Mini Minds Hub · Free printable

Time Matching Activity

  • StageKey Stage 1
  • CostFree
  • FormatPrintable PDF
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Time Matching Activity is a free printable telling the time worksheet. Children match the digital times in the middle of the page to the clock faces at the side. It needs only a pencil, and page 2 gives the grown-up notes on how to use the sheet, help for children who find it hard, and a stretch idea.

It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.

What is on the sheet

Children look at the digital times in the middle of the page and the clock faces at the side. They read each clock, work out what time it shows, then find the digital time that says the same thing. Each match joins the two ways of showing one time. It is a quiet, focused task that builds careful looking and clear reading.

Two ways to show the same time

Most children meet two kinds of clock. An analogue clock has a round face with numbers and two hands. A digital clock shows numbers only, with the hours on the left and the minutes on the right. Both show exactly the same thing, but they ask the reader to think in different ways. Matching them side by side helps children see the link.

Reading an analogue clock is hard because the two hands do different jobs. The short hand tells you the hour. The long hand tells you the minutes. Children also have to remember that the numbers on the clock face stand for different amounts of minutes. Regular short practice with real clocks and sheets like this one makes the pattern familiar.

Quick time facts

  • There are 60 minutes in one hour.
  • There are 24 hours in one whole day and night.
  • The long hand on an analogue clock goes round faster than the short hand.
  • A digital clock uses a colon to separate the hours from the minutes.
  • Some clocks use Roman numerals on the face instead of the numbers we usually write.

Skills and curriculum link

  • Reading analogue clocks
  • Reading digital times
  • Matching and pairing
  • Hour and minute hands
  • Careful looking
  • Vocabulary of time

Ideas to help your child read the clocks

  • Look at the short hand firstThe short hand points to the hour. Ask your child to say which number it is at or has just passed before they look at anything else.
  • Then look at the long handThe long hand shows the minutes. Ask where it is pointing and what that tells us about how far into the hour we are.
  • Say the time out loudSaying a time in words, such as the hour and then the minutes, helps children link the clock to the digital numbers.
  • Use a real clockA clock with moving hands lets children turn the hands and watch how the two hands work together. A paper plate clock with a split pin works well too.

Key words

  • Analogue clockA clock with a round face, numbers and hands that move round.
  • Digital clockA clock that shows the time using numbers only.
  • Hour handThe short hand on an analogue clock. It points to the hour.
  • Minute handThe long hand on an analogue clock. It shows the minutes.
  • MinutesSmall parts of an hour. There are 60 minutes in one hour.
  • MatchTo find two things that go together because they show the same thing.

How to use it

  1. Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes, help and stretch idea.
  2. Read the instruction aloud together. Point to the digital times in the middle and the clocks at the side.
  3. Ask your child to pick one clock, say the hour hand first, then the minute hand, and say the time out loud.
  4. Let them find the matching digital time and link the pair. Some children like to tackle the easiest clocks first.
  5. Go back over the pairs together. Ask your child to read each clock and its digital time aloud to check they say the same thing.

Help, stretch and game ideas

If it feels too hard

Use a real clock or a paper plate clock next to the sheet. Set the hands to match one clock on the page. Cover the other clocks with paper so there is less to look at. Work on one match at a time and say each time aloud.

To stretch confident children

Ask your child to draw their own clock faces and write the digital times for them. Swap with a friend to match. Or ask them to write down three times from their own day, such as getting up, lunch and bedtime, and draw each one.

Make it a game

Play time snap. Make pairs of cards, one showing a clock face and one showing the digital time. Turn them face down and take turns to flip two cards. If the two cards show the same time, keep the pair. Most pairs wins.

Mistakes to watch for

Watch forA child mixes up the two hands and reads the long hand as the hour.

Try thisColour the short hand red on a practice clock. Say, "Short hand for the hour, long hand for the minutes," each time.

Watch forA child matches by looking only at the hour and ignores the minutes.

Try thisAsk them to check the minute hand as well. Say the whole time aloud and check that both parts of the digital time agree.

Watch forA child reads the digital time as one big number and not as hours and minutes.

Try thisPoint to the colon. Say that the numbers on the left are hours and the numbers on the right are minutes, then read it as two parts.

Talk about it

  • What do you look at first when you read a clock?
  • How is a digital clock different from an analogue clock?
  • Which hand moves faster, and why do you think that is?
  • Which clock on the sheet was easiest to read? Which one made you stop and think?
  • When do you need to know the time in your day?
  • How could you check that a match is right?

Take it off the page

Paper plate clock

Make a clock from a paper plate, numbers and two card hands fixed with a split pin. Ask an adult to call out a time and set the hands to match it.

Time diary

Pick four times in your day, such as breakfast, school and bedtime. Draw a clock face for each and write the digital time beside it.

Clock spotting

Find clocks around your home or local shops. Say what kind each one is, analogue or digital, and read the time aloud.

Who it is for

Parents

Sit beside your child for the first match, then let them lead. Keep it relaxed and stop when they tire. If they get stuck, set a real clock to the same time and compare it with the sheet.

Teachers

Use it as a starter, a plenary or a quiet independent task during a telling the time unit. It works well in pairs, where children explain each match to a partner. Page 2 has notes, help and a stretch idea.

Home educators

Pair it with daily routines. Ask your child to read the kitchen clock before meals or at bedtime. Short, regular practice is better than one long session. Keep a clock with moving hands nearby.

Where this fits in learning about time

Before this sheet, children learn the language of the day, such as morning, afternoon and evening, and begin to put events in order. They also get used to seeing numbers around a circle on a clock face.

After this sheet, children can practise reading times from clocks without any matching help, and draw hands on blank clock faces. They then move on to working with minutes and hours, and solving simple problems about how long things take.

Questions parents and teachers ask

What is the Time Matching Activity?

It is a free printable worksheet where children match digital times to the clock faces. They read each clock, find the same time in digital form and link the pair. It helps children see that both kinds of clock show the same time.

What age is it for?

It suits children who are learning to tell the time in primary school. In the National Curriculum for England, telling the time sits in the measurement strand, and it is taught in Key Stage 1 and built on in lower Key Stage 2.

How long does it take?

There is no set time. Let your child work at their own pace and stop for a break if they tire. A short, calm session works better than a rushed one, and they can come back to finish later.

What do I need?

You need a printer, paper and a pencil. A real clock or a paper plate clock is useful but not essential. Coloured pencils can help children keep track of which matches they have already made.

What if my child finds reading clocks hard?

Start with a real clock and match it to one clock on the page. Cover the other clocks, read the short hand first, then the long hand. Page 2 has a help idea you can use too.

Can this be used in class?

Yes. It works as a starter, a plenary, a table task or independent practice. Children can also work in pairs, reading each clock aloud to their partner. Page 2 has notes on how to use the sheet.

How can I check my child's work?

Ask your child to read each clock aloud, then read the digital time beside it. If the two say the same time, the match works. Talking it through shows how they are thinking, as well as what they chose.

Preview the full PDF

Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.

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