Grade 1 · Time & Money · MAT-01-TIME-001
Tell Time to the Hour
Read analog and digital time to the hour.
Learning objectives
What you should be able to do
- Read analog and digital time to the hour.
- Explain the roles of the hour and minute hands at an exact hour.
- Find one hour before or after a stated o'clock time.
Prerequisite check
Make sure the foundation is ready.
Checks clock-face number recognition.
Learn
Build the idea from meaning, not memorization.
A clock shows repeating hours and minutes
A standard analog clock places the numbers 1 through 12 around a circle. The shorter hour hand tracks the hour while the longer minute hand tracks minutes within the hour.
Exactly on the hour, the minute hand points to 12
At 4:00, zero minutes have passed since four o'clock. The minute hand points to 12 and the hour hand points to 4.
Digital notation separates hours and minutes
The time 7:00 shows hour 7 and minute 00. The two zeros mean zero minutes past seven.
Hours form a sequence
One hour after 4:00 is 5:00 and one hour before 4:00 is 3:00. The 12-hour clock repeats after twelve.
Interactive math lab
Change it. See what stays true.
Interactive practice
Use the lesson tasks below to manipulate and explain the concept.
- move hour hand
- match digital
- one hour forward
- one hour back
- move hour hand
- match digital
- one hour forward
- one hour back
Worked examples
Twenty different ways to see the concept work.
Hour hand at 1, minute hand at 12.
1:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 1.
Hour hand at 2, minute hand at 12.
2:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 2.
Hour hand at 3, minute hand at 12.
3:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 3.
Hour hand at 4, minute hand at 12.
4:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 4.
Hour hand at 5, minute hand at 12.
5:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 5.
Hour hand at 6, minute hand at 12.
6:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 6.
Hour hand at 7, minute hand at 12.
7:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 7.
Hour hand at 8, minute hand at 12.
8:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 8.
Hour hand at 9, minute hand at 12.
9:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 9.
Hour hand at 10, minute hand at 12.
10:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 10.
Hour hand at 11, minute hand at 12.
11:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 11.
Hour hand at 12, minute hand at 12.
12:00The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past hour 12.
Read 7:00 in words.
seven o'clockThe minute value is zero.
One hour after 3:00.
4:00Advance to the next hour.
One hour before 9:00.
8:00Move back one hour.
Minute hand is not at 12. Is the clock exactly on an hour?
NoSome minutes have passed.
Which hand primarily shows the hour?
The shorter hour handIt points at or near the hour number.
Which hand shows minutes?
The longer minute handAt an exact hour it points to 12.
What does :00 mean?
Zero minutes past the hourThis is an exact o'clock time.
Explain 6:00.
Six o'clock; hour 6 and zero minutesAnalog and digital forms represent the same time.
Practice
Guided practice with hints
01Hour hand 4, minute hand 12.
Hint: Minute hand at 12 means :00.
Answer: 4:00
02Write eight o'clock digitally.
Hint: Use two digits for minutes.
Answer: 8:00
03One hour after 10:00.
Hint: Move to next hour.
Answer: 11:00
04One hour before 2:00.
Hint: Move back one hour.
Answer: 1:00
05Where is minute hand at exact hour?
Hint: At top of clock.
Answer: 12
06What do the two zeros mean?
Hint: No minutes have passed.
Answer: 0 minutes
Practice
Independent practice
01five o'clock
Answer: 5:00
029:00
Answer: nine o'clock
03hour hand 7, minute hand 12
Answer: 7:00
04one hour after 6:00
Answer: 7:00
05one hour before 12:00
Answer: 11:00
06minute hand at o'clock
Answer: 12
07hour hand tells what?
Answer: Hour
08:00 means?
Answer: Zero minutes
Common mistakes
Learn to catch the error, not just the answer.
Use the shorter hand for hour and longer hand for minutes on the teaching clock.
Write minutes with two digits: 4:00.
Exactly on the hour, the minute hand points to 12.
Applications & challenge
Use the idea beyond a single exercise.
Applications
- Read simple schedules with exact-hour times.
- Connect common daily events to o'clock times.
Challenge problems
Two hours after 3:00?
5:00
Three hours before 8:00?
5:00
Why does 12:00 lead to 1:00 on a 12-hour clock?
The clock cycle repeats after twelve.
How are analog 9:00 and digital 9:00 equivalent?
Both represent hour 9 and zero minutes.
Flashcards
Retrieve it from memory.
Flashcards
Card 1 of 4
Game mode
Clock Match: Hour
Match analog clocks, digital times, and spoken hour names.
Practice
Mastery check
01Read 3:00
Answer: three o'clock
02Write seven o'clock
Answer: 7:00
03Hour 10, minute hand 12
Answer: 10:00
04One hour after 8:00
Answer: 9:00
05One hour before 5:00
Answer: 4:00
06Minute hand at exact hour?
Answer: 12
07What does hour hand show?
Answer: Hour
08:00 means?
Answer: Zero minutes past the hour
Terminology
Words to know
- hour hand
- The clock hand that indicates the hour.
- minute hand
- The clock hand that indicates minutes.
- o'clock
- Exactly on an hour, with zero minutes past.
- digital time
- Time written with numerals such as 4:00.
Continue learning
Connected concepts
Curriculum references
Standards and instructional references
California Common Core State Standards for Mathematics — Grade 1 Measurement & Data
Grade 1 time-to-hour and half-hour progression.