Reading time on analogue clocks including quarter past, half past, quarter to, and times to the nearest 5 minutes. Includes clocks with Roman numerals.
Where your child meets this in real life: Reading classroom clocks, church clocks, or traditional watches
SEAGReady breaks read analogue clocks into 3 steps, taught in order so each skill builds on the last.
Read times on the hour and half-hour (e.g., 3:00, 7:30)
Read quarter past and quarter to times (e.g., 4:15, 8:45)
Read any time to the nearest 5 minutes (e.g., 2:25, 6:40, 9:35)
Three free sample questions from our read analogue clocks course. Every question comes with a full explanation, and hints that guide without giving the answer away.
Sean looks at the classroom clock. The short hand is pointing between 3 and 4, and the long hand is pointing at 6. What time does the clock show?
Answer: A. 3:30
The short hand shows the hour - it's between 3 and 4, so the hour is 3. The long hand points at 6, which means half past (30 minutes). The time is half past 3, or 3:30.
Stuck? Start here: Remember: the short hand shows the HOUR, the long hand shows the MINUTES.
Caitlin looks at the clock before her dance class. The short hand has just passed 4, and the long hand is pointing at 9. What time does the clock show?
Answer: A. 4:45
The short hand has just passed 4, so the hour is 4. The long hand at 9 means 45 minutes. The time is 4:45, also called 'quarter to 5'.
Stuck? Start here: The short hand shows the hour. It has just passed 4, so we're in the 4 o'clock hour.
Sean looks at the clock tower on St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. The hour hand is between 4 and 5, and the minute hand points at the 5. What time does the clock show?
Answer: A. 4:25
The hour hand is between 4 and 5, so the hour is 4. Count by 5s to the minute hand position (5): 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. The time is 4:25, or '25 past 4'.
Stuck? Start here: The short hand shows the hour - it's between 4 and 5, so the hour is 4.
This is the exact interactive worked example your child sees in SEAGReady. Step through it and watch the method build up.
Ciara looks at the classroom clock during her maths lesson.
What time does the clock show?
Hour hand between 8 and 9, minute hand pointing at 6
Step 1 of 4
Ciara looks at the classroom clock during her maths lesson.
What time does the clock show?
The time is half past 8, or 8:30.
The key insight: When it's half past, the hour hand is halfway between two numbers!
Watch out: Reading 8:30 as 6:40 (swapping the hands). The SHORT hand shows hours.
These are the misconceptions we see most often in read analogue clocks, including the ones our practice questions are specifically designed to catch.
SEAGReady finds the exact step where your child gets stuck, teaches it with worked examples like the one above, and brings it back for review so it sticks.