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Telling Time to the Hour and Half-Hour

  • Grade 1
  • Mathematics
  • 1.MD.B.3
  • Measurement & Data
  • Free lesson

Aligned to 1.MD.B.3 — Common Core State Standards for Mathematics.

What this lesson teaches

A clock has an hour hand (short) and a minute hand (long). When the minute hand points to 12 it's o'clock; when it points to 6 it's half past.

Worked examples

Example 1

If the short hand is on 3 and the long hand is on 12, it's 3 o'clock. If the long hand is on 6, it's 3:30 (half past three).

Example 2

The short hand is a little past 7 and the long hand is on 6. It is 7:30 — half past seven.

Example 3

At 12 o'clock both hands point straight up at the 12, one on top of the other.

Practice questions

  1. What time is it when both hands point to 12?
  2. Draw hands for 2 o'clock.
  3. What does the long hand point to at half past?

Watch the lesson

Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.

▶ Watch this lesson

En español

Lectura del reloj a la hora y a la media hora

Un reloj tiene un manecilla de las horas (corta) y una manecilla de los minutos (larga). Cuando la manecilla de los minutos apunta al 12 es la hora en punto; cuando apunta al 6 son y media.

Ejemplo 1: Si la manecilla corta está en el 3 y la larga está en el 12, son las 3 en punto. Si la larga está en el 6, son las 3:30 (tres y media).

Ejemplo 2: La manecilla corta pasó un poco del 7 y la larga está en el 6. Son las 7:30 — siete y media.

Ejemplo 3: A las 12 en punto las dos manecillas apuntan hacia arriba al 12, una encima de la otra.

More Measurement & Data lessons

Measuring Length and Organizing Data1.MD.A.1Measuring with Cubes1.MD.A.2Reading Picture Data1.MD.C.4

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