Grade 1 Telling-time: Meet the Hour Hand
Find the short hour hand and read the hour it points to
What You'll Learn
- Tell the hour hand from the minute hand
- Read the hour the short hand points to
📖The Two Hands
A clock has two hands. The SHORT hand is the hour hand — it tells you the hour. The LONG hand is the minute hand. When the long hand points straight up to the 12, it is an exact hour (an “o’clock” time), so you only need to read the short hand: whatever number the short hour hand points to is the hour.
Worked examples
Real problems from the practice worksheets, solved one step at a time.
Example 1
What hour is the hour hand (the short hand) pointing to?
- Find the short hand. It is the hour hand, and it tells you the hour.
- It points right at the 10, so the hour is 10 (10 o’clock).
Answer: 10
Example 2
What hour is the hour hand (the short hand) pointing to?
- Find the short hand. It is the hour hand, and it tells you the hour.
- It points right at the 12, so the hour is 12 (12 o’clock).
Answer: 12
Example 3
What hour is the hour hand (the short hand) pointing to?
- Find the short hand. It is the hour hand, and it tells you the hour.
- It points right at the 11, so the hour is 11 (11 o’clock).
Answer: 11