Telling Time to 5 Minutes (2nd Grade)

What is it?

Reading an analog clock takes two steps. The short hand shows the hour, and the long hand shows the minutes. Each number on the clock face is 5 minutes apart, so your child counts by 5s from the 12 to the long hand instead of counting single minutes. The lesson reads 3:25 one hand at a time.

Step by step: 3:25

1. Find the short hand. It shows the hour.
2. The short hand is past the 3 (and not yet at the 4), so the hour is 3.
3. Find the long hand. It shows the minutes.
4. Count by 5s from the 12 to the long hand: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25.
5. So the time is 3:25.

Common mistakes

• Mixing up the hands: reading the long hand as the hour.
• Reading the number the long hand points to as the minutes (5 instead of 25). Count by 5s instead.
• Naming the next hour when the short hand is between two numbers. Use the number it has just passed.

Your turn

The lesson ends with a problem to try. Pause and let your child work it out before you check.

The short hand is between the 7 and the 8, and the long hand points to the 8. What time is it?

Answer: 7:40. The short hand has passed the 7 but not reached the 8, so the hour is 7. Count by 5s to the 8: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40.

Practice at home

Use a real analog clock or a paper plate with two hands. Point out the time at moments in the day, like breakfast, leaving for school and bedtime, and have your child count by 5s around the face. Then set a time and ask them to read it back.