Kids meet the analog clock and learn to read times to the hour. Wondy the Globe hosts, and the lesson ends with a quick quiz so learners can check what they remember. Try pausing at each quiz question and letting your learner answer out loud.
What's in this lesson
- The parts of a clock
- The hour hand and the minute hand
- Reading o'clock times
- A what-time-is-it quiz
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About this math lesson
Telling time on an analog clock is a 1st grade math skill that children use every day. This free video explains the clock face, the short hour hand and the long minute hand, and shows how to read times to the hour, such as 3 o'clock.
Key ideas
- The short hand is the hour hand; the long hand is the minute hand
- When the minute hand points to 12, it is an o'clock time
- Read the number the hour hand points to: that is the hour
- A clock has 12 numbers, and the hour hand goes around twice each day
Questions parents and teachers ask
What grade do kids learn to tell time?
Most US students learn to tell time to the hour and half hour in 1st grade, then to five minutes in 2nd grade.
How do you explain o'clock to a child?
When the long minute hand points straight up at 12, the time is o'clock. The short hand shows which hour it is.
What is the difference between the hour hand and minute hand?
The hour hand is short and moves slowly. The minute hand is long and goes all the way around the clock once every hour.
