Teaching pack: Reading Clocks to the Minute (Year 3)

← Back to the unitTip: in the print dialog choose “Save as PDF”.

Teaching pack · Year 3 Measurementseegongsik /au

Reading Clocks to the Minute: a week of ready-to-teach maths

Five days of lessons for Year 3 Measurement. Print this pack and the week is prepared: each day has a one-page plan and a student worksheet, plus clock cards, digital cards, a mini-check and every answer.

AC9M3M04

describe the relationship between the hours and minutes on analog and digital clocks, and read the time to the nearest minute

Start here: five minutes to Monday

Skim the week at a glance on the next page.
Print the five days. Each day is two A4 sheets: a plan and a worksheet.
Cut out the clock cards and the digital cards once; they are reused all week.
Open the free interactive unit on your board. Every plan tells you which picture to show and which buttons to press.
Teach straight from the plan. Timings, talk prompts, misconceptions and answers are all on the one page.

No maths background needed

This pack is written for the busy generalist teacher. On an analog clock the short hand shows the hour and the long hand the minutes. Each number the minute hand passes is 5 minutes and each small mark is 1 minute, so the minute hand 3 marks past the 7 means 38 minutes past. A digital clock writes the same time as hours, a colon, then minutes: 4:38.

One day, one lesson

The five lessons fill a week of maths, one lesson of about 50 minutes a day. Run them in order: each day stands on the one before. Every plan marks a split point if your timetable runs two shorter sessions.

On the board

This pack is the printable half of a free interactive unit. The on-screen half has six interactive pictures (two hands, two jobs; o’clock and half past; counting the minutes; match the digital; how long did it take; and when will it finish) plus a self-check quiz you can run as a class game on Day 5.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum V9 (AC9M3M04). This pack is original material from seegongsik, independently produced and not endorsed by ACARA. Curriculum content descriptors are (c) ACARA, licensed under CC BY 4.0. Free to print and use in class.

The week at a glance5 lessons

The week at a glance

One lesson a day for a week. Each day stands on the day before, so run them in order.

Day	Lesson	Children learn and do	On screen
1	Two hands, two jobs	Tell the hour hand from the minute hand, and read o’clock, half past and quarter times	Two hands, two jobs; O’clock and half past
2	Counting the minutes	Read minutes past the hour by counting in fives along the numbers, then in ones	Counting the minutes
3	Match the digital	Write an analog time in digital form and show a digital time on an analog face	Match the digital
4	How long did it take?	Find the minutes between a start time and an end time by counting on	How long did it take?
5	When will it finish?	Add a duration to a start time to find the finishing time	When will it finish?

How the week builds

Day 1 sorts out the two hands and the times children may already know. Day 2 reads every minute, and Day 3 links the analog face to the digital display. Days 4 and 5 use clock reading to work with time that passes: how long something took, and when it will finish. It leans on Time, Days and Seconds (AC9M3M03).

Materials for the week (one trip)

From the classroom: scissors, pencils, this pack printed, the wall clock.
A geared teaching clock if you have one (the hour hand moves with the minute hand).
Small paper-plate clocks with split-pin hands, one per pair, if you want hands-on practice.
Cut out once, use all week: the clock cards and the digital cards in this pack.

Words for the word wall

analog, digital, hour hand, minute hand, o’clock, half past, quarter past, quarter to, minutes past, start time, finish time, how long, duration

A note homeHome practice

Dear families

This week in maths, Year 3 is learning to read analog and digital clocks to the minute, and to work out how long things take.

Try this at home

Ask your child to read the time on an analog clock or a watch a few times a day.
Compare the oven or microwave clock (digital) with a wall clock (analog): do they agree?
Ask: dinner is at 6:30 and it is 6:10 now. How long until dinner?
Ask: the show starts at 4:15 and lasts 25 minutes. When will it finish?

Our times this week

Fill one row a day: something you did, the time it started and the time it finished.

