A clock helps us know when to do things. The short hand shows the hour. The long hand shows the minutes.
Why this matters: Telling the time helps you be ready and on time, whether it is for school, a meal, or your daily prayers.
The special times
| What we say | Long (minute) hand points to | Digital |
|---|---|---|
| o'clock | 12 (top) | 3:00 |
| quarter past | 3 (right) | 3:15 |
| half past | 6 (bottom) | 3:30 |
| quarter to | 9 (left) | 3:45 |
The clock face has 60 minutes all the way round. Each number is 5 minutes apart. So the long hand on the 1 means 5 minutes past, on the 2 means 10 minutes past, and so on.
Put these times in order through the hour:
- 3:00 (three o'clock)
- 3:15 (quarter past three)
- 3:30 (half past three)
- 3:45 (quarter to four)
This clock shows 3 o'clock: the short hand points to 3 and the long hand points up to 12.
am and pm
We use am for the morning (from midnight to noon) and pm for the afternoon and evening (from noon to midnight). So 8am is breakfast time and 8pm is near bedtime.
Prayers happen at regular times each day, morning through night. Learning the clock helps you notice these steady daily rhythms.
Simple durations
A duration is how long something lasts. If a lesson starts at 2:00 and ends at 2:30, it lasted 30 minutes.