A clock tells you when something happens. A duration tells you how long it lasts. If drawing begins at 08:45 and ends at 09:20, the answer to “How long?” is 35 minutes. It is not another clock reading. You can find that answer by making short jumps through the next hour.
All activities below belong to one invented classroom morning on the same day. The schedule is practice data. Work with an adult or teacher if you need help reading the hands or counting in fives. You can point, speak, draw or write your answers; you do not need a working clock.
Read the two hands together
On these analogue clocks, the long thin hand shows minutes. The shorter thick hand shows the hour. Starting at 12, count clockwise in fives around the numbered marks: 5 at 1, 10 at 2, 15 at 3, and so on. The minute hand at 12 means zero minutes past the hour. One complete turn takes 60 minutes.
The hour hand moves gradually. At 08:45 it has moved three quarters of the way from 8 towards 9. It has not yet reached 9. Read the hour it has passed, then the minutes. At 09:20 it is a little way past 9, one third of the way towards 10. It should not sit exactly on 9 while the minute hand moves alone.
A digital time has an hour part and a minute part, separated here by a colon. Read 08:45 as “eight forty-five in the morning”. The first zero in 08 helps the timetable keep the same number of hour digits. It does not change the time. Another name for 08:45 is “quarter to nine”: 15 minutes remain before nine.
| Digital time | Long minute hand | Short hour hand |
|---|---|---|
| 08:45 | Points to 9: 45 minutes | Between 8 and 9, nearer 9 |
| 09:20 | Points to 4: 20 minutes | Between 9 and 10, nearer 9 |
| 09:35 | Points to 7: 35 minutes | Just beyond halfway from 9 to 10 |
| 10:05 | Points to 1: 5 minutes | Just past 10, towards 11 |
Find the beginning and end in a timetable
Before calculating, point to the activity name, its start and its finish. Check that the times belong to the same activity. Using the start of drawing and the finish of reading would give the duration of the whole block, including the break, rather than drawing alone.
| Activity | Starts | Finishes | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drawing | 08:45 | 09:20 | 35 minutes |
| Break | 09:20 | 09:35 | 15 minutes |
| Reading | 09:35 | 10:05 | 30 minutes |
The finish of one activity is the start of the next. There is no extra gap in this schedule. The shared boundary at 09:20 is a moment, not an extra minute to add. Counting minutes measures the spaces between times.
Worked case 1: drawing crosses an hour
Start at 08:45. First jump to the easy landmark 09:00. There are 15 minutes in that jump: 08:50, 08:55, 09:00 gives three five-minute steps. Then jump from 09:00 to 09:20, which is another 20 minutes. Add the two durations: 15 + 20 = 35 minutes.
Check by moving forward from the start. After 15 minutes it is 09:00; after another 20 minutes it is 09:20. The check arrives at the stated finish. The answer also makes sense because the activity crosses nine o’clock but lasts less than a full hour.
Do not treat 09:20 and 08:45 as decimal numbers. The minutes part starts again at zero after 59 minutes, because one hour contains 60 minutes. A written answer such as “0.75 hours” obtained by subtracting 8.45 from 9.20 would not describe this interval.
Worked case 2: a break within one hour
The break begins at 09:20 and finishes at 09:35. Both times are within the nine o’clock hour. Count on: 09:20 to 09:25 is 5 minutes, to 09:30 is 10 minutes altogether, and to 09:35 is 15 minutes altogether. You can also subtract the minute readings: 35 − 20 = 15 minutes.
Here there is no need to visit 10:00. That would take you beyond the finish. Choose helpful jumps that end exactly where the activity ends. The break lasts a quarter of an hour, since four groups of 15 minutes make 60 minutes.
Worked case 3: reading crosses the next hour
Reading begins at 09:35 and finishes at 10:05. From 09:35 to 10:00 there are 25 minutes. From 10:00 to 10:05 there are 5 minutes. The duration is 25 + 5 = 30 minutes, or half an hour.
