Welcome to the Clock! Let’s learn to tell time together.
Telling time means reading a clock and saying what time it shows. There are two numbers to read: hours and minutes.
1. The Clock face
The clock has two hands:
- Hour hand is shorter. It shows which hour we are in.
- Minute hand is longer. It shows how many minutes past the hour.
There are 60 minutes in an hour. The minute hand moves around the clock once every 60 minutes.
2. Reading the hours
The hour numbers go from 1 to 12. After 12, it starts again at 1. The hour hand slowly moves from one number to the next as the minutes pass.
3. Reading the minutes
Minutes are counted in groups of 5. The clock face often has little marks for each minute. We count by fives when reading quickly:
- 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60
Each group of five minutes is shown by a tick mark. The numbers 1–12 on the clock are for hours. The minutes tell us how far past the hour we are.
4. Saying the time
We say the hour first, then the minutes. If the minute hand is on 12, we say the hour only, like “Three o’clock.”
- Example: If the hour hand is on 3 and the minute hand is on 12, we say: Three o’clock.
- Example: If the hour hand is between 3 and 4 and the minute hand is on 6, we say: Three thirty (or three thirty minutes).
5. Practice with simple times
Let’s look at some easy times:
- Hour hand on 2, minute hand on 12 → Two o’clock
- Hour hand on 2, minute hand on 3 (which is 15 minutes) → Two fifteen (or two fifteen)
- Hour hand on 5, minute hand on 6 (30 minutes) → Five thirty
6. Quick tips
- Count by fives to read minutes faster.
- When the minute hand is on 12, it’s the hour only (o’clock).
- Practice with a real clock or a printable clock face.
With a little practice, telling time becomes easy and fun!