How to Tell Time in Spanish for Kids

Hours

• 1

  Review how to count to 12 in Spanish by pointing to each number on the clock and having the children repeat its name after you. Then point to numbers at random and ask “¿Qué número es?”

• 2

  Set the clock’s hands to two o’clock. Run your finger along the hour hand to the 2 and say, “¿Qué hora es? Son las dos.” Ask again, “¿Qué hora es?” and have the children repeat, “Son las dos” as you write it on the board. Repeat the exercise with other examples. (Avoid one o’clock for the first example.)

• 3

  Reset the clock and ask the students, “¿Qué hora es?” Have them answer on their own.

• 4

  Set the clock to one o’clock, point to the 1 and say, “Es la una.” Underline “es” and “la” as you write the sentence on the board. Have the children repeat, “Es la una.” Return to where you wrote “Son las dos,” underlining “son” and “las” to highlight the difference.

• 5

  Have volunteers set the clock and ask their classmates, “¿Qué hora es?”

Minutes

• 6

  Move the minute hand around the clock as you count by fives from “y cinco” to “y veinticinco.” Move the minute hand counterclockwise, counting from “menos cinco” to “menos veinticinco.”

• 7

  Set the clock for 2:05 and say, “Son las dos y cinco.” Write it on the board and have the children repeat the time after you. Set the clock for 2:55 and say, “Son las tres menos cinco” as you run your finger back from the 12 to the 11. Underline “tres” and “menos” as you write it on the board.

• 8

  Continue the exercise, telling the time as children echo you. (Avoid quarter past, half past, and quarter to the hour for now.)

• 9

  Set the clock to 10:15 and say, “Son las diez y cuarto,” emphasizing the phrase “y cuarto” as you run your finger from the 12 to the 3. Write it on the board. Do the same with 10:30 (“Son las diez y media”). Set the clock to 10:45 and say, “Son las once menos cuarto,” emphasizing the word “menos” as you trace a quarter turn back from 12. Practice the quarter hours as before.

• 10

  When they understand the pattern, call on volunteers to answer the question, “¿Qué hora es?”

• 11

  Have partners take turns setting a clock and asking, “¿Qué hora es?” Have volunteers model the task for the class.