Day	What we did	Started	Finished	How long
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday

Printed from the free seegongsik Reading Clocks to the Minute teaching pack · seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04/pack

Day 1 · Teacher planDay 1 of 5

Two hands, two jobs

An analog clock has two hands with different jobs: the short, thick hand shows the hour and the long, thin hand shows the minutes. When the minute hand points to 12 it is o’clock; to 6, half past; to 3, quarter past; to 9, quarter to the next hour.

We are learning to

tell the hour hand from the minute hand,
read o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to times,
see that at half past the hour hand sits halfway between two numbers.

Success criteria

I can say which hand is which.
I can read and draw o’clock, half past and quarter times.

You need

A teaching clock (geared if possible), or the wall clock. Paper-plate clocks for pairs if you have them. The worksheet.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Slow and fast Turn the minute hand of a teaching clock once round while the class watches the hour hand creep from one number to the next. Ask: “The long hand went all the way round. How far did the short hand move?”
30 min	Read the times Label the hands and read times on the board (see the box). Children read the six printed clocks, then draw the hands on the two blank faces. Ask: “At half past 10, where is the hour hand? Why is it not on the 10?”
10 min	Show me Call a time (quarter past 4, half past 9); pairs show it on paper-plate clocks or draw it. Ask: “How did you place the hour hand for quarter past?”

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the printed clocks; start Session B with the drawing and Show me.

On the board

Show “Two hands, two jobs” and press “Label the hands” after children say which is which. Then show “O’clock and half past”: the class votes and you press their choice; “New time” brings 9:30, 6:00 and 7:30.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Watch for these ideas

Reading the hands the wrong way round. The short hand is the hour.
Putting the hour hand on the number at half past. It sits halfway to the next number.
Calling 6:45 “quarter to 6”. Quarter to means 15 minutes before the next hour: quarter to 7.

Answers

Clocks: 1. 5 o’clock; 2. half past 10; 3. half past 1; 4. 8 o’clock; 5. quarter past 2; 6. quarter to 7.
Drawn: 4 o’clock has the minute hand on 12 and the hour hand on 4; half past 11 has the minute hand on 6 and the hour hand halfway between 11 and 12.
Labelled hands: the short, thick hand is the hour hand; the long, thin one is the minute hand.

Day 1 · Worksheet

Two hands, two jobs

NameClassDate

The short, thick hand shows the hour. The long, thin hand shows the minutes. Write each time in words.

1.______________________

2.______________________

3.______________________

4.______________________

5.______________________

6.______________________

Draw the hands

4 o’clock

half past 11

Day 2 · Teacher planDay 2 of 5

Counting the minutes

Each number the minute hand passes is 5 minutes, and each small mark between two numbers is 1 minute. Count in fives to the last number passed, then in ones: 3 marks past the 7 is 35, then 36, 37, 38, so 38 minutes past the hour.

We are learning to

count in fives around the clock face (the 1 is 5 minutes, the 2 is 10, and so on),
count on in ones along the small marks,
read the minutes past the hour to the nearest minute.

Success criteria

I can count in fives around the clock.
I can read the minutes past the hour to the minute.

You need

A teaching clock. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Fives around Point to each number on the teaching clock while the class counts in fives: 5, 10, 15 and on to 60. Ask: “The minute hand points to the 8. How many minutes is that? How do you know?”
30 min	Fives, then ones Count the minutes on the board (see the box). Children read the minutes past on the six printed clocks, then work out the times described in words. Ask: “The hand is 2 marks past the 3. Where do you stop counting in fives?”
10 min	Hand moves Move the minute hand to a spot; pairs whisper the minutes past, then the class checks by counting. Ask: “Which spots were tricky? Why?”

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the printed clocks; start Session B with the times in words.

