Tell the Time – time to learn how.
How do you teach your child to tell the time?
Being able to tell the time is something that a lot of us take for granted, but it is something that some children (and adults) struggle with.
Nowadays, a lot of clocks we see around us are digital, and to see an analogue clock in our daily routine is uncommon (and hence the opportunity to learn / remember how to tell the time is missing).
When teaching how to tell the time, I focus initially on the analogue format of time – it helps to see visually how many minutes there are in an hour (60), and where the phrases “half-past” and “quarter-past” or “quarter-to” (i.e. referring to what fraction of the way through the hour has passed or is left).
When comfortable with analogue time, I show how this connects to the digital format.
I have lots of different resources I use for teaching how to tell the time. Each of the items below can be used to help with learning and remembering how to tell the time.
Tell the Time – with an EasyRead clock – “say what you see”
I loved this clock so much, I bought one for me!
I have had positive feedback from parents that have bought one for their home, and found in no time that their child was able to tell the time!
“Very cute moment! When you finished the session, she led me to the clock and read the time for me, she was very proud!!!”
Having one in the kitchen, for example, can be a good way to incorporate discussion of the time, throughout the day.
And now in watch format!
Such a great format, and now they have the same in a watch – perfect birthday or Christmas present for someone – your child’s first watch?
Available in many different colours!
Tell the Time – with your hands.
Very well made, tactile wooden clock, with hands that move independently.
Great for quickly changing the time for testing your child, or easy for them to manipulate to match a given time.
It also shows the equivalent digital time, automatically, and with a slider window to hide/reveal when practising / testing.
Tell the Time – with a free online tool that can be accessed from a browser.
I use this one a LOT in my online lessons when teaching time.
It has different settings to have hour and minute hands either connected or work independently. When connected you can show how the hour hand moves gradually while the minute hand works its way around the full hour.
It can show the corresponding digital time (with the show button) automatically – great for converting between the two formats.
Tell the Time – with another great, free online tool.
Similar to the last one, but you can switch between analogue and digital as the main clock.
The hands can’t be dragged independently, but you can use the buttons to advance the time in jumps of so many minutes.
One more thing…
Tell the Time – with free videos and activities from BBC Bitesize, can be found at https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/topics/zxc4jxs/articles/zsvbp4j
Like this? Read more below…
About Me
My name is Nicola Bhalerao and I am a private tutor based in Warwick. Since 2013, I have provided one-to-one tuition for children and adults. I specialise in maths tutoring, but cater for different requests, ranging from 11+ / entrance exams to various uses of maths, e.g. : interviews, job promotions, GCSE retakes, Functional Skills, nursing, teaching – any situation where confidence in maths is required.
My background is in computing, with a Computer Science degree from Warwick University. I have worked many years as a programmer, latterly in the games industry. Both my sons were tutored by me for the 11+ (they went to a local grammar school). I received training for teaching secondary school maths and I am fully CRB checked.
Read here for more information on tuition for your child or tuition for yourself or another adult.
"Nicola has been very supportive by helping me to fill in the blanks left over from my high school education. This has been crucial to improving my confidence in mathematics"
"I was lacking confidence in maths. Nicola was a fantastic teacher and really helped to improve my technique and approach to maths problems. She is patient, understanding and friendly"
"She was very friendly and professional. After a few sessions I felt much more confident in my ability and passed the numerical reasoning tests. She explains things very clearly"
"Nicola was a patient tutor, always helpful in answering any questions I had. I’d always found maths quite a scary subject, but through Nicola's tutoring I found I built confidence with the subject"
"Nicola has been very supportive by helping me to fill in the blanks left over from my high school education. This has been crucial to improving my confidence in mathematics"
"I was lacking confidence in maths. Nicola was a fantastic teacher and really helped to improve my technique and approach to maths problems. She is patient, understanding and friendly"
"She was very friendly and professional. After a few sessions I felt much more confident in my ability and passed the numerical reasoning tests. She explains things very clearly"
"Nicola was a patient tutor, always helpful in answering any questions I had. I’d always found maths quite a scary subject, but through Nicola's tutoring I found I built confidence with the subject"