Teaching Clock

A large analog teaching clock with hands you can drag, for showing children how to tell the time and letting them practise. Use it on a classroom screen or at home when learning to read a clock.

How to use

1. In "Free", drag the minute or hour hand, or use the "+5 min", "−5 min" and "+1 hour" buttons to change the time. "Now" sets the current time.
2. Switch on "Show digital time" and "Show the time in words" to see readings such as "quarter to four" next to the clock.
3. To practise, choose "Read the clock", "Set the clock" or "How long?", and pick a "Level".
4. Enter the answer or move the hands, press "Check", then press "New question" for the next one.

How it works

• With "Hour hand moves with the minute hand" on, the hour hand moves one hour each time the minute hand goes once around, as on a real clock. Switch it off to move the hands separately.
• There are four levels: "O'clock", "Half hours", "5 minutes" and "1 minute". The minute hand moves by "5 minutes" or "1 minute".
• Shortcuts: ← → move by the minute step, ↑ ↓ move by an hour, N sets the current time and F is full screen. "Read aloud" uses the speech feature of the browser.

Questions and answers

How do you teach a child to tell time on an analog clock?

The short hand shows the hour, and each small mark the long hand passes is one minute. The numbers are 5 minutes apart, so the long hand on 3 means 15 minutes. "Show minutes around the edge" adds 05, 10, 15 and so on outside the dial.

What does "quarter to" mean?

After the half hour, the time can be read as the minutes left until the next hour. 3:45 is a quarter to four, and 3:50 is ten to four.

What is the "How long?" mode?

It shows a start clock and an end clock and asks how much time passes between them. Type the answer in the "Hours" and "Minutes" boxes.

Can the clock show 24-hour time?

Switch on "24-hour time": the digital time shows 15:00 instead of 3:00 PM, and the dial also shows 24-hour numbers such as 13 and 14. With it off, AM or PM is added.