Ready to teach time?

STOP! Do this first.

Visual
aids

Teach 11 12
hours 10 1
9 2
Work
sheets 8 3
7 4
6 5
Hands
on

How to introduce telling time

Ready to teach time in 1st grade?
Before teaching telling time to the hour, give a lesson
on identifying the hour. This will save students from
future confusion. When we teach time to the hour
first, kids get the idea that the hour is whatever the
short hand is nearest to. They continue this idea for
about a year, when they finally get to quarter hour.
By then, it’s hard to undo their misconception! To
prevent this, I teach that each hour has a “room”
after the number. Whenever the short hand is inside
the room, that is the hour.

This is the traditional

approach to teaching time.
Students catch on to this
easily. It gets drilled into
their heads.
2:00

Once you move on to half

hour and quarter hours, the
confusion sets in. What
worked for them before no
longer applies.
4:30 or 5:30?
© Ainslee Labs
 A common mistake is to say the
time is 2:55, not 1:55. It makes
sense to the student when he
or she thinks back to when they
learned time to the hour. The
short hand is the closest to the
2, so of course that’s the hour!

How to prevent
misunderstanding the hour hand?
Teach that each hour has a room. When the
hour hand is inside the room, that is the hour!

“The hour is 2.”

How do you know?
“Because the
11 12 short hand is
10 1 inside 2’s room.”
9 2 By teaching the idea
of the hour owning a
8 3 space, kids learn
7 4 from the very
6 5 beginning that the
hour hand is
different from the
minute hand.
© Ainslee Labs
ü  Vary the minutes as much as possible so
students can see the full range of movement
within the hour hand.
ü  Do not ask students to identify the minutes.
Only the hour.
ü  Slowly release visual supports as shown below.
Most support Least support

11 12
10 1
9 2 2
8 3
7 4
6 5

Contents
ü  p. 5 Color Clock Poster with labeled rooms
ü  p. 6 Color Clock Small with labeled rooms
ü  p. 7 Color Clock Poster without labeled rooms
ü  p. 8 Color Clock Small without labeled rooms
ü  p. 9 Large and small arrows
ü  p.10 Gray scale Clock Poster with labeled rooms
ü  p.11 Gray scale Clock Small with labeled rooms
ü  p.12 Blank Full Page Clock Worksheet
ü  p.13 Identify the Hour Worksheets
ü  p.19 Draw the Hour Hand Worksheets
ü  p. 25 20 Task cards (easier, minutes are included)
ü  p. 30 20 Task cards (difficult, minutes are not included)
ü  p. 35 Self-checking answer sheet for task cards
© Ainslee Labs
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© Ainslee Labs
 11 12 11 12
10 1 10 1
9 2 9 2

8 3 8 3
7 4 7 4
6 5 6 5

Ainslee Labs © 2015 Ainslee Labs © 2015

11 12 11 12
10 1 10 1
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8 3 8 3
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© Ainslee Labs © Ainslee Labs

© Ainslee Labs
Ainslee Labs © 2015 Ainslee Labs © 2015

© Ainslee Labs © Ainslee Labs

Hands for the small clocks. Hands for the big clock.
 11 12
10 1
9 2

8 3
7 4
6 5

© Ainslee Labs
 11 12 11 12
10 1 10 1
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8 3 8 3
7 4 7 4
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Ainslee Labs © 2015 Ainslee Labs © 2015

11 12 11 12
10 1 10 1
9 2 9 2

8 3 8 3
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© Ainslee Labs © Ainslee Labs

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

Color each hour’s room a different color. Then write the hour inside the room.

© Ainslee Labs
Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :00 ___ :00 ___ :00

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

© Ainslee Labs

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :30 ___ :30 ___ :30

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

© Ainslee Labs

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :15 ___ :15 ___ :15

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

© Ainslee Labs

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :45 ___ :45 ___ :45

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

© Ainslee Labs

___ : ___ ___ : ___ ___ : ___

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :45 ___ :18 ___ :31

___ :57 ___ :10 ___ :25

© Ainslee Labs

___ :00 ___ :15 ___ :30

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then write the hour in the blank.

___ :55 ___ :27 ___ :49

___ :59 ___ :03 ___ :24

© Ainslee Labs

___ :41 ___ :00 ___ :12

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

3:00 10:00 5:00

1:00 12:00 11:00

© Ainslee Labs

4:00 9:00 6:00

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

7:30 3:30 8:30

12:30 4:30 10:30

© Ainslee Labs

11:30 1:30 5:30

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

4:15 1:15 11:15

2:15 8:15 6:15

© Ainslee Labs

3:15 12:15 5:15

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

7:45 9:45 11:45

1:45 10:45 6:45

© Ainslee Labs

12:45 3:45 5:45

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

5:45 1:30 4:00

12:15 6:30 10:00

© Ainslee Labs

8:15 2:45 7:30

Name: ______________________________ Date: _______________

What hour is it?

Color in the hour’s room. Then draw the hour hand in the clock.

7:30 3:10 8:00

12:45 4:15 10:30

© Ainslee Labs

11:00 1:40 5:25

A B

___:00 ___:15

C D

___:30 ___:45
E F

___:25 ___:05

G H

___:40 ___:55
I J

___:10 ___:25

K L

___:50 ___:35
M N

___:59 ___:52

O P

___:03 ___:48
Q R

___:13 ___:00

S T

___:39 ___:56
A B

___:___ ___:___

C D

___:___ ___:___
E F

___:___ ___:___

G H

___:___ ___:___
I J

___:___ ___:___

K L

___:___ ___:___
M N

___:___ ___:___

O P

___:___ ___:___
Q R

___:___ ___:___

S T

___:___ ___:___
1. 11. FOLD and check your work
2. 12. 1)  3:00 11)  10:50
3. 13. 2)  6:15 12)  8:35
4. 14. 3)  1:30 13)  2:59
5. 15.
4)  10:45 14)  10:52
5)  8:25 15)  3:03
6. 16.
6)  11:05 16)  6:48
7. 17.
7)  5:40 17)  9:13
8. 18.
8)  11:55 18)  11:00
9. 19.
9)  1:10 19)  5:39
10. 20. 10)  10:25 20) 11:56

1. 11. FOLD and check your work

2. 12. 1)  3:00 11)  10:50
3. 13. 2)  6:15 12)  8:35
4. 14. 3)  1:30 13)  2:59
5. 15.
4)  10:45 14)  10:52
5)  8:25 15)  3:03
6. 16.
6)  11:05 16)  6:48
7. 17.
7)  5:40 17)  9:13
8. 18.
8)  11:55 18)  11:00
9. 19.
9)  1:10 19)  5:39
10. 20. 10)  10:25 20) 11:56
Thank you for your purchase

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How to introduce telling time