesson guide

1. Hook · 5 min
Show the 🕒 mission title and read the opening: "The long hand points at 12, the short hand at 3. Time?". Take three quick guesses.
2. Model · 5 min
Think aloud through the first step together. Use Cog the Owl's line as your prompt: "Good thinking. Show me the why."
3. Do · 10 min
Pairs work through the 3 steps on screen or on the printed sheet. Circulate and ask "why?"
4. Discuss · 10 min
Use two or three of the discussion questions. Ask pairs to share different answers, not just correct ones.
5. Reflect · 5 min
Exit ticket: one sentence on how they used problem solving today.

What was the hardest choice in "O'Clock and Half Past", and why?
The long hand points at 12, the short hand at 3. Time — explain your reasoning to a partner.
The long hand points at 6. That means… — explain your reasoning to a partner.
Where could you use problem solving outside school this week?
If you did this again, what would you change?

Support: Read prompts aloud, pair with a confident partner, and accept spoken or drawn answers for writing steps.

Stretch: Ask pupils to create their own extra step for a partner and explain the correct answer.

National Curriculum: Maths: number, calculation, fractions and reasoning (KS1/KS2)
National Curriculum: Maths: reasoning mathematically and problem solving
National Curriculum: Computing: logical reasoning and algorithms
PSHE: Living in the wider world: making decisions and evaluating choices

Pupil sheet

Name: ____________________ Date: __________

1. The long hand points at 12, the short hand at 3. Time?
☐ 12 o'clock
☐ 3 o'clock
☐ Half past 3
2. The long hand points at 6. That means…
☐ Half past
☐ O'clock
☐ Quarter past
3. Put these in order from earliest.
___ 7 o'clock
___ 8 o'clock
___ Half past 7
___ Half past 8