🔢 Maths

Telling the Time: O'Clock

Ages 5–7

You will learn

Read o'clock times on a clock with hands.

Before you start

Knowing the numbers 1 to 12.

Quick answer

When the long hand points to 12, it is an o'clock time. Then look at the short hand: the number it points to tells you the hour. Short hand on 3 and long hand on 12 means 3 o'clock.

Let’s learn

A clock has the numbers 1 to 12 around it, and two hands.

  • The short hand is the hour hand. It tells us the hour.
  • The long hand is the minute hand.

O’clock

When the long hand points straight up to 12, it is an o’clock time.

Then look at the short hand. The number it points to is the hour.

Example

🕓 The long hand points to 12. The short hand points to 4. It is 4 o’clock.

Try it

Stand up tall like a clock. Point one arm straight up (that is the long hand on 12). Point your other arm to the side for 3 o’clock!

Check what you know

Choose an answer, then press Check. You can try again if you need to.

  1. 1 When it is an o'clock time, where does the long hand point?
  2. 2 The short hand points to 3. The long hand points to 12. What time is it?
  3. 3 The short hand points to 8. The long hand points to 12. What time is it?
  4. 4 Which hand tells us the hour?
  5. 5 It is 6 o'clock. What time will it be one hour later?
  6. 6 How many numbers are on a clock face?

Try this next

With a grown-up, make a paper plate clock. Write 1 to 12 around the edge and make two paper hands. Show the time you wake up and the time you eat lunch.