Display the two times, 8:47 and 9:25, side by side. Take three hands-up guesses on "more or less than half an hour" before any calculating. Give five seconds of quiet think-time first.

Walk the three examples one at a time.

• 8:47 to 9:25 — count the first hop aloud with the class: 47, 50, 55, 60 — that's 3 then 5 then 5, so 13 minutes to nine o'clock. Then add the 25 minutes more; the elapsed readout confirms 38 min. Sketch the two-hop number line on the board beside the clock as you say it: a short 13-min jump to the o'clock, then a longer 25-min jump to 9:25.
• 10:15 to 10:55 — both inside one hour, so just one hop of 40 minutes.
• 6:30 to 7:00 — ask the class for this one before revealing; a clean 30 minutes.

Stress that the o'clock is the friendly stop we count up to first.

This round is for talking it through together — pupils take turns at the board and the class agrees or corrects out loud.

Work through this prepared set, calling each arrival once the start is set. The clock opens on 9:20.

• Start 9:20, arrive 9:50 — within the hour, 30 minutes.
• Start 7:15, arrive 7:55 — within the hour, 40 minutes.
• Start 8:50, arrive 9:10 — crosses the o'clock: 10 min to 9:00, then 10 more, 20 minutes.
• Start 10:48, arrive 11:05 — crosses the o'clock: 12 min to 11:00, then 5 more, 17 minutes.
• Start 6:35, arrive 7:20 — crosses the o'clock: 25 min to 7:00, then 20 more, 45 minutes.
• Start 11:42, arrive 12:10 — crosses the o'clock: 18 min to 12:00, then 10 more, 28 minutes.

For each one, set the start, call the arrival, and have one pupil drag the hands forward while the class counts the two hops aloud. Revoice a strong answer: so 10 minutes got us to the hour, then 10 more — that's 20 minutes. Watch for pupils who count the o'clock twice; the hop to the hour and the hop from the hour share the o'clock once, not twice.

This round is the practice bank — pupils take turns at the board, but the class predicts the journey length out loud first, then moves the hands to confirm. Keep the board work brisk rather than over-explaining.

The clock opens on each departure time. Have the class count the two hops and call the total before a pupil drags the hands; the readout then confirms or corrects. Watch the two that cross the o'clock (8:50 and 11:48) — these are where the bridge matters most. Confirm each elapsed total aloud as a class.

Recap the two-hop method one more time. Flag for yourself that the next lesson extends elapsed time across several hours and across midnight, building directly on today's bridge-through-the-hour idea.