Telling time is an important skill that helps us know when things happen during the day. We use a clock to tell time. A clock has two hands:

The short hand is called the hour hand. It tells us the hour.

The long hand is called the minute hand. It tells us the minutes.

There are 60 minutes in one hour. The numbers on the clock go from 1 to 12. The minute hand moves around the clock, and when it completes one full circle, one hour has passed.

We also use AM and PM to tell the time:

AM is from midnight (12:00 AM) to just before noon (11:59 AM). We use AM for morning activities, like waking up or going to school.

PM is from noon (12:00 PM) to just before midnight (11:59 PM). We use PM for afternoon and evening activities, like dinner or bedtime.

Some common ways to read time:

3:00 → Three o’clock

3:15 → Quarter past three

3:30 → Half past three

3:45 → Quarter to four

Learning to tell time helps us plan our day and be on time for important activities!