🔢 MathGrade 2Lesson 27
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Tell Time to Quarter Hours

Lesson preview: the Mini Lesson and Vocabulary are open to everyone. Guided practice, exercises, the parent checklist and the printable PDF worksheet come with full access (free 7-day trial or membership).

What you will learn

  • 1Read an analog clock
  • 2Say the time as o'clock, quarter past, half past, or quarter to
  • 3Identify the minute-hand position for each quarter-hour
  • 4Match clock faces to times written in words
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Mini Lesson

A clock face is divided into 60 minutes. The short hand (hour hand) shows the hour. The long hand (minute hand) travels all the way around in 60 minutes. Every quarter of the way around equals 15 minutes.

The four quarter-hour positions

  • O'clock — minute hand points to 12. The hour hand points exactly at the hour number. Example: 3:00 = three o'clock.
  • Quarter past — minute hand points to 3. 15 minutes have passed. Example: 3:15 = quarter past three.
  • Half past — minute hand points to 6. 30 minutes have passed — halfway around. Example: 3:30 = half past three.
  • Quarter to — minute hand points to 9. 45 minutes have passed, leaving 15 minutes until the next hour. Example: 3:45 = quarter to four.

Reading the hour hand

  • At o'clock — hour hand points directly at the hour number.
  • After o'clock — hour hand moves away from the number toward the next.
  • At quarter to — hour hand is almost at the next hour number, so say "quarter to [next hour]."

Words to know

Hour hand

The short hand on a clock that points to the hour

e.g. The hour hand is on the 3.

Minute hand

The long hand on a clock that points to the minutes

e.g. The minute hand is on the 6.

Quarter past

Fifteen minutes after the hour

e.g. Three fifteen is quarter past three.

Half past

Thirty minutes after the hour

e.g. Three thirty is half past three.

Quarter to

Fifteen minutes before the next hour

e.g. Three forty-five is quarter to four.

O'clock

Exactly on the hour, with the minute hand on 12

e.g. Seven o'clock is when the minute hand is on 12.

Four clock faces showing quarter-hour timesFour small analog clocks. Top-left: 3 o'clock, minute hand at 12, hour hand at 3. Top-right: quarter past 3, minute hand at 3. Bottom-left: half past 3, minute hand at 6. Bottom-right: quarter to 4, minute hand at 9.123693 o'clockmin → 1212369Quarter past 3min → 312369Half past 312369Quarter to 4
Four analog clocks — 3 o'clock, quarter past 3, half past 3, and quarter to 4 — each showing the correct hand positions.
Minute-hand position guide for quarter hoursA reference table: minute hand at 12 means o'clock, 0 minutes. At 3 means quarter past, 15 minutes. At 6 means half past, 30 minutes. At 9 means quarter to, 45 minutes.Long Hand (Minute) Guide12O'clock0 minutes past:003Quarter past15 minutes past:156Half past30 minutes past:309Quarter to45 minutes past (15 to go):45
Minute-hand reference — long hand at 12 = o'clock (:00), at 3 = quarter past (:15), at 6 = half past (:30), at 9 = quarter to (:45).
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Ask yourself: "Where is the long hand? 12 → o'clock, 3 → quarter past, 6 → half past, 9 → quarter to."

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