Time — Grade 1 Mathematics
Time helps us know when things happen. Whether it is waking up for school, eating lunch, or going to bed — time is everywhere. In Grade 1, we learn to read clocks, understand hours and minutes, and know the days of the week and months of the year.
Reading a Clock
A clock has two hands:
Short hand (hour hand) — points to the hour. It moves slowly.
Long hand (minute hand) — points to the minutes. It moves faster.
The clock face is divided into 12 hours. There are 60 minutes in 1 hour.
O'clock → minute hand points straight up (12). Time is exactly on the hour.
Half past → minute hand points straight down (6). 30 minutes have passed.
Short hand (hour hand) — points to the hour. It moves slowly.
Long hand (minute hand) — points to the minutes. It moves faster.
The clock face is divided into 12 hours. There are 60 minutes in 1 hour.
O'clock → minute hand points straight up (12). Time is exactly on the hour.
Half past → minute hand points straight down (6). 30 minutes have passed.
Clock Examples
12369
3 o'clock
12369
Half past 6
Note: In the clocks above, the orange dot marks the clock centre and the hands are shown conceptually.
Days of the Week
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Sun
There are 7 days in a week. Monday to Friday are weekdays. Saturday and Sunday are the weekend.
Months of the Year
| # | Month | Season (Northern) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | January | Winter ❄️ |
| 2 | February | Winter ❄️ |
| 3 | March | Spring 🌸 |
| 4 | April | Spring 🌸 |
| 5 | May | Spring 🌸 |
| 6 | June | Summer ☀️ |
| 7 | July | Summer ☀️ |
| 8 | August | Summer ☀️ |
| 9 | September | Autumn 🍂 |
| 10 | October | Autumn 🍂 |
| 11 | November | Autumn 🍂 |
| 12 | December | Winter ❄️ |
Practice Questions
1. The minute hand points to 12 and the hour hand points to 7. What time is it?
✅ It is 7 o'clock.
2. How many minutes are in 1 hour?
✅ There are 60 minutes in 1 hour.
3. Which month comes after June?
✅ July comes after June.
4. Name the 5 weekdays in order.
✅ Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.
5. The minute hand points to 6. Is this o'clock or half past?
✅ Half past — the minute hand at 6 means 30 minutes have passed.
Key Points to Remember
- The short hand shows the hour; the long hand shows the minutes.
- There are 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day.
- O'clock = minute hand on 12. Half past = minute hand on 6.
- There are 7 days in a week and 12 months in a year.
- The year starts in January and ends in December.