Read clocks to the minute

What you will learn

• Read clocks to the minute

Models used: number sentences, stories, diagrams.

Before you start

• Find durations of one hour or half an hour

Count the minute spaces

It is 27 minutes past three in the afternoon. What do the two hands tell us?

1. Start at three o’clock. The short hand shows the hour; the long hand begins at twelve.

   The short and long hands have different jobs. A new notation can describe the same instant, with the day period made clear.

2. Each big number marks five minutes. Count five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five to reach the 5.

   5 × 5 = 25 minutes

3. Move two small minute spaces further. The minute hand now shows 27 minutes past the hour.

   25 + 2 = 27 minutes

4. The short hand is part of the way from three to four. Read the time as 3:27. Because our story says afternoon, use pm.

   3:27 pm

Worked example: A new example, together

Read the clock. It is before noon.

1. Read the hour and minute roles separately, then use the morning or afternoon information.

   The short hand locates the hour and the long hand counts minutes past it. The story tells us whether to use am or pm.

2. Read the hour from the short hand.

   Read the clock. It is before noon.

   8:19 am

3. Read the hour from the short hand.

4. Read minute marks from the long hand.

5. Use the time-of-day information: 8:19 am.

6. Check the result against the question we started with.

   The hour hand moves between hour numbers as the minutes pass.

   We found 8:19 am. The short hand locates the hour and the long hand counts minutes past it. The story tells us whether to use am or pm.

Common mistakes to discuss

• Reading the hour the hand is nearest. The hour is the number the short hand has passed. At 3:50 the short hand is close to 4, but the time is ten to four, not 4:50.

Check your understanding

• Read clocks to the minute
• connect clock hands and time notation without changing the instant
• check the answer against the original quantities and units

Explain your reasoning to an adult, then try a fresh question in the interactive lesson. A result from one attempt is not proof of lasting mastery.