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Telling Time Worksheets

Make telling time worksheets: read the clock or draw the hands, to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, 5 minutes or 1 minute. Free, printable, answer key.

Worksheet code: — the page address keeps your settings, so you can bookmark or share this exact sheet.

Name: ____________________   Date: ______________

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The telling time worksheet generator makes printable clock worksheets for practicing telling time. Each sheet asks children either to read the time on a clock face or to draw the hour and minute hands for a given time, using times to the hour, half hour, quarter hour, 5 minutes or 1 minute. It runs in your web browser, is free, and needs no account or sign-up. Nothing is uploaded. You can choose how many clocks appear, pick digital or word times, and print the sheet or save it as a PDF, with an answer key on its own page. The sections below explain how to use the tool, how analog clocks work, and which settings suit each grade.

How to use the Telling Time Worksheet Generator

  1. Type a name in Title on the sheet, or leave it as Telling Time.
  2. Set Kind of problem. Choose Read the clock (write the time) for clocks with hands, Draw the hands (time given) for blank faces, or Mixed for half of each.
  3. Set Times to the nearest: Hour, Half hour, Quarter hour, 5 minutes or 1 minute.
  4. On drawing sheets, set Write the given time as to Digital, Words or Both.
  5. Tick Show minute numbers around each clock if children still need help with minutes.
  6. Choose the number of Clocks, from 4 to 20.
  7. Keep Include answer key ticked to print answers on a separate page, or untick it.
  8. Check the sheet preview, which updates as you change settings. Click New worksheet for new times with the same settings.
  9. Choose US Letter or A4 paper, then click Print or save as PDF. The browser’s print dialog can also save a PDF.

Your settings are stored in the page address, so a bookmarked or shared link opens the same sheet again. Each sheet has a short worksheet code under the buttons. Click Reset settings to return to the defaults.

Turn on minute numbers while children are still counting by fives.

How do you tell time on an analog clock?

Read the hour hand first, then the minute hand. The short, thick hour hand shows the hour, and the long, thin minute hand shows the minutes past that hour.

To read the hour, use the last number the hour hand has passed. To read the minutes, count by fives around the clock: each number the minute hand has passed is 5 minutes, so the hand on the 4 means 20 minutes. Count the ticks between numbers to get the exact minutes. For example, if the hour hand has just passed the 3 and the minute hand is on the 9, the time is 3:45. Written in words, that is “quarter to 4”.

Clocks are built on angles. The minute hand moves 6 degrees per minute, and the hour hand moves 30 degrees per hour plus half a degree per minute. At 3:45, the hour hand is three quarters of the way from the 3 to the 4, which is why it sits between the numbers and not on one.

Why do children mix up the hour and minute hands?

Children mix up the hands because both look like pointers and both point at numbers. They often read the number a hand points to without asking what that hand measures.

Three mistakes are common. First, at 2:50 the hour hand is almost on the 3, so many children write 3:50. The fix is to read the hour as the last number the hour hand has passed. Second, children read the minute hand’s number as the minutes, so the hand on the 4 looks like “4” instead of 20 minutes. Third, for 4:30 many children draw the hour hand straight at the 4. Ask, “Has the hour hand had half an hour to move?” It should sit halfway between the 4 and the 5.

A 5-minute sheet includes plenty of these late-in-the-hour times, so children get to practice the right rule. Turn on minute numbers while children are learning to count by fives, and turn them off once they can read the minutes without help.

Questions teachers and parents ask

How do I make a blank clock face for drawing hands?

Set **Kind of problem** to Draw the hands (time given). Each sheet shows blank clock faces with a time under each one. Every face has the 12 hour numbers and all 60 minute ticks, with the five-minute ticks drawn bolder.

Which telling time worksheets suit 1st, 2nd and 3rd grade?

For 1st grade, use hour, then half hour, reading the clock first and then drawing with words. For 2nd grade, move to quarter hour, then 5 minutes, showing minute numbers at first and hiding them later, and use Mixed once both directions go well. For 3rd grade, use 1 minute with Mixed and 12 to 20 clocks. Kindergarten children can start with hour-only reading and talk about which hand is short and which is long.

Can I write the times in words, like quarter to 4?

Yes. Choose **Words** to write each given time as, for example, "quarter to 4", or choose **Both** to show the words and the digital time together. Both is useful while children are learning, because they can match the words to the clock. Words sheets are most useful on drawing practice.

Can children practice elapsed time with these sheets?

The sheets ask for the time shown or the hands for a given time, but they do not include elapsed-time questions. For 3rd grade, you can add your own elapsed-time question under some of the clocks after printing. For 4th and 5th grade, 1 minute review sheets with words for "minutes to" times are useful.

How do I get a different sheet with the same settings?

Click **New worksheet**. It makes a different sheet with the same settings and new times. Each sheet has its own worksheet code under the buttons, which you can note if you want to return to a specific sheet.

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