Studying to inform time is a vital early math lesson because it’s a real-world talent that’s used day-after-day by everybody. Studying about minutes and hours can develop into tedious quick, so that you’ll wish to have lots of inventive and hands-on methods to deliver it to life for teenagers. Whether or not you get artful with a paper watch or lively with musical clocks, your college students can have a very good time studying all issues time. There are, after all, previous standbys on our listing, too, like books and worksheets. Youngsters may even get in some further follow with a free on-line recreation or two. Try our private favourite telling-time video games to strive with the kiddos in your life.
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Fingers-On Actions for Telling Time
1. Make a paper clock
Youngsters typically get confused concerning the meanings of the numbers on the clock. As an illustration, a 3 means 3 o’clock but in addition quarter-hour. This intelligent paper clock, with lift-up flaps, will assist learners grasp the idea. To start, reduce two 8-inch circles from items of coloured card inventory. On the highest circle, write the numbers 1 by way of 12, ensuring they’re equally spaced. Between every quantity, reduce a 2-inch slit from the sting towards the middle.
Lower a slim 4-inch arrow from the leftover card inventory and label it “minute.” Lower a 3-inch arrow and label it “hour.” Stack the highest circle (the one labeled 1–12) on prime of the clean backside circle. Connect the hour and minute fingers by way of the middle of each circles. Make certain the arrows are unfastened sufficient to rotate.
Lastly, carry every flap of the highest circle and write the corresponding time on the underside plate. As an illustration, carry the two and write :10, carry the 6 and write :30, and many others. College students can follow telling time by setting the fingers of the clock, guessing the time, and lifting the flaps to test their solutions. To make this exercise even simpler, use paper plates as an alternative of card inventory.
2. Colour the areas to be taught the hours

Many kids get confused about studying the time on an analog clock, particularly when the hour hand falls between two numbers. As an illustration, at 4:00, it’s clear that it’s 4 o’clock on the nostril. Nevertheless, when the clock ticks on to 4:55, it’s slightly trickier to learn.
Do that simple exercise to assist your college students perceive the idea. Print out a worksheet with a number of clockfaces and provides one to every pupil. On a big clockface, exhibit to your college students the best way to learn the time between 12:00 and 12:59. Colour within the triangle between the middle level, the 12, and the 1. Clarify: If the hour hand is wherever on this shade zone, the time is learn as 12-something. Transfer the fingers in your clock and exhibit: 12:05, 12:20, 12:45, and at last 12:59. As soon as the hour hand is immediately over the 1, the time is learn as 1-something. Colour within the triangle between the 1 and a pair of a special shade and proceed as above. Have college students comply with alongside on their worksheets as you’re employed collectively, then fill in the remainder of the triangles on their very own.
3. Put a puzzle collectively

There are three frequent methods to symbolize time: with a drawing of a clock, with numbers, and with phrases. Assist your college students make the reference to these simple three-piece time puzzles. Utilizing coloured index playing cards, draw a set of matching time playing cards. For instance, a clock set to five:15, the numerical illustration 5:15, and the phrases “5 fifteen.” Use different-colored units of three to create extra puzzles, or higher but, have your college students create their very own.
4. Drive residence the idea with linking math cubes
This hands-on demonstration will assist reinforce your college students’ understanding of time. Collect college students in a circle on the rug. Within the middle, place a big piece of chart paper. Have a bucket of linking cubes close by. Draw a big clockface on the paper, labeled appropriately from 12 o’clock to 11 o’clock. Ask a pupil volunteer to hyperlink 5 cubes collectively. Place the hyperlink between the 12 and 1. On the skin of the circle, write the quantity 5 adjoining to the 1. Clarify that the hyperlink represents the 5 minutes between the 12 and the 1.
Subsequent, ask one other pupil volunteer to hyperlink 5 cubes collectively. Lay this between the 1 and the two. On the skin of the circle, write the quantity 10 adjoining to the two. Proceed across the circle, inviting completely different college students to take part. When the circle/clock is full, go across the circle and rely by fives, driving residence the idea.
5. Make a rock clock