On the board

Show “Counting the minutes”: the minute hand on the 3. Ask for the minutes, then press “Count the minutes” (15). “New position” brings 30, 17, 38 and 52 minutes; for each, ask where to stop counting in fives.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Watch for these ideas

Reading the number the minute hand points to as the minutes (the 4 as 4 minutes). It is 20.
Counting the small marks from 12 one by one. Count in fives first, then ones.
Counting the mark the hand starts from. Count the marks it has passed.

Answers

Clocks, minutes past: 20 (count in fives); 35 (count in fives); 8 (fives to 5, then 3 more); 47 (fives to 45, then 2 more); 13 (fives to 10, then 3 more); 56 (fives to 55, then 1 more).
In words: 2 past the 4 is 22; 3 past the 8 is 43; 1 past the 11 is 56; 4 past the 1 is 9.
Times in full (for early finishers): 3:20, 7:35, 9:08, 1:47, 4:13, 10:56.

Day 2 · Worksheet

Counting the minutes

NameClassDate

Count in fives along the numbers the minute hand has passed, then in ones along the small marks.

1.______ minutes past

2.______ minutes past

3.______ minutes past

4.______ minutes past

5.______ minutes past

6.______ minutes past

Times in words

The minute hand is 2 small marks past the 4. That is ______ minutes past the hour.

The minute hand is 3 small marks past the 8. That is ______ minutes past the hour.

The minute hand is 1 small mark past the 11. That is ______ minutes past the hour.

The minute hand is 4 small marks past the 1. That is ______ minutes past the hour.

Day 3 · Teacher planDay 3 of 5

Match the digital

An analog time and a digital time can name the same moment. A digital clock writes the hour, a colon, then the minutes as two digits: 7 minutes past 4 is 4:07, not 4:7. The hour hand helps too: at 7:50 it is nearly at the 8.

We are learning to

write an analog time in digital form (hours, colon, two-digit minutes),
show a digital time on an analog face,
use the hour hand’s position to check the hour (it moves on as the minutes pass).

Success criteria

I can write an analog time as a digital time.
I can draw the hands for a digital time.

You need

A teaching clock and a digital clock or a tablet showing the time. The clock and digital cards (cut-out sheets 1 and 2). The worksheet.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Two clocks Show the wall clock beside a digital clock. Read both aloud together. Ask: “The digital clock says 10:07. Why is there a 0 before the 7?”
30 min	Match it Match clocks on the board (see the box). Children write the digital times for six clocks, then draw the hands for three digital times. Ask: “At 7:50, is the hour hand nearer the 7 or the 8? Why?”
10 min	Card match Pairs match each clock card with its digital card, then read each pair aloud. Ask: “Which pair took longest to match? What made it tricky?”

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the digital times; start Session B with the drawing and the card match.

On the board

Show “Match the digital”: a clock at 7:13. The class votes; press their choice of “7:13”, “2:35” or “7:03”. “New clock” brings 9:05, 4:48 and 10:30.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Watch for these ideas

Writing 4:7 for 7 minutes past 4. The minutes always have two digits: 4:07.
Swapping the hands (2:35 for 7:13). The short hand gives the hour.
Reading 7:50 as 8:50 because the hour hand is nearly at 8. It has not reached 8 yet.

Answers

Digital: 1. 3:25; 2. 7:50; 3. 10:05; 4. 1:42; 5. 6:18; 6. 11:33.
Drawn: 2:40 has the minute hand on the 8 and the hour hand past the 2; 9:12 has the minute hand 2 marks past the 2 and the hour hand past the 9; 5:55 has the minute hand on the 11 and the hour hand past the 5.
Card match: the pairs are in the cut-out teacher note.

Day 3 · Worksheet

Match the digital

NameClassDate

Write the digital time

__ : __

Draw the hands

2:40

9:12

5:55

Day 4 · Teacher planDay 4 of 5

How long did it take?

To find how long something took, count on from the start time to the end time. From 4:10 to 4:45, jump 20 to 4:30 and 15 more to 4:45: 35 minutes. When the end is in the next hour, jump to the hour first: 5:30 to 6:00 is 30, then 10 more to 6:10.

