Virginia SOL 3.MG.3.a
The Standard
Tell and write time to the nearest minute, using analog and digital clocks.
Virginia Standards of Learning for Mathematics · The student will demonstrate an understanding of the concept of time to the nearest minute and solve single-step contextual problems involving elapsed time in one-hour increments within a 12-hour period.
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students identify which hand shows the hour and which shows the minutes. They count minute marks and connect an analog clock face to digital notation.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student reads clocks with minute hands on and between numbered marks. The student writes the matching digital time, including a zero in times such as 6:04.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may confuse the hour and minute hands or count each minute mark as five minutes. They may name the next hour when the hour hand sits between two numbers, such as reading 4:50 as 5:50.
How to Assess It
- Draw an analog clock showing 7:43. Ask students to write the digital time and label the hour and minute hands.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs movable clocks and time cards, then have partners build each time and check the hour and minute hands.
Show a clock reading 2:47 and ask, "How did you know the hour was 2 and not 3?"
Play clock match by pairing analog clock cards with digital time cards, then explain one match to a partner.
Use a classroom schedule and have students draw analog clocks for the exact starting times of lunch, recess, and dismissal.
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Printable 3.MG.3.a Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 3.MG.3.a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
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Related Standards
- 2.MG.2
The student will demonstrate an understanding of the concept of time to the nearest five minutes, using analog and digital clocks.
- 3.MG.3.b
Match a written time (e.g., 4:38, 7:09, 12:51) to the time shown on analog and digital clocks to the nearest minute.
- 2.MG.2.c
Show, tell, and write time to the nearest five minutes, using analog and digital clocks.
- 1.MG.3.c
Tell time to the hour and half-hour, using analog and digital clocks.
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