< 3rd Grade Math

Telling Time Worksheets

Welcome to our telling time worksheets! As you’ll see below, our worksheets progress from whole hours down to single minutes to ensure a smooth learning curve for students.

We begin with the simplest concept, having students tell time to the nearest whole hour. Then they advance to half-hour intervals, followed by quarter-hour, honing their skills step by step.

As they gain proficiency and confidence, they’ll be introduced to 5-minute intervals. Finally, they’ll practice the most detailed increment of 1 minute.

Below you’ll find 10 printable worksheets for each time increment, for a total of 50 telling time worksheets. Be sure to check out our elapsed time worksheets too!

How to Tell Time

HOW DO YOU TEACH KIDS TO READ A CLOCK?

Learning to read an analog clock can be very challenging and extremely confusing. Young children learn very early that our number system works in a base of 10 (meaning that ten ones equals ten, ten tens equals one hundred, and so on). Then, we teach them to read a clock, where there are 60 seconds in a minute, 60 seconds in an hour, and 24 hours in a day…??

Because reading a clock is so different from traditional counting it’s important to start with the basics. Follow the steps below, and you’ll help your child make sense of reading a clock with far fewer tears!

Start with the Basics: Explain (excitedly) that they’ll be learning to tell time! Give them a play clock to hold. Ask them what they see (the numbers, hands, and tick marks). Have them move the minute hand and see how it moves the hour hand as well. Then, have them (gently) try to move the hour hand. Notice that it won’t move the same way the minute hand does. Let them know that whenever we need to move the hands on a clock we always want to use the long, minute hand. We never want to try moving the hour hand.
Focus on Hours First: When you begin teaching time, it’s important to go slow. Show them what a clock looks like when it’s one o’clock. Then, move it to two o’clock, three o’clock, and four o’clock. Each time the short, hour hand points at whatever “o’clock” it is. And the long, minute hand points straight up to the 12. If they understand, have them show you five o’clock and six o’clock. Work your way all around the clock, and then have some fun. Move the hands to a random time (always an hour) and ask them what o’clock it is. Keep going as long as they’re having fun. Then, move the hands to a half-hour time. Show the clock to the student, and tell them they’ll learn how to say that time later!
Introduce Half-Hours: If your child understands how to read hours, it’s time to teach half-hours. For a half-hour, the long hand moves halfway around the clock and stops on the six. Start with the clock on an hour (ex. 1:00). Have them tell you the time. Then move the minute hand halfway around the clock. Have them notice what happens to the hour hand when the minute hand stops on the six. It moves to half-way between the one and the two. Instruct them that until the hour hand touches the two, the hour is still 1. Let them know that the time on the clock is 1:30. Every time the minute hand is pointing straight down the minute is 30. Show them different half-hour times, reading the clock, and pointing out where the hour- and minute-hands are pointing.
Move to Quarter-Hours: Now it’s time to teach quarter hours. Show them that just like you can cut a pie into quarters (or fourths) you can cut a clock into quarters. Because an hour (the amount of time it takes for the minute hand to go once around the clock) is 60 minutes, quarter hours are a quarter of 60. Ask them if they can divide 60 into 4 equal parts. 60 divided by 4 is 15, so each quarter of an hour is equal to 15 minutes. Start the clock at 1:00 and have the child tell you the time. Then, move the minute hand to point at the 3. You have just moved the minute hand one quarter of the way around the clock. It’s now 1:15. Write the time down so they can see what it looks like. Move the minute hand another quarter of an hour and have them tell you the time. Move it again and again, telling you that the time is 1:45 and then 2:00 respectively. Repeat this process multiple times until the child shows comprehension. Quarter hours are a bit more challenging, so you may need multiple days or even weeks for them to master this step.
Practice Reading Minutes: Break the clock down even further into five-minute increments and finally one-minute increments. Use the worksheets on this page to reinforce what they’ve learned and to give them practice. You may find that as you break the clock down into smaller increments they seem to forget the basics (what an hour or half-hour time looks like). If that happens, stay calm. Proficiency in reading a clock doesn’t happen overnight, or even after a couple of weeks. It takes repetition and practice. Go back as often as necessary, reminding students of what they’ve already learned and mastered. Then, challenge them with smaller increments of time.

IS IT REALLY IMPORTANT FOR MY CHILD TO LEARN ANALOG TIME?

Digital clocks are all around us, so you may think that reading an analog clock is outdated and unnecessary. Remember, easy doesn’t always mean better. Reading an analog clock is about understanding the divisions of time. Children need to learn to read an analog clock because it makes time more concrete and helps them with time management. It helps reinforce the concepts of fractions and skip counting, and it helps with communication. If kids don’t understand what “quarter to six” means, they’ll have a hard time relating to the people around them.