1.MD.3: Tell Time to the Hour and Half Hour
Also written as 1.MD.B.3 and CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.MD.B.3 · Cluster: Tell and write time.
The Official Wording
Tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks.
Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Measurement & Data · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026
What 1.MD.3 Means in Plain English
First graders read two kinds of times: o’clock, when the long hand points straight up at the 12, and half past, when it points down at the 6. They write each one in digits, 3:00 or 3:30, and match an analog face to its digital time.
The short hand trips children up at half past: at 3:30 it sits halfway between the 3 and the 4, and many read 4:30. The hour is the number already passed. In 2nd grade clocks are read to five minutes, with a.m. and p.m. (2.MD.7).
1.MD.3 I Can Statements
- I can tell time to the hour on a clock face.
- I can tell time to the half hour, like half past three.
- I can write a time in digits, like 3:00 or 3:30.
1.MD.3 Worked Example
Lunchtime read off the classroom clock at half past, when the short hand has not yet reached the next number.
When the class lines up for lunch, the short hand is halfway between the 11 and the 12, and the long hand points straight down at the 6. Write the time.
- Find the short hand first. It tells the hour. It sits halfway between the 11 and the 12.short hand between 11 and 12
- It has passed the 11 but has not reached the 12. The hour is the number it has already passed.hour: 11
- Now the long hand. It points straight down at the 6, halfway around the clock, so half of the hour is gone.long hand on 6: half past
- Write it in digits. Half past is written with 30 after the colon.11:30
- Say it both ways, the way the digital clock reads and the way people talk.eleven thirty, half past eleven
Check it: On a geared teaching clock, turn the long hand back to the 12. The short hand slides back to point straight at the 11, so the hour was 11, not 12.
Common Mistakes with 1.MD.3
Reading the next hour at half past
Short hand between the 11 and the 12 read as 12:30
Try this: Ask which number the short hand has already passed, and turn a geared clock forward from 11:00 so children watch it travel.
Swapping the two hands
A clock showing 6:00 read as 12:30, because the long hand was taken for the hour
Try this: Stick a label reading “hour” on the short hand of a practice clock and name the hour before looking at the long hand.
Writing the number the long hand points to
Half past three written as 3:6
Try this: Pair a digital clock with the analog face at every half hour: the long hand on the 6 always shows up as 30.
Where 1.MD.3 Fits
Practice 1.MD.3
Quick Check
- The long hand points at the 12 and the short hand points at the 7. What time is it?
- The short hand is halfway between the 2 and the 3, and the long hand points at the 6. What time is it?
- School lets out at 3:00. Where do the two hands point?