Measurement

Telling the time

Read a clock to the nearest five minutes, and use o'clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to.

A clock has two hands. The short one shows the hour and the long one shows the minutes.

Count the minutes in fives

The numbers round a clock are five minutes apart. When the long hand points at 4, it is 20 minutes past.

Have a play

Here is a clock face. Find the short hand and the long hand.

Tap any part of the picture.

Worked example

The clock says 3:30. What do we call that?

  1. The long hand is at 6, which is halfway round the clock.

    Halfway round the clock is half of an hour.

Try it together

Let us read a clock where the long hand points at 9.

The short hand is somewhere between 7 and 8.

    1.Each number is worth five minutes. What is 9 × 5?

    Have a go

    Have a go on your own: the clock says 2:15. What do we call that?

    Ready to practise?

    Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.

    Print a worksheet