Telling time to the minute (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
The lesson
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 morning times, the hour stays the same: 6:45 a.m. becomes 06:45. For afternoon and evening times, add 12 to the hour: 8:15 p.m. becomes 20:15.
To change any p.m. time into 24-hour notation, just add 12 to the hour. 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 afternoon and evening hours.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
8 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.