A focused Grade 3 learning session for Telling Time to the Nearest Minute using visual models, worked examples, strategy guidance, and a short mastery check.
Student goal: I can read time to the nearest minute and solve elapsed-time problems.
Telling Time to the Nearest Minute means reading clocks, tracking elapsed minutes, and connecting time to real situations.
Question: What time is shown on the clock below?
Why it works: The minute hand points to 11 minutes (just past the 2), and the hour hand is just past 2. The time is \(2:11\).
Answer: \(2:11\)
Question: Look at the clock. What time is shown?
Answer: \(6:36\)
Question: What time does the clock show?
Answer: \(7:39\)
Question: Sam starts his homework at \(3:20\) PM. He finishes at \(3:55\) PM. How many minutes did Sam spend on homework?
Why it works: From \(3:20\) to \(3:55\): \(55 - 20 = 35\) minutes. Distractor A (off-by-5), C (over-count), D (reads 20 as just the hour).
Answer: \(35\) minutes
Telling Time to the Nearest Minute becomes easier when students connect the question to a model, use clear steps, and explain why the answer fits.
Understand the model before choosing the operation.
Use scratch paper. The explanation matters more than simply seeing whether the choice is correct.
A class starts at \(9:15\) AM and ends at \(10:05\) AM. How long is the class?
Answer A: \(50\) minutes
From \(9:15\) to \(10:15\) is 60 minutes. The class ends at \(10:05\), 10 minutes earlier: \(60 - 10 = 50\) minutes. Distractor C (just adds 1 hour), B (off-by-5), D (subtracts too much).
What time is shown on the clock below?
Answer A: \(2:11\)
The minute hand points to 11 minutes (just past the 2), and the hour hand is just past 2. The time is \(2:11\).
Sam starts his homework at \(3:20\) PM. He finishes at \(3:55\) PM. How many minutes did Sam spend on homework?
Answer B: \(35\) minutes
From \(3:20\) to \(3:55\): \(55 - 20 = 35\) minutes. Distractor A (off-by-5), C (over-count), D (reads 20 as just the hour).
Which clock shows \(8:42\)?
Answer A: Option A
At \(8:42\), the minute hand is between 8 and 9, and the hour hand is between 8 and 9 closer to 9. Option A shows this correctly.
Ava eats lunch at noon. Recess starts \(25\) minutes after lunch. What time does recess start?
Answer A: \(12:25\) PM
Noon is \(12:00\) PM. \(12:00 + 25 \text{ min} = 12:25\) PM. Distractor B (off-by-10), C (full hour), D (adds extra hour).
A movie starts at \(7:05\) PM and lasts \(95\) minutes. What time does the movie end?
Answer A: \(8:40\) PM
From \(7:05\) to \(8:05\) is \(60\) minutes. \(95 - 60 = 35\) more minutes. \(8:05 + 35 \text{ min} = 8:40\) PM.
Look at the clock. What time is shown?
Answer B: \(6:36\)
The minute hand points to 36 minutes, just past the 7. The hour hand is between 6 and 7, closer to 7. The time is \(6:36\).
Ben reads for \(18\) minutes starting at \(4:07\) PM. At what time does Ben stop reading?
Answer C: \(4:25\) PM
\(4:07 + 18 \text{ min} = 4:25\) PM.
The school day starts at \(8:30\) AM and ends at \(3:15\) PM. How long is the school day?
Answer B: \(6\) hours \(45\) minutes
From \(8:30\) AM to \(3:30\) PM is \(7\) hours. School ends \(15\) minutes earlier, so the day is \(6\) hours \(45\) minutes.
Which time is the same as \(11:48\)?
Answer A: \(12\) minutes before noon
\(11:48\) is \(12\) minutes before \(12:00\) (noon). Both describe the same time. Distractor B is true but doesn't match the goal; C is false (\(11\)+\(12\)min=\(11:12\)).
What time does the clock show?
Answer D: \(7:39\)
The minute hand points to 39 minutes, between 7 and 8. The hour hand is between 7 and 8, closer to 8. The time is \(7:39\).