It is tempting to say “an hour” because the hour digit changes from 9 to 10. Look at the minute readings as well. A full hour after 09:35 would be 10:35, later than the finish. This quick comparison catches an answer that is too large.
Worked case 4: find a start time by going backwards
A separate invented sorting activity lasts 40 minutes and ends at 11:10 that morning. To find its start, go backwards by the full duration. First move back 10 minutes to 11:00. You have used 10 of the 40 minutes, so 30 minutes remain. Move back another 30 minutes to 10:30.
Now check forwards: 10:30 to 11:00 is 30 minutes, and 11:00 to 11:10 is 10 minutes. Together they make 40 minutes. Do not stop at 11:00 after using only part of the duration. Keep a small record saying “used 10; still need 30” if that helps.
Check the whole morning
Add the three scheduled durations: 35 + 15 + 30 = 80 minutes. From 08:45 to 09:45 is 60 minutes, and from 09:45 to 10:05 is 20 minutes. This second route gives 80 minutes too, which is 1 hour 20 minutes.
Drawing and reading alone use 35 + 30 = 65 minutes. That is a different question from the whole block because it leaves out the 15-minute break. Say what your total includes before comparing answers with someone else.
Try three tasks, then check your reasoning
Practice 1: a short morning activity
An invented puzzle session runs from 08:10 to 08:35. How long does it last? Draw a jump or count in fives before reading the answer.
Solution: both times are in the eight o’clock hour. 35 − 10 = 25, so the session lasts 25 minutes. Counting 08:15, 08:20, 08:25, 08:30 and 08:35 gives five five-minute intervals. Check: 08:10 plus 25 minutes reaches 08:35.
Practice 2: cross ten o’clock
A separate invented story session runs from 09:50 to 10:25. Find its duration and explain why it is not 75 minutes.
Solution: 09:50 to 10:00 is 10 minutes. Another 25 minutes reaches 10:25. The total is 10 + 25 = 35 minutes. An hour after 09:50 would be 10:50, already beyond the finish, so a 75-minute answer is too long. The clock readings must not be subtracted as decimals.
Practice 3: work backwards
A separate invented card-sorting activity lasts 25 minutes and finishes at 11:05. At what time does it begin?
Solution: go back 5 minutes to 11:00, then the remaining 20 minutes to 10:40. It begins at 10:40. Check: 10:40 to 11:00 takes 20 minutes and another 5 minutes reaches 11:05. The two jumps total 25 minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which hand to read for minutes?
In these drawings the minute hand is longer and thinner. Count clockwise in fives from 12 to the number it points to. Read the shorter hour hand as well.
Why is the hour hand between two numbers?
It moves throughout the hour. At 09:35 it has passed 9 and is travelling towards 10. It reaches 10 at 10:00.
Does 08:45 mean the activity lasts 45 minutes?
No. It is a time of day, eight forty-five in the morning. To find a duration you also need a finish time or other information about how long the activity lasts.
Why is one hour not 100 minutes?
Clock time uses 60 minutes in an hour. After 08:59 the next whole-minute reading is 09:00. Use that 60-minute boundary when calculating.
Must every timeline jump be five minutes?
No. Use any jumps you can count accurately. A jump to the next hour is often useful, followed by one jump to the finish.
Do I add an extra minute for the starting time?
No. Count intervals, not the labels at their ends. From 09:20 to 09:25 is one five-minute interval, not six minutes.
Can I use this method if an activity crosses midnight?
Counting intervals still works, but you must track the date and the change of day. Every task here stays within one morning, so there is no midnight crossing.
Explain one answer aloud
Choose an example and finish this sentence: “I started at …, jumped … minutes to …, then … minutes to …, so the duration is … minutes.” An adult can listen for the correct starting time, a complete set of jumps and a duration with its unit. If one part is unclear, redraw that jump instead of starting the whole lesson again.
Reference for the time-unit relationship: NIST Guide to the SI, Table 6. The timetable, questions and drawings on this page are original teaching examples.
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