Teaching clock
Drag the hands or use the buttons, and the time is given in words and in digits. Then set the clock to a time in words, or practise reading it.
Settings
The clock
The long hand counts the minutes and the short hand the hours. As on a real clock, the short hand moves on as the minutes pass.
Set the clock
Move the hands of the clock above to show this time, then check.
Read the clock
A round of eight clocks. Choose the time each one shows; a wrong choice is explained hand by hand.
Use it in class
The worksheet and the board get exactly what is set now. You can edit the worksheet before printing, and its answer key comes on a separate page. On the board everything stays editable, and nothing is added to a live lesson.
How to use it
- Set the time with the hour and minute lists, the buttons or by dragging the hands.
- Show the minutes around the edge or the digital time when the class needs them, and hide them for practice.
- For class: make an editable worksheet of clocks to read or hands to draw, with its answer key on a separate page, or put the clock on the board.
Worked examples
Quarter past three
The long hand points at 3: 3 × 5 = 15 minutes. The short hand has just passed 3. So the time is 3:15, quarter past three.
Twenty to five
The long hand points at 8: 40 minutes past four. The short hand is close to 5 but has not reached it, so the hour is still 4. The time is 4:40, twenty to five.
Quick reference
- three o’clock — 3:00
- quarter past three — 3:15
- half past three — 3:30
- quarter to four — 3:45
The long hand moves on five minutes for each number: at 1 it is 5 minutes past the hour, at 6 it is 30 minutes past (half past), at 9 it is 45 minutes past (quarter to).
Sources
The wording of the times follows standard school usage in each language. The page computes the position of each hand itself: the minute hand turns 6° a minute and the hour hand 0.5° a minute.