This exercise is a enjoyable method to mix artwork and math. First, take your class exterior to assemble rocks and sticks. Every pupil ought to have 12 similar-size rocks and two sticks (or one that may be damaged up). Have college students paint their rocks a vibrant shade, and when they’re dry, label every with the numbers 1 by way of 12. Prepare the numbers of the clock (the rocks) in a circle on a sturdy paper plate. Break the sticks into the suitable size to symbolize the hour and minute fingers. Lastly, name out completely different occasions and have college students follow representing that point on their stunning clocks. Give every pupil a big ziplock bag to retailer their clocks for future use.
6. Take it exterior with a Hula-Hoop clock

Pull out the sidewalk chalk and head exterior for some follow telling time. Hula-Hoops make good analog clocks, however in the event you don’t have any, children can merely draw giant circles as an alternative. Pair college students up and provides every pair a Hula-Hoop, two items of chalk, and two pipe cleaners (one longer than the opposite). Have them work collectively to write down the numbers on the internal circle. On the outer circle, have them write the corresponding models of 5. As an illustration, at 1:00 write 5, at 2:00 write 10, and many others.
To play, college students will take turns practising setting the time. One pupil will name out a time and the opposite pupil will use the pipe cleaners to set that point. The caller will test for correctness, after which they are going to change locations.
7. Set the time with play dough

This can be a playful, hands-on method to follow telling time. Merely present college students with a dry-erase board, a marker, and two blobs of play dough in several colours. First, college students will draw a circle and label it as a clock. Then, they are going to roll out the play dough to create the minute and hour fingers. Make certain they make the hour hand shorter than the minute hand. Have college students follow telling time by setting the fingers on their clock, studying the time aloud, then writing the day out within the correct type (with numbers and a colon) on a recording sheet.
8. Distinguish between a.m. and p.m.
Remembering the distinction between a.m. and p.m. is usually a bit complicated at first. To follow together with your class, play this enjoyable hands-on recreation. To start, select a pupil to name out an exercise—for example, consuming dinner. Then, have the opposite college students put their fingers on their head in the event that they assume that occurs within the a.m. In the event that they assume it occurs within the p.m., have them cross their arms throughout their chest. Reveal the right reply, then select one other pupil to name out an exercise. Proceed till everybody who desires to name out an exercise has been chosen.
9. Play a spherical of headbands
Create enjoyable clock headbands with moveable arms for this recreation. First, have college students reduce out a clean clock template and connect colored-paper arms with a brad within the middle. Subsequent, glue the clock to a bigger circle reduce from building paper. Lastly, connect the big circle to a thick strip of building paper and type the strip into a scarf. These clock headbands usually are not solely enjoyable and foolish to put on, they’re good for a recreation of What Time Am I? Youngsters set a time on their clock, then flow into and ask different children to inform them what time it’s.
10. Dance round with a fast spherical of musical clocks

In case your college students like to play musical chairs, they are going to love this telling-time model of the sport. Cross out a clockface worksheet to every pupil and have them draw a time on their clock. Then, have them depart it on their desk. Give every pupil a recording sheet, then have them seize a pencil and prepare to maneuver!
Begin the music and let children dance round from desk to desk. When the music stops, college students will file the time on the clock of the desk in entrance of them. (Have them additionally write the identify of the scholar who wrote that point to test for accuracy.) Begin the music once more and carry on going!
11. Shake up the time of day
This superior time-telling recreation additionally offers children follow with bar graphs. To organize the shaker, merely paste small analog clockfaces displaying varied occasions into the bottoms of an empty cardboard egg carton and add a marble. For the recording sheet, give every pupil a clean bar graph template. Information your college students to label the x-axis with the hours on a clock (1–12) and the y-axis with the minutes (5–55).
To play, divide college students into teams of three or 4. The primary pupil will shake the carton, then open the highest to see what time the marble landed on. Then the entire college students will shade within the block of the primary roll on their bar graph. Proceed play till time is up. Make certain college students are working collectively and checking each other’s solutions.
12. Add a hook to the hour hand
This intelligent time-telling trick will assist your college students grasp studying the minute hand because the hour hand shifts. To exhibit, use a big clock with out the plastic cowl over the face. Connect a chunk of pipe cleaner within the form of a backward J to the hour hand. Set the clock to the highest of an hour—for instance, 3:00. Now slowly rotate the minute hand and watch the hour hand because it strikes to the proper. Clarify to college students that till the pipe cleaner is cleanly aligned with the 4, all of the occasions will likely be written as 3:one thing. The hook of the J will remind them to look again, not ahead. If potential, have college students follow on mini clocks of their very own.
13. Write the room with I Spy time

