Time Guide

How to Tell Time

A Simple Visual Guide for Kids

Telling time on an analog clock takes practice. This guide breaks it down — hour hand, minute hand, and how to read minutes past and minutes to the hour.

Practice Telling Time

The Two Rules:

1. Short hand = HOUR

2. Long hand = MINUTES (count by 5s)

How to Read an Analog Clock

Step by step — from the clock face to telling exact time

The clock face

Two hands and 12 numbers

🕐 12 at top, 6 at bottom

The short hand is the hour hand. The long hand is the minute hand. The numbers 1-12 go around the clock.

Read the hour first

Look at the short hand

Short hand → hour

The hour hand tells what hour it is. It points to a number or between two numbers.

Count by 5s for minutes

Each number = 5 minutes

1→5, 2→10, 3→15, 4→20, 5→25, 6→30

12 = 0 min, 1 = 5 min, 2 = 10 min, 3 = 15 min, 4 = 20 min, 5 = 25 min, 6 = 30 min...

Read the minutes

Look at the long hand

Long hand at 4 → :20

Count how many minutes past the hour. If the long hand points to 4, it is 20 minutes past the hour.

Put it together

Hour + Minutes = The time

3:20 → "twenty past three"

Hour hand past 3, minute hand at 4 = 3:20 (twenty past three).

Minutes to the next hour

When minute hand passes 6

3:45 → "quarter to four"

After 30 minutes, we say minutes TO the next hour. 3:45 = "quarter to four".

Minute Reference — Count by 5s

1 → 5 min

2 → 10 min

3 → 15 min

4 → 20 min

5 → 25 min

6 → 30 min

7 → 35 min

8 → 40 min

9 → 45 min

10 → 50 min

11 → 55 min

12 → 60/0 min

💡 When the long hand points to a number, multiply by 5 to get the minutes!

Practice Telling Time

Cover the reading, say the time aloud, then check