Telling Time to the Half and Quarter Hour

Review o'clock times, then introduce half past with a paper plate clock and two paper hands. Students fill in the page in about ten minutes, saying each time aloud as they write it: quarter past three, three fifteen. Use the answer key to check, and ask them to point to the hour hand on any answer they missed. Repeat with a real clock at home during the day.

The big new idea is that the hour hand sits between two numbers. At half past three it is halfway toward the four, and children who expect it to point at a number read the wrong hour. They also learn that the minute hand pointing to the 3 means 15, the 6 means 30, and the 9 means 45. This follows o'clock and leads to reading time to five minutes.

The Times control opens on Quarter hours here. Switch to O'clock if the hour hand placement is confusing, or to Five minutes once quarter times are easy. The page size choices are 6, 12 or 20 clocks. Six gives space for talking through each clock. Have kids say the time in words, then digits, to link both ways.

Why is the hour hand between two numbers?

That is where it is at half past. It moves slowly as the minutes pass. Kids who think it points straight at a number would read 3:30 as 4:30, so look closely together.

Should my child write quarter past or 3:15?

Digits are what the answer key uses, and they match phones and ovens. Saying quarter past aloud while writing 3:15 ties the two together, so do both.

What does the minute hand on the 9 mean?

It means 45 minutes, which is also quarter to the next hour. Count by fives around the dial, or recall that each quarter turn is 15 minutes. A clock with moving hands makes it clear.