We are learning to

count on from a start time to an end time to find the minutes,
use friendly jumps (to a ten, to the half hour, to the hour),
find a duration that crosses into the next hour.

Success criteria

I can find how long something took.
I can count on across the hour.

You need

A teaching clock. The worksheet, one per child.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Our morning Write today’s start time and the time of the first break on the board. Move the teaching clock between them, counting the minutes together. Ask: “How long was it from the bell to recess? How did we count it?”
30 min	Count on Find durations on the board (see the box). Children find how long each worksheet activity took, showing their jumps. Ask: “From 8:45 to 9:05, why jump to 9:00 first?”
10 min	Time our task Note the time, do a short task (tidy the room, a quick game), note the time again, and work out how long it took. Ask: “Was it longer or shorter than you thought?”

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the clock pairs; start Session B with the digital ones and the story.

On the board

Show “How long did it take?”: 3:00 to 3:20. The class votes; press their choice of the three answers. “New pair” brings 4:10 to 4:45, 2:30 to 3:00 and 9:15 to 9:50; ask for the jumps first.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Watch for these ideas

Subtracting the clock numbers (6:10 − 5:30 as 80, or 4:80). Count on in minutes instead.
Forgetting there are 60 minutes, not 100, in an hour when crossing the hour.
Counting the start minute as the first one. Count the jumps between the times.

Answers

1:00 to 1:25: 25 minutes; 2:10 to 2:40: 30 minutes; 3:15 to 3:50: 35 minutes; 5:30 to 6:10: 40 minutes; 8:45 to 9:05: 20 minutes; 10:05 to 10:55: 50 minutes.
Story: 12:30 to 1:15 is 30 minutes to 1:00 and 15 more, so 45 minutes.

Day 4 · Worksheet

How long did it take?

NameClassDate

Count on from the start time to the end time. Show your jumps.

start

end

Start ______ End ______
Jumps: ______________ It took ______ minutes.

start

end

Start ______ End ______
Jumps: ______________ It took ______ minutes.

	Start	End
3.	3:15	3:50
4.	5:30	6:10
5.	8:45	9:05
6.	10:05	10:55

Story

Lunch starts at 12:30 and ends at 1:15. How long is lunch? ______________________

Day 5 · Teacher planDay 5 of 5

When will it finish?

Adding a duration to a start time gives the finish time: a 20-minute task starting at 4:15 finishes at 4:35. When the minutes would pass 60, jump to the hour first: 6:30 and 45 minutes is 30 minutes to 7:00, then 15 more, so 7:15.

We are learning to

add a number of minutes to a start time,
jump to the hour first when the time crosses into the next hour,
show the finish time on an analog clock and as a digital time.

Success criteria

I can find when something will finish.
I can show the finish time on a clock.

You need

A teaching clock. The worksheet, one per child. The unit’s self-check quiz.

Lesson flow (about 50 minutes)

10 min	Plan the day Set the teaching clock to the start of the next lesson and say it lasts 45 minutes. Move the minute hand on together to find the end. Ask: “Which number did the minute hand stop on? What time is that?”
25 min	Add on Find finish times on the board (see the box). Children add on for the six worksheet rows, draw one finish time, then solve the bus story. Ask: “11:50 and 20 minutes. Why is the answer not 11:70?”
15 min	Class quiz Run the self-check quiz as a team game: teams hold up one, two or three fingers for their choice. Ask: “Which picture from this week would prove that answer?”

Two half-sessions instead? Split after the first three rows; start Session B with the rest and the quiz.

On the board

Show “When will it finish?”: it starts at 3:00 and lasts 30 minutes. The class votes; press their choice of the three finish times. “New start” brings 4:15 plus 20, 9:00 plus 45 and 2:20 plus 10. Finish the week with the self-check quiz.

seegongsik.com/au/y3/measurement/AC9M3M04

Watch for these ideas

Writing more than 59 minutes (11:70). At 60 minutes the hour moves on.
Adding to the hour instead of the minutes (2:15 plus 30 as 32:15). Add to the minutes.
Forgetting that after 12 comes 1 on a clock (11:50 plus 20 is 12:10).

