Drawing the Clock Hands to Show a Time You Are Given

Look for this idea outside of your lessons. Being able to show a time, not just read one, is how you make a schedule someone else can follow. This is worth learning because showing a time proves you understand it, not just recognize it.

Watch for it today, and when you spot it, tell someone what you noticed and how you knew. Ask yourself where else the same idea might be hiding, then go and look.

Let us think about this slowly. Now go the other direction. Someone says two o’clock, and you draw the hands. Point the minute hand straight up and the hour hand at the two.

For half past two, point the minute hand straight down and put the hour hand halfway between two and three. Remember the hour hand creeps as minutes pass. Drawing time makes you notice details that reading alone might let you skip.

Here is a common drawing error. People draw both hands the same length, which makes the clock unreadable. Make the hour hand clearly shorter and fatter, so anyone looking can tell your hands apart. Show your work to someone and explain it in your own words.