How to teach telling time, step by step
- The hour hand first. Start with o'clock times and talk only about the short hand: at 3 o'clock it points straight at the 3, and the long hand is on the 12.
- Half past. At 7:30 the minute hand points at the 6 and the hour hand sits halfway between the 7 and the 8. That halfway position is the detail children miss most often, so every clock here puts the hour hand exactly where a real clock would, never straight on the number.
- Count by fives. Once children can skip count by 5, the numbers on the face turn into minutes: the 1 means 5 minutes, the 2 means 10, the 4 means 20. Choose Numbers + minutes to print 00, 05, 10 … around the outside of each clock while they learn.
- Quarter past and quarter to. A quarter of an hour is 15 minutes. Quarter past 4 is 4:15; quarter to 5 is 4:45, with the hour hand already close to the 5.
- To the minute. Count by fives to the last number the minute hand passed, then count on by ones.
| Level | Usual grade | Common Core |
|---|---|---|
| To the hour and half hour | 1st grade | 1.MD.B.3 |
| To the quarter hour and to 5 minutes | 2nd grade | 2.MD.C.7 |
| To the minute | 3rd grade | 3.MD.A.1 |
Free telling time worksheets, blank clocks and an interactive clock
Read the clock prints 1 to 12 clocks with hands and a line to write the time, with a name and date line at the top. Draw the hands prints clocks without hands and a digital time underneath; remind children that the hour hand is the short one. New worksheet draws a fresh set of times, and a page never repeats a time while unused ones remain (to the hour there are only 12, so a page of 12 shows each once). On the 5-minute and minute levels most quarter-hour times are left out so the sheet stays a real challenge. These printable telling time worksheets and clock worksheets cover telling time to the hour, telling time to the half hour, quarter hours, and telling time to the nearest 5 minutes or minute, for 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade.
Answer key: set Answers to Show and print again. Read-the-clock sheets get the time in red, draw-the-hands sheets get the hands drawn in, on the same clocks.
Blank clock face printable: choose Blank clock faces. One per page gives a large blank clock template for a classroom display or a paper-plate clock; 4 to 12 per page suit practice. Pick numbers, numbers with minutes, or no numbers at all for children who are learning where the numbers go.
Interactive clock: drag the long hand and the short hand follows, just as on a real geared clock; pass the 12 and the hour changes. You can also drag the short hand or type a time. The digital time and the time in words, such as "quarter to eight", update as you go, so it works as a demonstration clock on the board, and it prints too. For skip counting by 5 before minutes, use the hundreds chart or a number line; for timing the activity itself, the classroom timer.
How we tested this tool
We checked the maker by script in Google Chrome on Windows across 756 sheets: read-the-clock, draw-the-hands and blank sheets at all five levels, 1 to 12 clocks per page, three clock faces, with and without answers, on Letter and A4. In the 4,284 clocks every time fits its level (o'clock, :30, :15 steps, 5 or 1 minutes), no time repeats on a page, every clock and its time line stay inside their space, and the hands point exactly where they should, with the hour hand moved along by the minutes (at 7:30 it sits halfway between 7 and 8). Answer keys show the right time on the same clocks, and no two numbers or labels overlap. On 5-minute sheets about 1 clock in 10 shows a quarter-hour time. On the interactive clock we dragged the minute hand forward and back past 12 (10:50 to 11:05 and back to 10:55), dragged the hour hand, typed a time, and checked the time in words, such as "quarter to five" and "20 minutes to twelve". The first version let the long hand hide the 12 and the 6, so the numbers are now drawn on top of the hands. We printed sheets to PDF with Microsoft Edge (one US Letter portrait page) and tested the page at a 375 px phone width.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best order to teach telling time?
Start with o'clock times, then half past, then counting the minutes by fives, then quarter past and quarter to, and finally the nearest minute. Each step builds on the one before, so move on only when the last one is secure.
Why is the hour hand between two numbers?
Because it moves slowly all through the hour. At 7:30 it is halfway from the 7 to the 8, and at 7:45 it is three quarters of the way. Children who read it as pointing at the 8 will say 8:30 instead of 7:30, the most common mistake.
How do you read quarter past and quarter to?
Quarter past means 15 minutes after the hour, with the minute hand on the 3: quarter past 4 is 4:15. Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour, with the minute hand on the 9: quarter to 5 is 4:45.
What grade learns to tell time?
In the Common Core, 1st grade tells time in hours and half hours, 2nd grade to the nearest five minutes with a.m. and p.m., and 3rd grade to the nearest minute, including how much time has passed.
Can I print a blank clock face?
Yes. Choose Blank clock faces and pick 1 to 12 per page. One per page gives a large blank clock template; choose No numbers if children should write the numbers in themselves.
Is there an answer key?
Yes. Set Answers to Show and print again. Read-the-clock sheets show each time in red and draw-the-hands sheets show the hands, on the same clocks as the sheet on screen.