▶ TrainingGet Pro
Menu
All tools & lessonsAll toolsAllGet the appApp
Learning departments Music, Math, Cookery, Programming and Art are open – explore →

Telling time – Grade 1 math lesson

Lesson 12 of 15 in the Grade 1 math course

US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 1 (ages 6–7) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.

Time
45 minutes + 15 min homework
Grade
Grade 1 (ages 6–7)
You need
Paper, a pencil and this page
Graded
Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.

  1. Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
  2. Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
  3. Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
  4. Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why does the hour hand move only a little when the minute hand goes all the way round?”
  5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

  • Mixing up the hour hand and the minute hand. Long hand = long word "minutes".
  • Reading the hour wrongly when the hour hand is between two numbers. The hour is the number the short hand has just passed.

Tip for home: Ask "What time is it?" at mealtimes and look at a real clock together.

What your child will learn

Learning goal: tell time to the hour, half hour and five minutes.

Success looks like

  • I can tell the time on the hour and half hour.
  • I can tell quarter past and quarter to.
  • I can count the minutes in 5s.

Key words

hour hand
the short hand
minute hand
the long hand
o'clock
exactly on the hour
half past
30 minutes after the hour

What to have ready

  • Paper and a pencil
  • This page on a computer, tablet or phone
  • For the hands-on part: Use a teaching clock or a paper plate clock. Set times for daily events: breakfast, school, bedtime. No clocks? Draw clock faces and hands on paper plates.

The big ideas (for the adult)

The short hand points to the hour. The long hand points to the minutes.

When the long hand points to 12 it is on the hour (3:00); to 6 it is 30 minutes past (3:30); to 3, 15 minutes past (3:15); to 9, 45 minutes past (3:45).

Each number on the clock is 5 minutes for the long hand, so count in 5s to find the minutes.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
PartTimeHow it is checked
Starter: quick recall5 minGraded by Classfern
Teaching input10 minNot assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice9 minNot assessed, graded by Classfern
Independent practice15 minGraded by Classfern
Closure and exit ticket6 minGraded by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.

More practice

All Grade 1 math lessons and tests · Math Department

More Grade 1 math lessons

Curriculum

Common Core State Standards 1.MD.B.3: “Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.”

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.