Time to the Hour
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Basics on the topic Time to the Hour
Telling the Time to the Hour
You are at the airport and you are looking at a wall of clocks that show the gates for all the flights. One flight leaves at six o'clock and the other flight leaves at one o'clock. The analog clock tells the time. But can you read it too? In this text, we will learn how to tell time to the hour and how to read analog clocks.
How to tell time on Analog Clocks
When we read a clock, we call it telling the time. Analogue clocks show numbers one to twelve to show the hours in a day, but also represent the sixty minutes in one hour. If you want to know how to tell the time on a clock to the hour, just check to see if the minute hand is on the twelve. This means we say o’clock.
On an analogue clock, we always read the shorter hour hand first and then the longer minute hand. When reading the longer minute hand, the twelve at the top represents zero or the start of an hour. Whenever the minute hand is on the twelve we say o’clock.
If the minute hand is on the twelve, zero minutes have passed the hour so we would write 00 for the minutes.
This clock shows ten o’clock because the hour hand is on the 10 and the minute hand is on the twelve. We would write this as 10:00 but if we tried telling the time in words, we would say “ten o’clock.”
How to Tell the Time on a Clock – Steps
Telling the time to the hour is the first step when learning to tell the time. First, find the short hour hand and write the number it points to. Here, it's ten. The hour always gets written on the left side.
Then, find the long minute hand. When the minute hand points to the twelve, it means zero minutes, so we write two zeroes.This is because no minutes have passed and the top of the clock is the start of a new hour. The minutes are always written on the right. Remember: If we were telling the time in words, we would say this as “o’clock”.
Now can we read the time by saying ten o’clock. You can also watch the corresponding telling the time video as guidance.
Telling the Time using o’clock – Summary
Follow these steps to tell the time to the hour on an analog clock:
| Step # | What to do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Find the number the short hour hand points to. Write this number on the left. |
| 2 | Read the long minute hand. Write this number on the right. |
| 3 | When the minute hand points to twelve, it represents zero minutes and we write it as zero zero. |
| 4 | Tell time to the hour using the phrase o'clock and the number on the hour hand. |
Practise Telling the Time using Words
What Does Telling the Time o’clock Mean? Practise telling the time worksheets and telling the time activities and exercises can be found next to the text. Soon, you can help anyone who is asking for the time. You will see that learning how to tell the time is fun!
Transcript Time to the Hour
Freddie and Zuri are at the airport ready to leave to go on holiday! Freddie’s flight leaves at six o'clock and Zuri’s flight leaves at one o'clock. They need to read the clocks on the sign to work out what gate their planes will leave from. But, they don’t know where to go because they can’t tell the time. Let's help Freddie and Zuri by teaching them to tell, time to the hour. When we read a clock, we call it telling the time. This type of clock is called an analogue clock. The numbers one to twelve show the hours in a day and all the way round represents the minutes in an hour. To write the time digitally, we need to read the shorter hour hand first and then the longer minute hand. When reading the longer minute hand, the twelve at the top means it is the start of the hour and no minutes have passed. We can count forward in fives, all the way round the clock, to find how many minutes have passed. When the minute hand is directly on the twelve, it means o'clock and no minutes have passed. Let's tell the time to the hour. First, find the short hour hand and write the number it points to, here, it's ten. The hour always gets written on the left side. Then, find the long minute hand. When the minute hand points to the twelve, it means zero minutes have passed the hour, so we write zero, zero here. This is because the top of the clock is the start of a new hour. The minutes are always written on the right. Now we can read the time by saying ten o’clock. Let's practise telling the time to find Freddie's gate! Freddie's flight is at six o'clock. Let's read this clock to see if the times match. First, find the number the short hour hand points to, it is six. Write six here on the left. Now, look at the long minute hand. It is pointing to twelve. That means it's the start of the hour and we write zero, zero here on the right. Zero minutes have passed the hour. We also know that when the minute hand is on the twelve, it means o'clock. This clock says six o'clock just like Freddie's flight. That means Freddie must go to gate A! Now, let's help Zuri. Her flight is at one o'clock. Let's read the next clock to see if the times match. First, find the number the short hour hand points to, it is eleven. Write eleven here on the left. Now, look at the long minute hand. It's pointing to twelve. That means it's on the hour and we write zero, zero here on the right. Zero minutes have passed the hour. This clock says eleven o'clock which does not match Zuri's one o'clock flight. Try to read the next clock to see if this one matches instead. Remember to read the short hour hand first, then the long minute hand. What time does this clock read? It says one o'clock because the hour hand is pointing to the one and the minute hand is pointing to the twelve. This clock matches Zuri's flight, so she must go to gate C! While Freddie and Zuri walk to their gates, let's remember! When we read a clock, we call it telling the time. When writing the time digitally we always read the short hour hand first and then the long minute hand. To tell the time to the hour, first, find the number the short hour hand is pointing to. Write this number on the left. Then look at the long minute hand. Write this number on the right. When it points to twelve, it represents zero minutes and we write it as zero, zero. When we tell the time to the hour we use the phrase ‘o'clock’. "Ok! Bye...Don't forget to take pictures!"
