• 3rd Grade
  • Math
  • About 10 minutes
  • See it all: a chart to keep

Telling Time Chart

Count by 5s to the last number the long hand passed. Then count on by 1s.

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How to do it

  1. Find the hour with the short hand.
  2. Count by 5s to the last number the long hand passed.
  3. Count on by 1s to the long hand.

Teaching tip

Keep the chart next to a real clock and read the time together. This sheet is aligned with Common Core 3.MD.A.1.

Telling Time Chart for 3rd grade (time to the minute and elapsed time), free printable
Printable preview

About this chart

A clock showing 4:37 with the minutes around the edge, how to count by 5s and then 1s, and what a.m. and p.m. mean.

What kids practice

Third graders tell time to the exact minute, like 4:37, and work out elapsed time, which is how much time passes from a start time to an end time. They count by 5s to the last number the long hand passed, then count on by 1s. For elapsed time they jump along a number line, often to the next hour first, and add the jumps.

Watch for

  • Reading the hour from the number the short hand is closest to, even when it has not reached it yet.
  • Counting by 5s past the long hand instead of switching to 1s.
  • Treating 60 minutes like 100, so 2:50 plus 20 minutes becomes 2:70.

It's free to print, as many copies as you need. See the full time to the minute and elapsed time guide for 3rd grade.

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