Tick · tock · let's find out
Two hands live on a round face. One is short and slow. One is long and fast. Together they tell you when to wake up, when to read, and when the swings are waiting.
Before you can read a clock you need its three parts: the face, the short hour hand, and the long minute hand. Point at each one as you read the steps.
the minute hand always stands on 12 when it's o'clock!
The short hand is the hour hand. It points to the number of the hour. If it points at 7, it is 7 something.
“Short hand tells the hour.”The long hand is the minute hand. When it points straight up at the 12, no minutes have walked past yet — it is exactly o'clock.
“Long on twelve, say it plain: o'clock!”When the long hand points at the 6, half of the circle has gone by — that's half past. The short hand stands in between two numbers. That's the clue!
“Long hand low, sitting between → half past.”Point with your finger and say it: “seven o'clock”, “half past seven.” Then check the day: is it morning, afternoon, or night?
“Say it, then ask: what do we do at 7?”Drag a hand around the clock, or use the buttons. Then take the challenge: read the time in words, set the hands to match.
Press Give me a time. Read it, then move the hands on the clock until they match. Press Check my clock when you're sure.
The clock shows a time. Find the words that match it. Five in a row and you get the Time Reader sticker below!
hint: look at the long hand first
Scroll the line sideways. Every picture is a moment that happens at the same clock time again and again — that's how you learn to feel an hour.
Half past six — the light is already on the wall.
Seven o'clock, right on the nose. Long hand on 12.
Half past eight — short hand sits between 8 and 9.
Nine o'clock. Both hands make a right angle — an L!
Both hands stand straight up on top of each other.
Half past three. The day is sliding toward home.
Six o'clock — the long hand points straight down at 12 again.
Half past seven. Then lights low, and the clock keeps walking.
Question for you: what happens at half past your favourite number?
Tap one card, then tap the card that says the same time a different way. Matched pairs turn green and stay put.
These five moments are mixed up. Use the arrows to put them in the order they happen — earliest clock time at the top.
Numbers on a clock go 1, 2, 3 … 12 and then start again. So 7:30 in the morning comes before 3:30 in the afternoon, even though 3 is a smaller number than 7. Ask: what part of the day?
A grown-up says a time. If it's o'clock, clap the number of the hour (four claps for 4 o'clock). If it's half past, clap once and stomp once. Fastest round: 10 times.
Stick these on the fridge. A child who can name the parts can read the clock.
Exactly on the hour. The long hand points up at 12.
Try it: “It's two o'clock, put the blocks away.”Thirty minutes after the hour. The long hand points down at 6.
Try it: find where “half” is on a pizza.The short, slow hand. It points to the hour number.
Try it: whisper “short and slow.”The long, fast hand. It walks all the way round in one hour.
Try it: watch it move for one whole minute.Morning hours — from midnight until noon.
Try it: breakfast is a.m., dinner is p.m.Afternoon and evening hours — from noon until midnight.
Try it: is bedtime a.m. or p.m.?Twelve o'clock in the daytime. Your shadow is shortest.
Try it: step outside and look down.Twelve o'clock at night. The day officially starts again.
Try it: draw what you're doing then.Bonus words! 15 minutes after, or 15 minutes before.
Try it: cut an apple into 4 equal pieces.Read each card out loud, work it out with your finger on a clock, then flip it to check.
Two hands walking round a hill,
one goes slow and one goes quick.
Slow hand says, “It's time for bed.”
Quick hand says, “Not yet — one more tick!”
Go on a clock hunt. How many of these can you find this week — in your house, on a street, in a station?
An hour has 60 minutes because a people called the Babylonians liked counting in 60s — 60 can be split into halves, thirds, quarters, fifths and sixths without leaving bits.
A clock face has 12 numbers because 12 is easy to share: two hands, three hands, four hands, six hands — it splits evenly every time. Count the groups on a clock face with you: 12 ÷ 2 = 6 groups, 12 ÷ 3 = 4 groups…
and every number on the face is 5 minutes apart — 5, 10, 15, 20 …
A clock you built yourself is the best clock to practise on. You'll use it for the next three weeks.
A paper plate (or a circle of cardboard), a marker, two paper strips, one peg or brass fastener, and a helper for the scissors.
Lesson 10 of 12 this month. Telling time is one of the trickiest abstract skills at six — the circle of numbers is genuinely strange. Slow is fine.
Finish the six activities and every star lights up. Do it and you're officially a Time Reader — take a photo of the chart and keep it in your learning folder.
six stars for six activities
Name: ____________________ Date: ____________
1. Write the time under each clock, both ways.
2. Draw the hands: 5 o'clock · half past 2 · 11 o'clock · half past 8.
3. What do you do at 7:30 in the morning? ______________________________