Time Telling Tips with a Freebie

I have some fun and great time telling ideas and resources that will reach many grade levels. Time is one of the hardest skills to learn. Think about it, we do not see analog clocks these days. Everything is digital! Students still need to learn the concept of time and on an analog clock is the best place to start. You need to understand how time works on an analog clock before you can understand the digital clock. 

Keep reading below to see a few tips and ideas to reinforce time in the classroom, grab a free worksheet, and preview some resources to use to help practice. Here are some time telling tips that I know will help students grasp the concept of time. 

• Tip #1: To help students understand the hands on the clock, here is a tip that ALWAYS works. I write the word, "minute" and "hour" on the whiteboard. I ask the students which is the longer word? Minute is the longer word so it gets the longer hand. Hour is the shortest word so it gets the shortest hand. This tip seems to work and they are able to keep the hands straight. 

• Tip #2: Start teaching the o'clock times (12:00, 3:00, 7:00)  and understand that there are 12 hours with 60 minutes for each hour and that the clock goes around two times to make a complete 24 hours a day. This makes a morning (a.m) and an afternoon (pm). Hours are always stated first and minutes come after the colon. For little students this may be hard to understand. Keep your lessons short, fun, and consistent. Ask students daily questions about the clock. For example, if I was eating breakfast, would that be in the a.m hours or p.m hours? How many hours are in a day? How many times does the clock go around to make a full day? 

• Tip #3: Next start counting the minutes by 5's. Make sure your students are proficient in counting by 5's at least to 60. Then make aware of the quarter hours. Students should start to become proficient in reading the clock without counting too. For example if the minute hand is on the 6. Students should start to be aware that is 30 minutes without counting every time. Students should also start to do some simple elapsed time. If I start reading at 1:00 and read for 30 minutes, what time will I be done? 

Here are a set of 24 task cards to the nearest 5 minute. Cut the boards in half and place them at your math center. Students use the recording sheet to record the time from 8 clocks. This pack can be used during your math lessons instead of worksheets or use them at your small group time to practice and reinforce time. Here is a peak at one of the boards:

Instead of the task cards above, I also have Write and Wipe task boards to the nearest 5 minutes. This pack includes 10 boards to tell the time on the clock and 10 boards to draw the hands on the clock. Students can check their answer on the answer key or you can check for understanding. Laminate each board or put them in a page protector. Students use a dry erase marker to write on the board. Then they wipe the board and it's ready for the next student. These work great to use instead of worksheets. They also work great at centers and during your small group time. Here are 2 examples of the task boards:

I also have a set of 16 worksheets all about time to the nearest 5 minute. If you are not into task cards, worksheets might be your thing. These are clear, crisp, and clean time telling worksheets. Students write the time, draw the hands, and do a few elapsed time problems. These worksheets can be used for extra classwork, sent home for homework, or used as assessments. Of course if you're visiting my blog, you'll find a FREEBIE. I included one of the worksheets from this pack below. Click on the picture to try telling time the the nearest 5 minute worksheet. Just print and you're ready to start learning time or at least see where your students are at about telling time!

• Tip # 4: Once students master the 5 minute intervals, move on to minutes. 

For 2nd graders and up, try this great activity that will keep your students on their toes. I give each student a sticky note and instruct them to place it on their desk. I tell the students that when I say, "Time!", everyone stops what they are doing. Looks at the clock on the wall, and records the time on their sticky note. I do this 4 or 5 times throughout the day. At the end of the day, I collect their sticky note and evaluate if they recorded the correct times. You can also do this with 5 minute intervals, but you would have to call "Time" at the exact 5 minute time. It can be done, but harder to keep track of time. I've used this idea with 2nd-4th grade students. Each grade thought it was great and  begged me to do it more often. 

Do you need some time to the nearest minute resources to help students practice more? Here are Time to the Minute Task Boards to the nearest minute. I love these boards! They are so easy to use at a moment's notice or as a quick small group review. Students write the time from 12 clock or draw the hands to show the time. These task boards will help practice telling time to the nearest minutes. These are great to have in the classroom too. These task boards can be used for seat work, math centers, or during small group time. Click the pictures below to read more about them. 

This pack includes 24 task cards. Students write the time on the recording sheet. There are 8 clocks for each task card. These are great for math centers and small groups. 

• Tip #5 Then move on to more advanced elapsed time. Around this time students should begin adding time. For example, if I went shopping for 2 hours and 10 minutes and I did errands for 1 hour and 50 minutes. How much time did I spend doing things?

This pack of Elapsed Time Task Card has 3 different sets. Each set of task cards use time to the nearest 5 minutes. There are 3 different ways to use elapsed time. There are a total of 48 task cards in this set. Click the picture to read more about it and check out the preview!

If you don't like task cards, try the mini workbook worksheets. There are 32 half pages that students need to tell the time and answer some questions about the time. These are great for your morning work or as exit tickets. They are also work great for extra practice or as an assessment.

Bingo anyone? If you are teaching time to the hour, half-hour, quarter hour, and to the nearest 5 minutes, you might want some fun bingo games. These bingo boards are perfect for beginners! There are only 8 squares. Students can cover the top row, bottom row, 4 corners, or coverall/ Here is an example of a bingo board. 

Each pack is separated by skill or in a bundle with all 3 together. The first pack is only time to the hour and half-hour. The second pack adds on quarter hour. The third pack is time to the nearest 5 minutes.

There are 30 bingo boards in each pack. Therefore, you can play time bingo with the entire class. Students can also play bingo in small groups or at math centers. You can also use these boards during small group time. Give students a bingo board and a white board. Have them write all 8 times on the clock from each bingo card. Check for understanding. Plus these boards are adorable! Very engaging and ready for your classroom. Some prep is needed. Print and cut-out each bingo board and laminate for durability. A set of calling cards are included in each pack.

 

If you're looking to add and subtract time using hours, minutes, and seconds, click the packs above. These come in task cards or worksheets. You can also bundle them together and get both. Click any picture to read more about these 2 products about adding and subtracting time.

Here are some classroom resources that I found on Amazon that you might need teaching your time unit:
Classroom Clock Kit
Little Class Clocks
Beginner Clock Kit
How to Tell Time Book
What Time Is It Game
Teaching Clock
Timely Game

It's TIME to wrap it up.
Thanks for stopping by today!
See you soon,

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