About the Clock Face Template Maker

Sometimes, when your helping your little ones learn how to tell the time, you just need a clock face. 

This free Clock Face Template Maker lets you create exactly that. Choose from 1 to 12 blank clock faces per page, or switch to Make Your Own Clock for a big printable clock face with chunky hour and minute hands to cut out and join with a split pin.

You can set up the clock faces just how you like them, with or without minute ticks, five-minute numbers, Roman numerals and more. There’s even some soft shading to help children see where “past” and “to” sit. Then download a ready-to-print PDF in seconds.

It’s completely free, with no account needed, so let’s get going!

Why Use these Clock Face Templates?

Showing a time is different from reading one. Reading a clock asks children to recognize a time. Drawing the hands, or turning them on a paper clock, asks them to make that time. That means they have to decide which hand is which, where each one goes, and why. It helps build a deeper level of understanding.

Hands-on learning helps it click. Young children learn best when they can get stuck in! A paper clock they made themselves (and are very proud of!) lets them turn the minute hand round and watch what happens. It also opens up one of the most important ideas in time telling: the hour hand moves too. As the minute hand travels round, children can nudge the hour hand along toward the next number, just like a real clock.

It builds number sense and early fractions. The clock face is packed with math. Every number stands for another five minutes, so reading the minute hand is really counting in fives. Splitting the face into halves and quarters gives children a very concrete first look at fractions as well.

It supports the curriculum at every stage. In the Common Core State Standards, first graders learn to tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks. Second graders move on to telling and writing time to the nearest five minutes. Blank clock faces and paper clocks can help to support every step of that journey.

Why This Tool Is Awesome

There’s a few reasons why I like this worksheet generator and I think you will too:

There’s a few reasons why I’m really pleased with how this one turned out:

It’s free! No membership and no sign-up. Just make your clock faces and print.

Two tools in one. Make a page of blank clock faces for drawing and writing activities, or make a whole paper clock with hands to cut out. Whatever your lesson needs, you’re covered.

The hour and minute hands look different. The hour hand is short and fat, the minute hand is longer and thinner, and they’re color-coded (red for hours and blue for minutes by default, but you can choose your own).

Past and to shading. This is one of my favorite features. Turn on face shading to color the right side of the clock (the “past” side) differently from the left side (the “to” side), or shade each quarter separately. It’s a lovely visual support for half past, quarter past and quarter to, and you can switch it off once your little learners are ready.

Clock faces for every stage. Start with the five-minute numbers for extra support. Step up to the Quarters only option (just 12, 3, 6 and 9, like lots of real clocks), choose Roman numerals, or remove the numbers completely.

Handy extras underneath. Add a writing line, digital time boxes, or both under each clock, and a blank template becomes a custom activity in seconds.

Part of the Nurtured Neurons Time family. These are the same clock faces used in my Telling Time Worksheet Maker. Children see one consistent clock across all your time activities.

Ways to Use It in Your Classroom (and at Home!)

Here’s a few ideas of how you could use your clock templates:

Show me the time. Give every child their own paper clock and call out a time. Everyone makes it on their clock and holds it up, so you can see at a glance who’s got it and who needs a little help.

Draw the hands. Choose clock faces with digital time boxes underneath and write a time in each set of boxes before you photocopy. Children draw the hands to match. Or flip it round: draw the hands yourself and children write the digital time. Or they could do it for their partner.

Our daily routine. Add a writing line under each clock and have children label them with events from their day, like “lunch,” “playtime” or “home time.” Then they draw the hands to show when each one happens. At home, this works brilliantly with a morning or bedtime routine.

A big demo clock. Print a single large clock face. It’s perfect for modeling on the board or for a small group table.

Write the numbers in. Choose No numbers with the minute ticks turned on. Children write 1 to 12 around the face themselves. It’s great number formation practice, and it really gets them thinking about where each number lives on a clock.

Make it a craft. Glue the clock face onto a paper plate or some card before adding the hands for an extra sturdy clock. Print in black and white and children can color their clock and hands however they like before assembling.

Math centers. Pop a pile of blank clock templates in a center with a set of time cards. Children pick a card and draw the hands, then a partner checks with a teaching clock or their paper clock.

Ready for more? Once your little learners are drawing and making times confidently, the Telling Time Worksheet Maker (included with Nurtured Neurons membership) creates ready-made practice sheets with matching answer sheets. There are three activity types and any mix of times you like. More time makers are on the way too, including a Draw the Hands on the Clock Worksheet Maker and a Match the Clocks Worksheet Maker.

Well, I think that about covers it. 

Follow the instructions below to generate your own clock templates!

And if you find it useful, to help get the word out could you please give it a little share or tell someone who you think would find it useful. Thanks!