Clocks are all around us, and they come in many styles and formats. Help students make the connection between digital and analog clocks with an analog clocks worksheet and comparing clocks printable unit study. Be sure to grab our free Analog Clocks Printable at the bottom of this post.
Reading Analog Clocks
We live in a very technological age. Learning to read clocks and tell time has become a lost art of sorts. There is so much digital technology literally at our fingertips.
When is the last time you actually saw a real analog clock hanging up in a house or in a business?
Real watches have been replaced by smart phones and smart watches. With the time right at your hands we rarely find ourselves glancing at a clock on the wall. Yet reading time is still a very important skill that we should instill in our children.
Young learners are curious and eager to learn, especially if it is something they don’t see very often. They will have a lot of fun learning about the different types of clocks and getting to tell time on their own.
Comparing the different types of clocks with kids
Learning to tell time on the different types of clocks can be tricky for little ones and they could have some telling time problems if they get them mixed up. Their understanding of analog clocks can be confused when they see digital time all around them every day.
Analog Clock
An analog clock is a round clock that used to be on the wall of every home and business or right in the middle of a school classroom. We still have a couple of large clocks in our home that my kids love to look and at compare them to the digital time in our house.
The analog clock face has numbers and minutes or minute marks. Analog clocks have hour hands, minute hands, and second hands that click through each second. Some decorative clocks may have big roman numerals on them. Kids love to watch the clocks and time literally turn before their eyes.
Digital Clock
A digital clock always glows in the dark and shows the exact time in numerical numbers. These are what we often see on stove tops, microwaves, coffee pots, in our vehicles, on alarm clocks, phones, tablets and smart watches or digital watches.
Help students practice comparing the time on one style of clock with that on another style with our Free Digital and Analog Clock Practice Unit.
This unit study includes:
- Digital clock worksheet for learning to recognize digital time
- Analog clocks worksheet for reading analog time on an analog clock
- Comparing digital and analog clock worksheets
- Digital and analog clock matching sheets to match the correct clock to the time listed
- Worksheets to draw the time on analog clocks
- Clock worksheets to write the time on digital clocks
- Answer key
This 20-page unit study is a great way to sharpen time telling skills. It will help your students learn to quickly make the switch between digital and analog clocks.
Scroll down and get your copy today!
How can I help my child learn to tell the time?
There are many different ways to help your children learn about time. Most children understand that time passes and they know about the time of day, and that certain events happen at certain times of the day.
Kids even understand the amount of time that it usually takes to complete certain daily activities. There are so many opportunities at home to teach your kids about time, especially as you move about your normal homeschool routine.
Talk with them about time.
If you eat breakfast every day at 8:00 a.m. you can show them the clock and say that it is 8 o’clock and time for breakfast. When they see the time and hear it, then they associate that time with something specific that happens.
When you do this regularly during your daily routines, show them the clock face or the digital clock at that specific time. This is a great way to immerse them in time. Before you know it, they will be able to recognize those times on the clock without even thinking about it. It’s like sight reading but for telling time.
Practice Counting and Skip Counting
There are 60 seconds in a minute, and 60 minutes in an hour. Teaching your kids to count to 60 helps to prepare them to be able to count seconds and minutes on a clock.
Practice skip counting and counting by 5s. This is a great way for kids to be able to learn to tell the correct time on the clock . When they can count by 5’s they can easily figure out the minutes from the long hand and watch the short hand move to the next hour.
You can practice these skills well before they are even introduced to your children in their math curriculum.
Telling time worksheets
We love using worksheets in our homeschool when we are focusing on a specific skill that I want my kids to master. When you give your kids a practice worksheet, they can work on that skill over and over until they really understand it.
Free Worksheets That Teach Telling Time – There are lots of worksheets available to help teach your kids about telling time. They can learn about elapsed time, counting to the nearest minute, math skills and more with these free worksheets. You can also find our Free Telling Time Activity Pack available to print.
Craft activities for teaching analog clocks
Your kids will have so much fun creating their very own clocks to play with and practice on. Kids learn so much better when they are playing and creating. These analog craft clocks will get your kids excited about telling time.
Simple DIY Clock – This clock is really cute and it is made out of duct tape and cardboard. This interactive clock will delight kids because the hands really move. You can customize the colors to a favorite color or to match a school area in your home.
Paper Plate Clock Craft – Create an easy clock out of a paper plate and pipe cleaners for the clock hands. Your kids can even practice writing their numbers as they label the hours on the clock.
Easy Telling Time Flip the Clock Craft – This craft comes with a free clock template to create your own flip clock to practice telling analog time and digital time. What a creative idea for a fun hands-on activity.
Flower Clock Crafts – I am in love with these adorable flower clocks to create the most adorable clock to practice time with. There are two varieties to choose from with a blank clock face so the hours can go outside in the cupcake liners, and a blank analog clock with the numbers printed on them.
Paper Plate Clock with Analog and Digital – This craft teaches digital time and analog time together on the same clock. It is a great way for kids to actually see the difference, that the times are the exact same and that they just look different.
Hickory Dickory Dock Craft – Recite this popular nursery rhyme while creating clocks for your mice. Your kids will be kept busy practicing telling time by clipping the mice to different hours on the clock.
DIY Paper Clock Activity – What is so unique about this craft is that the minutes go behind the hours on this clock. Your kids will actually see the time moving as they manipulate the hands around the clock.
Make a Clock from a Hula Hoop – This fun activity will get your kids outside playing and learning as they create a giant clock out of a hula hoop and sidewalk chalk. This would be a lot of fun to do in a group also.
Wrist Watch Craft – Create your very own watch with a toilet paper tube and cardboard to practice telling time with. There are even movable hands.
Instant Download: Digital and Analog Clock Practice Unit
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Bonnie Rose Hudson’s heart’s desire is for every child to feel the love of God and know how special they are to Him. She would love for you to stop by her website WriteBonnieRose.com for homeschool and history curriculum, resources to help teach your children about missions and the persecuted Church, free history and writing printables, and to check out her newest release from JourneyForth, The Hidden Village, an early reader set in India.
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