Classroom · Telling time · 1st grade

Telling time to the half hour worksheets

A free five-page pack for 1st grade: learn to tell time to the half hour, with a worked example, practice pages, word problems and an answer key.

Download the telling time to the half hour pack(5 pages, color)Ink saver (B&W)

Watch it solved

53 sec · with voice and captions

A pencil works one example of each activity, so you can see how the worksheet goes before you print it. Tap a step to jump to it. The rest of the sheet is left for your child to finish.

Read what the video says

0:00 Let's practice telling time to the half hour, step by step.
0:04 When the long hand points down to 6, half the hour has passed. The short hand is just past the 3. This clock shows 3:30, half past 3.
0:15 Read the clock. The long hand points down to 6, so it's half past 5. Write 5:30.
0:21 Draw the hands for 6:30. The long hand points down to 6, and the short hand goes halfway between 6 and 7.
0:30 Match each clock to its time. This clock shows 4:30, so draw a line to 4:30.
0:37 Word problems. Mia starts reading at 8:00 and reads for half an hour. What time does Mia stop? The answer is 8:30.
0:46 Great job! Now print the free worksheet, and finish the rest on your own.

How to do it

When the long hand points down to 6, half the hour has passed: it is half past. The short hand is halfway between two numbers, so read the number it has just passed.

Teaching tip

Fold a paper circle in half to show that half past means the minute hand has gone halfway around the clock.

Try some

Tap to check5:30
Tap to check8:00
Tap to check2:00
Tap to check3:30
Tap to check12:30
Tap to check7:30
Tap to check9:30
Tap to check2:30

Word problems

Mia starts reading at 8:00 and reads for half an hour. What time does Mia stop?Show answer

8:30

The bus comes at half past 3. Write the time with numbers.Show answer

3:30

A movie starts at 8:30 and ends 1 hour later. What time does it end?Show answer

9:30

Which time is later: 3:30 or 4:00?Show answer

4:00

What the worksheets look like

Telling time to the half hour worksheet: how to read a clock, then clocks to read — Page 1: how to read a clock, then clocks to read

Telling time to the half hour worksheet: draw the hands, or find how long it took — Page 2: draw the hands, or find how long it took

Blank clock faces

Nine clocks with no hands, to make your own practice.

Template(1 page, color)Ink saver (B&W)

Common questions

How do you teach telling time to the half hour?

When the long hand points down to 6, half the hour has passed: it is half past. The short hand is halfway between two numbers, so read the number it has just passed. Fold a paper circle in half to show that half past means the minute hand has gone halfway around the clock.

What grade learns telling time to the half hour?

Usually 1st grade. In the Common Core it is part of 1.MD.B.3.

Is there an answer key?

Yes. Page 5 has every answer from the pack and a short teaching tip.