Telling time · 1st grade
Telling Time to the Half Hour
The long hand has gone half way round the clock and points down to 6.
How to learn it
Fold a paper circle in half and open it. The fold runs from 12 to 6. Half the clock has gone, so it's half past.
At half past three the short hand is halfway between 3 and 4, not on 3. Wind a real clock from 3:00 to 3:30 and watch it creep.
Read the number the short hand has just passed. Between 3 and 4 means half past three, even though it looks close to 4.
The classic mistake is reading 3:30 as 4:30, because the short hand looks nearly at 4. Ask which number has it passed?
Play this level
A clock sticks when a child reads one again and again and finds out straight away if they were right. Each game here asks for one time in a different form.
Every question is half past
Free to play · no signup · works on phones, tablets and computers
Questions
Why does 3:30 have the short hand between numbers?
The two hands are geared together. Half an hour has gone, so the short hand has moved half of the way from 3 to 4.
Is the telling time game really free?
Yes. The whole game plays free in your browser, with no signup, no ads and no time limit. An iPhone app is on the way with offline play, a forest trail and a parent view, but the web game stays free.
Coming soon to iPhone
We're building a Clockwood app with what needs a real app: every time read aloud, offline play, and a parent view of which times have stuck and which are still tricky. The full game stays free here on the web.
Coming soon on theApp Store