Write the Room actions are a enjoyable method to get your college students up and shifting. For this enjoyable time-telling exercise, publish paper analog clocks with occasions stuffed in across the room. On every clock sheet, additionally write a problem query equivalent to “What time was it 10 minutes in the past?” or “What time will or not it’s in half an hour?” and many others. Have college students journey with a file sheet, pencil, and clipboard. After they discover a clock, they file the time on their file sheet. They get a degree for every right reply. For every problem query they get proper, they get two factors. If you test your college students’ work, it is possible for you to to inform who wants extra work and who wants extra instruction.
14. Match up plastic eggs
There are such a lot of enjoyable methods to make use of plastic eggs within the classroom. Do that enjoyable exercise to assist your college students follow telling time. Put together forward of time by writing occasions (in phrases or digital time) on half of the eggs and analog clocks with the identical occasions on the opposite halves. Combine up the colours so college students have to essentially look intently to make a match. This can be a nice exercise for station work or early finishers.
15. Make your classroom clock bloom
Flip a classroom wall clock into a fairly flower to bolster what your college students have realized about telling time. Connect flower petals reduce from bright-colored building paper across the perimeter of the clock. Be sure you label every petal with the corresponding minutes for every quantity on the clock. Add a colourful stem on the backside with a brief leaf labeled “hour” and an extended leaf labeled “minute” to remind college students which hand on the clock is which.
16. Educate models of time with concentric circles

We love this exercise that helps college students put completely different models of time in perspective. To create this time wheel, college students might want to reduce seven concentric circles out of coloured building paper. Begin with the smallest circle, then reduce every of the next circles a bit bigger. Every circle must be a special shade. Join the circles along with a brad. Then, beginning with smallest circle and dealing their manner out, have college students label the circles on this sequence:
- Second
- Minute
- Hour
- Day
- Week
- Month
- Yr
The visible illustration of coloured circles will assist college students take up and retain the idea. Have them maintain their time wheels of their desk for future reference.
17. Calculate the length of your favourite actions

Are your college students able to deal with elapsed time? This visible exercise will assist them apply telling time to their on a regular basis lives. Create a worksheet with three columns and three rows. Within the first two columns, insert an analog clock with out arms. Depart the third column clean. Label the three rows Exercise #1, Exercise #2, Exercise #3.
To start, ask college students to decide on three actions they do. As an illustration: soccer follow, artwork class, consuming breakfast, doing homework, and many others. To fill of their chart, have college students label every row with the identify of the exercise. Then, on the primary clock, they are going to draw within the time the exercise began. On the second clock, they are going to draw within the time the exercise ended. Within the third column, they are going to write the whole time the exercise took. Repeat for every exercise.
18. Play Rush Hour
This can be a enjoyable recreation to play with companions or small teams. Every pupil will want their very own mini instructing clock (like a Judy clock) and every pair or group will want a die. To start, have every pupil set their clock to 12:00. To play, college students will take turns rolling the die, studying the route card, and shifting their clock the right amount of time. The route playing cards ought to learn as follows:
- Transfer forward 5 minutes.
- Transfer forward 10 minutes.
- Transfer again 5 minutes.
- Transfer forward quarter-hour.
- Transfer forward 20 minutes.
- Transfer again 10 minutes.
The spherical ends when the primary participant makes all of it the best way across the clock to 1:00.
19. Learn books about telling time
What higher method to educate absolutely anything than with books? Search your faculty library, your classroom library, and on-line and brick-and-mortar sources for books about telling time. Then, decide a couple of of your favorites and skim them aloud throughout math time.
20. Play Telling-Time Bingo

