Lesson: Telling Time

Understanding how to tell time is an important skill that helps us stay organized and manage our day. In this lesson, we’ll learn about reading a clock, understanding AM and PM, and telling time to the nearest minute.

Understanding the Clock

A clock has two main parts: the hour hand and the minute hand.

  • The hour hand is shorter and moves slowly, showing which hour it is.
  • The minute hand is longer and moves faster, showing how many minutes have passed.

A clock is divided into 12 hours. Each number on the clock represents an hour. The minute hand moves around the clock, and each full circle equals 60 minutes (1 hour).

  • Example: When the minute hand points to 12 and the hour hand points to 3, it is 3:00.

AM and PM

We divide the day into two parts: AM and PM.

  • AM (from midnight to noon) means morning time.
    • Example: 7:00 AM is early in the morning.
  • PM (from noon to midnight) means afternoon and evening.
    • Example: 7:00 PM is in the evening.

Half Past and Quarter Past

When telling time, we use special terms like “half past” and “quarter past” to describe certain times:

  • Half past means 30 minutes past the hour.
    • Example: If it’s 3:30, we say it’s half past three.
  • Quarter past means 15 minutes past the hour.
    • Example: If it’s 2:15, we say it’s quarter past two.
  • Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour.
    • Example: If it’s 4:45, we say it’s quarter to five.

Telling Time: Nearest Five Minutes

Sometimes we need to tell time by rounding to the nearest five minutes. Each number on the clock represents 5 minutes.

  • Example: If the minute hand is on the 1, that means 5 minutes.
    • If it’s on the 2, that means 10 minutes, and so on.

If the minute hand is between numbers, you round to the closest 5-minute mark.

Telling Time: Nearest Minute

To be very precise, we can tell time to the nearest minute. There are 60 minutes in one hour, and every small line between the numbers on the clock represents 1 minute.

  • Example: If the minute hand is just past the 3, it might be 16 or 17 minutes past the hour.

Practice counting each small tick to get the exact minute.