Year 1 Handbook
Time: o'clock and half past
Read the hour and half-hour positions on an analogue clock.
What you are learning
Read the hour and half-hour positions on an analogue clock.
Key idea
The short hand shows the hour. The long hand points to 12 at o'clock and to 6 at half past.
Worked example
Read 3 o'clock
3 o'clock
- Find the long hand. It points to 12, so the time is o'clock.
- Find the short hand. It points to 3.
- Say the time as 3 o'clock.
The clock shows 3 o'clock.
Another way
Use the clock position
The long hand at 6 means half past. Read the short hand as the hour it has passed.
Why this works
The clock face is divided into 12 hour positions. The long hand makes one complete turn in an hour, while the short hand moves between hour numbers.
Common mistake
Remember
Short hand: hour. Long hand at 12: o'clock. Long hand at 6: half past.
Vocabulary
- o'clock
- A time when the long hand points to 12.
- half past
- A time 30 minutes after an hour, when the long hand points to 6.
- hour hand
- The short hand on an analogue clock.
- minute hand
- The long hand on an analogue clock.
Try one
Have a go before revealing the answer. These are optional learning checks: they are not scored and do not change your practice record.
Where does the long hand point at half past?
Which hand shows the hour?