Skill: Read time to the half hour

To read a clock to the half hour:

1. Look at the minute hand.
   • If it points to the $6$, it means 30 minutes, or $(:30)$.
2. Look at the hour hand.
   • At half past an hour, it is between two numbers.
   • Choose the number it has already passed. This is the hour.

Example:

Suppose the minute hand points to $6$, and the hour hand is between $3$ and $4$.

• The minute hand at $6$ means $(30)$ minutes.
• The hour hand has passed $3$, so the hour is $3$.
• Write the time as $(3{:}30)$.

The clock shows half past 3, or $(3{:}30)$.