Converting units of time – Year 3 maths lesson
UK version. UK school years, UK spelling and pounds (£). · US Math Department
A complete 45-minute lesson for Year 3 (ages 7–8) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is marked straight away, with a worked explanation.
- Time
- 45 minutes + 15 min homework
- Year
- Year 3 (ages 7–8)
- You need
- Paper, a pencil and this page
- Marked
- Instantly, with explanations
For parents: how to use this lesson
You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, the way Mr Euclid, our Head of Maths, likes it: one tidy step at a time. Every answer is marked straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to mark anything.
- Read what your child will learn together.
- Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
- Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
- Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why is 135 minutes not 1 hour 35 minutes?”
- Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.
Watch out for
- Treating an hour as 100 minutes (135 minutes = 1 hour 35 minutes). Count round a clock face in 5s: one hour is 60 minutes.
- Forgetting the extra minutes when converting 2 hours 25 minutes. Convert the hours, then add on the minutes.
Miss Hypatia's tip for home: Work out how long a film, journey or TV programme lasts in minutes.
What your child will learn
We are learning to convert between units of time.
Success looks like
- I know how many seconds, minutes and hours are in each unit.
- I can convert by multiplying.
- I can change minutes into hours and minutes.
Key words
- second, minute, hour
- units of time
- convert
- change from one unit to another
- duration
- how long something lasts
What to have ready
- Paper and a pencil
- This page on a computer, tablet or phone
- For the hands-on part: Use a teaching clock to count on in minutes from one time to another. No clocks? Draw a clock face or use a real clock.
The lesson, step by step
| Part | Time | How it is checked |
|---|---|---|
| Starter: quick recall | 5 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Teaching input | 10 min | Not assessed, self-checked |
| Worked examples and guided practice | 9 min | Not assessed, marked by Classfern |
| Independent practice | 15 min | Marked by Classfern |
| Plenary and exit ticket | 6 min | Marked by Classfern, self-checked |
Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are marked by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.
The lesson
It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.
Homework and practice at home
15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all marked instantly.
More practice
More Year 3 maths lessons
Curriculum
National Curriculum for England, Year 3: “know the number of seconds in a minute and the number of days in each month, year and leap year”
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.