Math · Stage 4
Read and use the 12- and 24-hour clock and simple timetables
Morning times just need four digits; after midday, add 12. Then read the 24-hour clock straight off a bus or train timetable.
✦ Math📘 Stage 4 · S4⏱ ~10 min🧒 Ages 8–9★ Free to start
I can read and use the 12- and 24-hour clock and simple timetables.
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Kavi Catches the Bus 🚌
Kavi squints at the timetable: "The bus says 15:00 — but my watch says 3!" Then it clicks. "After midday I add 12, so 3 pm = 15:00. The 24-hour clock just keeps counting past 12 so there's no mix-up between morning and afternoon ⏰. Let's learn to read it!"
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What your child will learn
1The same hands, twice a dayA clock face only shows 1 to 12, so the hands point here twice each day. In the morning this is 3 o'clock (03:00). In the afternoon it is 3 o'clock pm — which the 24-hour clock writes as 15:00. The 24-hour clock tells the two apart.
212-hour → 24-hour
312-hour clock vs 24-hour clockBoth tell the same time — they just write it differently. The 12-hour clock needs am/pm to say which half of the day. The 24-hour clock never repeats, so it never needs am or pm. Tap each card.
4A bus timetable uses the 24-hour clockA timetable lists each stop and its time, top to bottom in time order. Read down the column to see the journey. Tap each line to hear it.
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A peek inside
Write 4:00 pm in the 24-hour clock.
it is after midday, so add 12: 4 + 12 = 16
Try this at home: Write 8:00 am in the 24-hour clock.
Ready to play and learn?
Start the free interactive lesson, or print the handout for screen-free play.
Part of Math · Stage 4 · S4 on KAVI Academy — a secular, whole-child learning platform for ages 5–12.