Youngsters like to play bingo so why not use it for time-telling follow? Search the web for a customizable analog clock bingo card template or create your personal. Label the clocks on the cardboard with no matter time expertise your college students are engaged on, whether or not it’s hours, half hours, quarter hours, or to the minute. Copy the cardboard and move one out to every pupil. Then, play a couple of rounds of bingo utilizing the standard guidelines.
21. Beanbag time
Linking ideas to bodily actions helps college students combine studying. For this lively recreation, line college students up in the midst of the classroom, or higher but, play this recreation outdoor. Give every pupil a beanbag. Place papers with completely different occasions, written in analog, digital, and phrase kinds, on the ground across the room. Then name out a time. College students might want to discover the time and precisely toss their beanbag onto the paper. Give college students a minute to retrieve their baggage, and name out the following time. If college students want to change locations in line in the course of the recreation, that’s allowed.
On-line Telling-Time Video games
22. Journey by way of time
ABCya has lots of free on-line video games for younger children you can play even with out a subscription. This enjoyable time-travel recreation permits children to decide on whether or not they wish to follow setting a digital or an analog clock. We particularly love the time-traveling theme and the lovable cartoon graphics that make this exercise further kid-friendly.
Be taught extra: Time-Journey Sport at ABCya
23. Choose the proper reply
This straightforward and free recreation doesn’t even require a sign-up to start taking part in. Youngsters are given multiple-choice choices to pick from when guessing the time displayed on the analog clock. Youngsters obtain 10 factors for each right reply given and lose 10 factors for each incorrect one. We expect children can have enjoyable attempting to beat their excessive scores!
Be taught extra: Telling Time at Toy Theater
24. Inform time to the quarter hour
This web site has lots of completely different on-line telling-time actions throughout completely different issue ranges. We’re particularly keen on the one which requires college students to inform time to the quarter of an hour. Youngsters are offered with 4 completely different analog clockfaces and requested to pick which one shows the time on the backside.
Be taught extra: Clockworks Observe at Mr. Nussbaum
25. Acknowledge patterns
We love that this recreation combines studying time with sample recognition. This web site has extra time-telling video games ought to the youngsters in your life grasp this one!
Be taught extra: Time Patterns at Math Video games
26. Personalize the training expertise
This free on-line recreation gives up lots of room for personalization. You possibly can choose whether or not to determine time to the closest hour, half hour, quarter of an hour, and even minute. You can even choose a 12-hour or 24-hour clock. Relying in your little one’s talent degree, you can even choose to play in timed or untimed modes. The cute circus theme and bear ringmaster will maintain any child entertained!
Be taught extra: Telling the Time at Mathsframe.co.uk
27. Observe with elapsed time
Telling-time video games that transcend simply figuring out a time on a clock are a few of our favorites for older children. This one requires children to determine the time on an analog clock after which decipher what time it is going to be in a sure variety of hours.
Be taught extra: Time Teller at RoomRecess.com
28. Examine digital and analog
This web site begins by explaining the variations between digital and analog clocks in addition to the best way to learn each. It then takes you thru varied workout routines to check your understanding.
Be taught extra: Telling the Time: Digital and Analog at Tiny Faucet
29. Make the mouse run up the clock
That is such a enjoyable spin on figuring out the time on a clock. We love the play on a traditional nursery rhyme and the oh-so cute mouse and cat graphics. Guess the proper time on the cartoon grandfather clock and a cute mouse will run up it. However get it flawed and an indignant cat will make itself identified!
Be taught extra: Hickory, Dickory, Clock at ICT Video games
30. Take a quiz
This video is marketed as being for English language learners, however it might work equally effectively for teenagers simply studying to learn clocks. Youngsters can simply watch it or they’ll maintain some scrap paper useful to file their solutions.
Be taught extra: Telling the Time Quiz on YouTube
31. Race to the right time
What’s extra enjoyable than taking part in a recreation with associates? A number of gamers can play in opposition to each other as their cute giraffe avatars race to be the primary one throughout the end line.
Be taught extra: Giraffe Sprint at Arcademics
Get Math Vocabulary Phrases Printables

We now have two lists: one for grades Ok-3 and one for grades 4-6. Every set of phrases is organized by idea strand after which alphabetized for simple use. Fill out the shape on this web page to obtain your copy!