Grades K–2 · Mathematics
How do clock hands show hours and minutes?
A clock's long hand can point to four while the time begins with three. Both hands are telling the truth. They use the same circle to tell us two different things: hours and minutes.
The short hand tells the hour. The long hand counts minutes. From one number to the next, the long hand travels through five minutes. Starting at twelve, it reaches one after five minutes, two after ten, three after fifteen, and four after twenty.
At 3:20, the long hand points to four. The short hand has moved a little past three, toward four. It keeps moving while the minutes pass. It does not wait on three and suddenly jump when the hour ends.
Three clock faces show the same hour unfolding. The longer orange hand counts minutes; the shorter blue hand moves gradually toward the next hour.
One full trip of the long hand takes sixty minutes. During that same time, the short hand moves from one hour number to the next. At 4:00, the long hand is back at twelve and the short hand has reached four. Two hands moving at different speeds fit a whole hour's story onto one small circle.
About this explanation
These clocks do not tell us whether it is morning or afternoon. The same hand positions return twelve hours later.
Starting knowledge: Count in fives through sixty and recognize the numbers one through twelve with adult support.
Sources
- Common Core State Standards Initiative — Grade 2: Time to the nearest five minutes