Answers

1:00 plus 20 minutes is 1:20; 2:15 plus 30 minutes is 2:45; 4:40 plus 15 minutes is 4:55; 6:30 plus 45 minutes is 7:15; 9:05 plus 25 minutes is 9:30; 11:50 plus 20 minutes is 12:10.
Drawn: 2:45 has the minute hand on the 9 and the hour hand three quarters of the way from 2 to 3.
Bus: 8:35 plus 20 minutes is 8:55.

Day 5 · Worksheet

When will it finish?

NameClassDate

Add the minutes to the start time. Jump to the hour first if you pass it.

Starts	Lasts	My jumps	Finishes
1:00	20 minutes
2:15	30 minutes
4:40	15 minutes
6:30	45 minutes
9:05	25 minutes
11:50	20 minutes

Draw a finish time

Draw the hands to show when row 2 finishes.

Story

The bus leaves at 8:35 and the trip takes 20 minutes. When does it arrive? ______________

Cut-out cards 1 of 2Clock cards

Clock cards

Cut out the twelve clock cards. Use them with the digital cards on Day 3 to match each clock to its time, or flash one and ask the class to read it.

Teacher note, in order: 1:00, 2:30, 4:15, 5:45, 6:10, 8:25, 11:40, 12:55, 3:07, 7:22, 9:38, 10:51.

Cut-out cards 2 of 2Digital cards

Digital cards

Cut out the twelve digital cards. Each one matches one clock card.

8:25

7:22

1:00

12:55

4:15

10:51

6:10

2:30

9:38

5:45

3:07

11:40

Teacher note: the clock cards, read across from the top left, are 1:00, 2:30, 4:15, 5:45, 6:10, 8:25, 11:40, 12:55, 3:07, 7:22, 9:38, 10:51. Ask for the times in words too (quarter past 4, quarter to 6).

Mini-check · End of the weekReading Clocks to the Minute

What we know: Reading Clocks to the Minute

NameClassDate

Work on your own.

Question 1

Question 2

Question 4

Question 5

What time does clock 1 show? ______________________
What time does clock 2 show, in words? ______________________
The minute hand points to the 9. How many minutes past the hour is that? ______
Write the time on clock 4 as a digital time: ______
Draw the hands on clock 5 to show 10:40.
Write 7:05 in words: ______________________
A lesson starts at 11:00 and ends at 11:45. How long is it? ______
A show starts at 1:20 and lasts 25 minutes. When does it finish? ______

Mini-check · Answers and markingFor the teacher

Answers and marking guide

Answers

8:30, half past 8.
Quarter past 2.
45 minutes.
6:23.
The minute hand on the 8; the hour hand two thirds of the way from 10 to 11.
Five past seven (5 minutes past 7).
45 minutes.
1:45.

A quick three-level guide

Idea	Working towards	At standard	Beyond
Reading clocks (Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4)	swaps the hands, or reads the number as the minutes	reads o’clock, half past, quarter times and times to the minute	explains where the hour hand sits and why
Analog and digital (Q4, Q5, Q6)	writes 7:5 for 7:05, or cannot draw the hour hand	writes analog times digitally and draws the hands for a digital time	moves easily between digital, analog and words
Durations (Q7, Q8)	subtracts the clock numbers	counts on to find how long, and adds on to find a finish time	crosses the hour confidently

Eight questions, three ideas. A child at standard reads a clock to the minute, writes it digitally, and counts on to find a duration.

Weekly recordClass checklist

Weekly class record

Jot a tick as you move around the room; the mini-check fills any gaps. A tick a day is plenty.

Name	Two hands	Minutes	Digital	How long	Finish time

The five columns are the five days: the two hands, counting the minutes, digital times, how long, and finish times.