Telling Time Worksheets: Hours and Half Hours
Use the long hand to read the minutes and the short hand to find the hour. Both hands help you read the time.
Read both hands together
The longer hand shows minutes. When it points to 12, write :00. When it points to 6, write :30 because thirty minutes have passed since the hour began.
3:00: the long hand points to 12 and the short hand points to 3.
3:30: the long hand points to 6 and the short hand is halfway from 3 to 4.
The short hand moves between numbers
At 3:30, the hour is still 3. The short hand has left 3 but has not reached 4. Follow the numbers clockwise and find the hour it has passed. Do not choose the next hour just because the hand is moving toward it.
Half past means thirty minutes past
An hour has sixty minutes. Half an hour is thirty minutes, so “half past seven” means 7:30. The 6 on the clock face is not the number of minutes to write; it marks the halfway position for the long hand.
Write two minute digits
Use 8:00 for eight o’clock and 8:30 for half past eight. The colon separates hours from minutes. Keep both zeros in :00 so the written time is clear.
Read across twelve
At 12:30, the short hand is between 12 and 1. The hour is 12, not 1. These clocks do not tell whether it is daytime or nighttime, so an AM or PM label cannot be determined from the hands alone.
About this practice
Each set contains six distinct times at the hour or half hour. The original clock drawings show all twelve numbers and two hands. Sets do not guarantee an equal number of :00 and :30 examples.
This worksheet asks children to read clocks and write times. Drawing hands, reading five-minute intervals, and finding how much time has passed are separate activities.
Make a practice set
Choose what to print. Selecting both shows the answer key on screen and prints the questions followed by the answers.
After the practice
Ask the child to explain what each hand tells them. Use a teaching clock to move from an hour to half past that hour and observe both hands.
More about measurement · Grade 1 worksheets
Grade 1 selected skill connection: 1.MD.B.3. See the Common Core grade guidance. This worksheet does not cover every requirement in the standard.