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🕐 Learning to Tell Time

Tick tock! Meet the clock and its two hands, then learn to read o'clock and half past times. A warm, gentle first step into telling the time.

lessons

~30 min

to learn

🔢 Math

subject

Ages 6–12

level

Start the course →

What you’ll learn

Meet the ClockIdentify the long (minute) hand and short (hour) hand and know the numbers 1–12 around the clock.A clock has numbers 1 to 12 around its face, with 12 at the top and 6 at the bottom. It has two hands: the long hand points to the minutes and the short hand points to the hour. Both hands join in the middle and turn slowly around.
O'Clock TimesRead o'clock times: when the long hand points to 12, read the short hand for the hour.When the long hand points straight up to the 12, it is o'clock. Then the short hand tells the hour: short hand on 3 means 3 o'clock, on 8 means 8 o'clock. We use o'clock times all through the day, like waking at 7 o'clock.
Half Past TimesRead half past times: when the long hand points to 6, it is half past, and tell o'clock from half past.When the long hand points down to the 6, half the hour has passed, so we say half past. Telling times apart is easy: the long hand on 12 means o'clock, and the long hand on 6 means half past.

Questions this course answers

Which number sits at the top of the clock?

The 12 sits right at the top of the clock.

What does the SHORT hand point to?

The short hand points to the hour — the number of the day.

When it is o'clock, where does the LONG hand point?

At an o'clock time the long hand points straight up to the 12.

The long hand is on 12 and the short hand points to 3. What time is it?

The long hand on 12 means o'clock, and the short hand on 3 makes it 3 o'clock.

When it is half past, where does the LONG hand point?

At half past, the long hand points down to the 6.

The long hand is pointing to the 6. Is it o'clock or half past?

The long hand on 6 means it is half past.

Grounded in trusted sources

PBS Kids — telling time
Khan Academy Kids
BBC Bitesize — time

Every Wunder lesson is built from real, reputable sources — never invented.

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