Telling time to five minutes with a.m. and p.m. (age 7+)
Tell and write time from analogue and digital clocks to the nearest five minutes, using a.m., p.m., and 12-hour and 24-hour notation
What a learner can do afterwards
- Read the time to five minutes on an analogue clock face
- Write the time using digital notation (e.g. 3:25)
- Distinguish between a.m. and p.m. and relate to daily events
1 · Read
You already know how to read minutes on a clock. Now you will read them in fives and write the time the way a digital clock shows it. On an analogue clock, each number is 5 minutes further than the last: the 1 means 5 minutes, the 2 means 10 minutes, and so on around to the 12.
Priya wakes up at 6:45 in the morning. Because it is before midday, she writes 6:45 a.m. At night she goes to bed at 8:15, so she writes 8:15 p.m. The letters a.m. and p.m. tell you which half of the day it is.
Some clocks use 24-hour notation instead of a.m. and p.m. For 1 to 11 in the morning, the hour stays the same: 6:45 a.m. becomes 06:45. Midnight is special: 12:15 a.m. becomes 00:15. For 1 to 11 in the afternoon and evening, add 12 to the hour: 8:15 p.m. becomes 20:15. Midday is special: 12:30 p.m. stays 12:30.
To change 1 to 11 p.m. into 24-hour notation, add 12 to the hour. Keep 12 p.m. at 12, and change 12 a.m. to 00. Midnight is 00:00 and midday is 12:00.
Read each clock number as 5 minutes, then write the time with a.m. or p.m., or in 24-hour notation by adding 12 for 1 to 11 p.m. Keep 12 p.m. at 12 and turn 12 a.m. into 00.
More to read
Telling Time
A clock has two hands. The short hand is slow. It tells the hour. The long hand is fast. It tells the minutes. When the long hand points at 12, the minutes are zero. Short on 3 and long on 12 is 3:00. Each big number is worth 5 minutes. Long on 1 is 5 minutes. Long on 2 is 10 minutes. Long on 6 is 30 minutes. That is why long on 6 with short past 4 is half past 4. Write the hour first. Put two dots. Write the minutes next. Half past 2 is 2:30.
Telling time review
Time has two parts: hours and minutes. The short hand shows the hours. The long hand shows the minutes. Read the short hand first. If it sits between two numbers, pick the one it just passed. Then read the long hand. Count by fives from 12. Three steps past 12 is 15 minutes. Nine steps past is 45 minutes. For a digital clock, write the hour, two dots, and two minute digits. Twenty-five minutes past 3 is 3:25. Morning times take a.m. Night times take p.m. Lunch at midday is 12:00 p.m.
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2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
16 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.