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Telling time: minutes and a.m. and p.m.

Read the minute hand, say times like quarter past and half past, and know what a.m. and p.m. mean.

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Let us begin

The big idea

You can already read the hour. Now let us learn about minutes and the clock for the whole day. Knowing the time helps us reach school, finish work and plan our day.

The short hand is the hour hand. The long hand is the minute hand. When the minute hand points at 12, it is an o'clock time. At 3 it is a quarter past, at 6 it is half past, and at 9 it is quarter to the next hour.

The minute hand moves 5 minutes for every number. When it points at 1, that is 5 minutes. At 2 it is 10 minutes, at 3 it is 15 minutes, and so on until 12, which is 60 minutes.

There are 60 minutes in 1 hour. There are 24 hours in 1 whole day, but the clock face shows only 12 hours. So the same clock time comes twice a day.

We use a.m. for times from midnight to noon, and p.m. for times from noon to midnight. 7 a.m. is in the morning. 7 p.m. is in the evening.

Minutes on the clock faceA clock face with the numbers 12, 3, 6 and 9 marked, each with a label: 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes and 45 minutes. 12 3 6 9 0 min 15 min 30 min 45 min
The minute hand moves 5 minutes for each number.

Worked examples

See how it works

  1. Half past

    The hour hand is between 4 and 5 and the minute hand points at 6. The time is half past 4, or 4:30. It is 30 minutes after 4 o'clock.

  2. Quarter to

    The hour hand is near 8 and the minute hand points at 9. The time is a quarter to 8, or 7:45. It is 15 minutes before 8 o'clock.

  3. A.m. and p.m.

    School starts at 8 a.m., which is in the morning. Dinner is at 8 p.m., which is at night. The clock face looks the same for both.

Try it at home

Paper plate clock

You will need

  • A paper plate
  • Two strips of card for hands
  • A split pin or a pencil and a piece of clay
  • A marker

What to do

  1. Write the numbers 1 to 12 around the plate like a clock.
  2. Make one hand short for hours and one long for minutes. Fix them in the middle.
  3. Ask someone to call out a time, such as half past 5.
  4. Move the hands to show it. The minute hand goes to 6, the hour hand sits between 5 and 6.
  5. Check against a real clock at home.

Ask a grown-up: An adult can help fix the hands and call out times.

Practice sheet

Check what you learned

Write your answers in a notebook, or print this sheet and write on it. When you finish, mark your work with the answer key.

Practice sheet: Telling time: minutes and a.m. and p.m. (Classes 3-5, Life skills and money)

  1. How many minutes are in 1 hour?
  2. Which hand is longer, the hour hand or the minute hand?
  3. The minute hand points at 3. How many minutes past the hour is it?
  4. The minute hand points at 6. What do we call that time?
  5. The minute hand points at 9. How many minutes past the hour is it?
  6. What does a.m. mean?
  7. Is 7 p.m. in the morning or the evening?
  8. How many minutes does the minute hand move from one number to the next?
  9. The hour hand is between 3 and 4, and the minute hand is at 6. What is the time?
  10. School starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. How many hours is school?

Answer key

Answers: Telling time: minutes and a.m. and p.m.

Do the practice sheet first, then check here. If an answer is different from yours, read the lesson again and try once more.

  1. 60 minutes.
  2. The minute hand.
  3. 15 minutes (quarter past).
  4. Half past.
  5. 45 minutes (quarter to the next hour).
  6. The time from midnight to noon.
  7. The evening.
  8. 5 minutes.
  9. Half past 3, or 3:30.
  10. 6 hours (from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.).

What next

Keep learning

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All 3 life skills and money lessons for classes 3 to 5 on one page, with every practice sheet and answer key, ready to print.

Life skills and money for classes 3 to 5

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