Telling time · 2nd grade
Telling Time: Quarter Past and Quarter To
Long hand on 3 is quarter past. Long hand on 9 is quarter to the next hour.
How to learn it
Fold a paper circle in half, then in half again. Four quarters. Color the first one: that's quarter past.
Draw a line from 12 to 6. On the right side of the clock we say past the hour we've left. On the left side we say to the hour that's coming.
At 2:45 we say quarter to three: three is the hour we're heading for. Digital clocks still say 2, which is why this one takes time.
Children often read 2:45 as quarter past three. They find the right hour but pick the wrong word. Check which side of the clock the long hand is on.
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 quarter past and quarter to
Free to play · no signup · works on phones, tablets and computers
Questions
How many minutes is a quarter of an hour?
15 minutes. Four quarters make the 60 minutes in an hour.
What is the difference between quarter past and quarter to?
Quarter past is 15 minutes after the hour, with the long hand on 3. Quarter to is 15 minutes before the next hour, with the long hand on 9. See the guide.
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