Time: AM and PM
A day has 24 hours. We split it into two 12-hour halves: AM (morning) and PM (afternoon and night).
☀ AM — Ante Meridiem
AM means before midday (before 12 noon). AM goes from midnight (12:00 am) to just before noon (11:59 am).
- 12:00 am — midnight
- 7:00 am — wake up time
- 9:00 am — school starts
- 11:00 am — late morning
🌙 PM — Post Meridiem
PM means after midday. PM goes from noon (12:00 pm) to just before midnight (11:59 pm).
- 12:00 pm — noon (lunch)
- 3:00 pm — school ends
- 6:00 pm — dinner time
- 9:00 pm — bedtime
Reading Clocks
On a 12-hour clock:
- The short hand (hour hand) points to the hour
- The long hand (minute hand) points to the minutes
- Write time as: hours : minutes am/pm
- Example: 2:30 pm = half past two in the afternoon
Minutes Past and To
- o'clock — minute hand at 12 (e.g. 3:00)
- quarter past — minute hand at 3 (15 min)
- half past — minute hand at 6 (30 min)
- quarter to — minute hand at 9 (45 min)
A Day in Order
Midnight — start of a new day (12:00 am)
Breakfast (7:00 am)
School starts (9:00 am)
Noon — midday (12:00 pm)
School ends (3:00 pm)
Dinner (6:00 pm)
Midnight again — new day begins!
Key Vocabulary
Knowledge Check
Question 1
School starts at 9 o'clock in the morning. How should this be written?
Question 2
What time is exactly in the middle of the day (midday)?
Question 3
Which of these times is in the afternoon?
Question 4
The minute hand points to 6 and the hour hand points to 4. It is in the afternoon. What is the time?
Lesson Summary
- ✓AM (ante meridiem) covers midnight (12:00 am) to just before noon (11:59 am).
- ✓PM (post meridiem) covers noon (12:00 pm) to just before midnight (11:59 pm).
- ✓The short hand shows hours. The long hand shows minutes.
- ✓Minute hand at 12 = o'clock. At 3 = quarter past. At 6 = half past. At 9 = quarter to.