Quarter Past and Quarter To: Why Kids Mix Them Up

Where the quarters come from

An hour is a whole circle. Cut the circle in four and each piece is a quarter, which is 15 minutes. The first quarter takes the long hand from the 12 to the 3, and that's quarter past. Two quarters is half past. Three quarters takes it to the 9, leaving one quarter to go. That's quarter to.

Why quarter to feels backwards

All the way up to half past, we name the hour we've left. At quarter to, we suddenly name the next one, while a digital clock still shows the old hour. So 2:45 on a screen becomes quarter to three out loud. Children often work out the right hour and then pick the wrong word, saying quarter past three. That's a different time, half an hour away.

How to make it stick

Draw a line down a clock from the 12 to the 6. The right side is past: we've gone past the hour. The left side is to: we're going to the next hour. Then ask just one question: which side is the long hand on? Folding a paper plate into quarters helps too, because children can see where the words come from.

How to do it with Clockwood

1. Fold a paper plate into quarters and color them in.
2. Set 2:45 on the teaching clock and ask which side the long hand is on.
3. Play the quarter past and quarter to level.
4. Print a write-it-in-words sheet at the quarter level.

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