Time to Tell Time: Showing and

Writing Time
Second Grade Math

by April Brown July 28, 2015

Becoming fluent in reading analog and digital clocks can be very “time” consuming. This interactive lesson will
engage young learners while reinforcing an important skill.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to tell time using analog and digital clocks.

Materials and preparation Key terms

Class set of the Time 2 Tell Time 1 worksheet colon

Class set of the Time 2 Tell Time 2 worksheet analog clock
Small whiteboards and markers digital clock
Small analog clocks (one per student)
Large analog clock
Large digital clock

Attachments

Time 2 Tell Time 1 (PDF)

Time 2 Tell Time 2 (PDF)
Reading Clocks (PDF)
Time 2 Tell Time 2 (PDF)

Introduction (10 minutes)

Gather the students together in a group, and explain that they will be learning about analog and digital
clocks.
Ask the students what the difference is between an analog clock and a digital clock.
Ask the students which clock is easier to use to tell time and why.
Show the students the analog clock. Explain to the students that an analog clock uses moving hands to
show time. The long hand tells the minutes, and the short hand tells the hour. Ask the students what time
the analog clock is currently displaying.
Show the students the digital clock. Explain to the students that a digital clock shows the time with
numbers.
Point to the colon on the clock. Explain to the students that a colon is a punctuation mark that is used to
separate the hours from the minutes in time. Explain to the students that the numbers on the left of the
colon show the hour, and the numbers on the right of the colon show the minutes.
EL

Beginning

Provide students with pictures of an analog clock and a digital clock with parts labeled in both English and
their home language (L1). Parts may include: hour hand, minute hand, colon, numbers, hour, minutes,
etc.
Ask students to come up to the front of the room to find the analog clock or the digital clock. Encourage

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 and guide students to point and orally label the parts of each clock, using their pictures for support.

Intermediate

Have students compare and contrast each type of clock.

Provide sentence stems to support their sharing, such as:
An analog clock is the same as a digital clock because ____.
An analog clock is different from a digital clock because ____.

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling (15 minutes)

Show a few times on the analog clock. Write down the times on the whiteboard as you show the times on
the analog clock. Some examples could be: 3:00, 4:05, 4:20, 1:15, 2:30, 3:45, 5:30, 12:00.
Explain to the students that when the time changes to a new hour, you must write the time with two
zeros in the minutes. Show examples on the clock, and write the examples on the whiteboard.
Show a few more times on the analog clock.
Call on a few student volunteers to come up and write down the times on the whiteboard so they can
practice using the colon to separate the hours from the minutes.
EL

Beginning

Provide students with small analog clocks. Instruct students to show the time on their analog clocks after
you show the time on a demonstration clock.
Encourage students to tell the time orally, providing sentence frames such as:
It is ____ minutes after ____. The time is ____.

Intermediate

Encourage students to volunteer to write the time on the whiteboard.

Ask students to explain how they know what time it is in their own words.
Provide a sentence frame to support students as they justify their reasoning:
I know it is ____ because ____.

Guided Practice (20 minutes)

Pass out the small whiteboards, whiteboard markers, and small analog clocks to each student.
Explain to the students that they will be practicing writing down time on their whiteboards and showing
time using their analog clocks.
Show a time on the analog clock. Ask the students to write the time on their whiteboards. Students can
check their answer with a partner before holding up the whiteboard. Repeat a few times.
Next, write down a time on the whiteboard. Ask the students to show the time on their analog clocks.
Students can check their answers with partners before holding up their analog clocks.
Pass out the Time 2 Tell Time 1 worksheet. Ask the students to complete the sheet with a partner of their
choice.
Rotate around the room and check the student’s work. Ask the students to share their answers when they
are finished.
EL

Beginning

Pair students with bilingual partners who speak the same home language (L1), or partner students with
sympathetic non-EL peers.
Have students create the time on their small analog clocks prior to matching the time on the analog clock
to the time on the digital clock.
Encourage students to check in with their partner to clarify accuracy.
Provide students with a sentence frame to support them, such as:

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 I think the clock shows ____ minutes after ____. So the time is ____.

Intermediate

Instruct students to detail the process of figuring out the time using sequencing words (e.g. first, next,
then, finally).
Have students compare/contrast their process with their partner's process. Are they the same or
different?

Independent working time (20 minutes)

Pass out the Time 2 Tell Time 2 worksheet. Have your students complete this page individually.
Rotate around the room to help struggling students.
Ask your students to turn in the sheet when they are finished.
EL

Beginning

Allow students to work with the same partners from guided practice or put students in a small, teacher-
led group during independent working time.
Encourage students to use the same sentence frame to clarify accuracy.

Intermediate

Instruct students to check in with their elbow partners after finishing the worksheet to compare answers.

Related books and/or media

Find interactive books for each child’s level.

Differentiation

Enrichment: Have your students quiz each other by taking turns showing times on their analog clocks. Have
the other students write the times down on a whiteboard. Flip the process as well.

Support: Break off students into a small group, and have them practice showing various times on their analog
clocks.

Assessment (5 minutes)

During guided practice, check for understanding by looking at the whiteboards and analog clocks the
students hold up.
Observe students as you rotate around the room to check for understanding.
Check the students' worksheets after they turn them in.
EL

Beginning

Assist students in detailing their process for figuring out the time on the analog clock using visuals and
numbers. For example, students might draw a picture of the short hand, the hour hand, for number 1.
The teacher assists the student by writing a short sentence detailing their example: "First, I look at the
hour hand."

Intermediate

Write questions on the board to guide students in checking their accuracy:

Did we use the same strategy to get our answers? How is my partner's strategy the same/different
from my own?

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 What is another strategy I can use to rework the problem?
What is still confusing me? Who can I ask for help?

Review and closing (10 minutes)

Gather the students together, and ask questions to check for understanding. Potential questions include:
"Which clock do you prefer to use, and why? Is writing the time down or showing the time on the analog
clock easier?"
Ask students to share some of the strategies they use to make telling time less tricky!
EL

Beginning

Allow students to share their answers in their home language (L1), if possible.
Encourage students to refer to the visuals of the labeled parts of the analog and digital clocks to support
their discussions.

Intermediate

Provide students with sentence frames, such as:

The strategy I use is ____. This helps me tell time because ____.

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Time 2 Tell Time 1
Can you match the time shown?
Draw a line to connect the 2 clocks that show the same time

12
11 1
10 2
9 3
2:20
8 4
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8
9:35
4
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8 4
4:50
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8 4 6:45
7 5
6

Copyright © 2009-2010 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 Time 2 Tell Time 2
Can you tell what time it is?
Write down the time you see on each clock.
eXAMPLE (long)
minute 12
hour minute 11 1
10 2

10 : 20 Hour
9 3
(short) 8 4
7 5
6

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

: 11
12
1
2
10

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

8 4
7
6
5
:
:
Copyright © 2009-2010 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets
Time 2 Tell Time 1
Can you match the time shown?
Draw a line to connect the 2 clocks that show the same time

12
11 1
10 2
9 3
2:20
8 4
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8
9:35
4
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8 4
4:50
7 5
6

12
11 1
10 2
9 3

8 4 6:45
7 5
6

Copyright © 2009-2010 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets

 Time 2 Tell Time 2
Can you tell what time it is?
Write down the time you see on each clock.
eXAMPLE (long)
minute 12
hour minute 11 1
10 2

10 : 20 Hour
9 3
(short) 8 4
7 5
6

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

: 11
12
1
2
10

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

8 4
7
6
5
:
:
Copyright © 2009-2010 by Education.com More worksheets at www.education.com/worksheets