Year 1: Telling the time to the hour

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 3
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   3 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 3 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 3 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 7
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   7 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 7 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 7 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 10
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   10 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 10 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 10 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 1
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   1 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 1 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 1 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 11
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   11 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 11 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 11 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Key words. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes. O’clock means the long hand is on 12.

Method. Look at the long hand first. Then look at the short hand.

1. Look at the long hand. When the long hand points to 12, the time is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. The short hand shows the hour.
   Short hand on 6
3. Say the time. Say the number the short hand points to, then o’clock.
   6 o’clock

Check. The short hand points to 6 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 6 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Look at the short hand for the hour. The long hand is not the hour.

Method. The short hand shows the hour.

1. Look at the short hand. It shows the hour.
   Short hand points to 4
2. Check the long hand. It is on 12, so it is o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
3. Write the answer.
   4

Check. The short hand points to 4 and the long hand points to 12, so it is 4 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Read the short hand, not the long hand, when you want the hour.

Method. Find the clock that shows 4 o’clock. Check both hands.

1. Look at the short hand on each clock. The short hand shows the hour.
   The hour hand is on 4
2. Look at the long hand. The long hand shows the minutes: 12 for o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
3. Write the letter. Only one clock has both hands in the right place.
   Clock B

Check. The other clocks have the wrong hour or the wrong minutes. ✓

Watch out. Check both hands, not just one. The long hand alone can be on 6 for different hours.

Method. Check the clock, then compare it with what was said.

1. Look at the long hand. It shows the minutes.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. It shows the hour.
   Short hand on 10
3. Compare with what was said. The clock shows 10 o’clock, not 4 o’clock.
   No. It is 10 o’clock.

Check. Read the clock again: the hour hand is at 10 and the long hand is on 12. ✓

Watch out. Check the short hand for the hour and the long hand for the minutes.

Method. An hour later, the short hand moves on to the next number.

1. Start at 7 o’clock. Put your finger on the short hand.
   7 o’clock
2. Move the short hand on one number. The long hand stays where it is.
   7 + 1 = 8
3. Write the answer.
   8 o’clock

Check. One hour earlier than 8 o’clock is 7 o’clock. ✓

Watch out. Only the short hand moves on. The long hand stays in the same place.

Method. Think about where the two hands point.

1. Look at the long hand. It must point straight up at 12 for o’clock.
   Long hand on 12
2. Look at the short hand. It shows the hour, so it points to a number.
   Short hand on a number
3. Say the reason.
   The long hand points to 12.

Check. A clock that shows half past has the long hand on 6, not 12. ✓

Watch out. You can say the time for any o’clock: long hand on 12, short hand on the hour.