How it works
The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes.
Count the long hand in fives. The 1 is 5 minutes, the 2 is 10, the 3 is 15, all the way round to the 12, which is 0 or 60.
Say the hour, then the minutes: 6:25 is 'six twenty-five'. A.m. is before noon and p.m. is after.
Worked examples
Read 6:25
- The short hand is between 6 and 7, so the hour is 6.
- The long hand is on the 5. Count in fives: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.
- The time is 6:25.
An afternoon time
- The short hand is between 1 and 2, so the hour is 1. The long hand is on the 7.
- 7 × 5 = 35 minutes.
- The sun is going down, so it is the afternoon: 1:35 p.m.
Late in the hour
- The short hand is between 9 and 10, so it is still past 9, not 10.
- The long hand is on the 10: 10 × 5 = 50 minutes.
- The time is 9:50. It is nearly 10 o'clock.
A taste of the worksheet
These are the first problems of set A. The printable sheet has many more, with an answer key.
- The clock shows the time school starts. Write the time. ___
- Look at the clock. Write the time. ___