Resources/Time practice: read clocks and elapsed time
Grades 1-3•Printable worksheet + answer key•CC0 license

Time practice: read clocks and elapsed time

A printable lesson for telling time to the nearest 5 minutes.

Students practice reading analog clocks and solving basic elapsed time problems.

Print-ready worksheet with answer key and quick teaching tips.

Grades 1-30 problems10 minAnswer key included
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Ready-to-teach

Clear steps, examples, and practice in one printable page.

Misconception-proof

Highlights common mistakes and how to fix them quickly.

Open license

CC0: free to copy, adapt, and share without attribution.

Quick overview

This free telling time worksheet for grades 1-3 covers clock reading and simple elapsed time.

Lesson plan snapshot

12-18 min
  • Warm-up (3 min): identify hour and minute hands.
  • Model (5 min): solve the worked example together.
  • Guided practice (4 min): complete problems 1-3 as a group.
  • Independent practice (6 min): finish the remaining problems.

Materials: clock model, pencil

Learning targets

  • Read time to the nearest 5 minutes.
  • Use the minute hand to count by 5s.
  • Solve simple elapsed time problems.

Step-by-step approach

  1. 1Find the hour hand first to estimate the hour.
  2. 2Count minutes by 5s where the minute hand points.
  3. 3Write the time using hour:minute format.
  4. 4For elapsed time, count forward or backward.

Common mistakes

Mistake

Reading the minute hand as the hour.

Try instead

The shorter hand shows the hour, the longer hand shows minutes.

Mistake

Forgetting to count by 5s.

Try instead

Use 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30... around the clock.

Mistake

Stopping at the number instead of the minute value.

Try instead

The number 4 means 20 minutes, not 4 minutes.

Worked example

Guided
The minute hand points to the 6 and the hour hand is between 3 and 4. What time is it?
  1. Minute hand at 6 means 30 minutes.
  2. Hour hand between 3 and 4 means 3 o'clock hour.
  3. So the time is 3:30.
Answer: 3:30

Related resources

Skip counting

Count by 5s and 10s for clock fluency.

View resource

Addition & subtraction

Counting on and back within 20.

View resource

Word problems

Multi-step reasoning practice.

View resource

Practice problems

10 problems • 15 min

Printable worksheet
  1. 1
    How many minutes are in 4 hours 45 minutes?
  2. 2
    If the time is 8:30, what time is it after 75 minutes?
  3. 3
    A class starts at 11:00 and ends at 12:00. How long is the class?
  4. 4
    How many minutes are in 1 hours 0 minutes?
  5. 5
    If the time is 6:15, what time is it after 30 minutes?
  6. 6
    How many minutes are in 5 hours 0 minutes?
  7. 7
    If the time is 1:30, what time is it after 45 minutes?
  8. 8
    If the time is 3:15, what time is it after 60 minutes?
  9. 9
    A class starts at 10:00 and ends at 11:00. How long is the class?
  10. 10
    How many minutes are in 1 hours 45 minutes?

Answer key

10 answers
  1. 11) 285
  2. 22) 9:45
  3. 33) 1 hour
  4. 44) 60
  5. 55) 6:45
  6. 66) 300
  7. 77) 2:15
  8. 88) 4:15
  9. 99) 1 hour
  10. 1010) 105

Teacher tips

  • TUse a movable clock model for hands-on practice.
  • THave students count minutes aloud by 5s.
  • TAsk students to explain how they found the hour.

Parent tips

  • PAsk your child to read the time on a wall clock.
  • PPractice “What time is it in 10 minutes?” questions.
  • PLet your child set timers and read the time together.

Open license

You are free to copy, adapt, and share these materials. No attribution required. Released under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (public domain).