几点了？
Jǐ diǎn le? — Telling Time
Clock time, built straight out of the numbers students already own. Three o’clock is literally “three point” — and by the end of the unit students can describe when their whole day happens.
How the clock works
三点 3:00 — “three point”
三点十五分 3:15 — “three point fifteen minutes”
三点半 3:30 — “three point half”
Morning and afternoon are marked in front rather than after: 早上八点 is 8am, 晚上八点 is 8pm.
Unit objectives
- Ask and answer 现在几点？
- Say any o’clock, half-hour or quarter-hour time
- Mark morning, afternoon and evening correctly
- Describe three things in their day with a time attached
Key vocabulary
点 分 半 现在 早上 下午 晚上 起床
Putting a time on things
O’clock and half past
A paper clock with movable hands. The teacher says a time, students set it — then swap roles.
Morning or evening?
Eight o’clock means two very different things. Sorting daily activities into the right half of the day.
My day, with times
Three sentences about their own day, each with a time in front of the verb — the Grade 3 word-order rule, seeded early.
Time goes near the front
English puts time at the end of a sentence — “I get up at six.” Chinese puts it before the verb, always: 我六点起床。, literally “I six-o’clock get-up.” Saying it the English way round is the single most common mistake beginners make, and it’s much easier to prevent now than to fix later. Lesson 3 introduces it quietly, and Grade 3 Unit 1 makes it explicit.
Unit 5 progress check
A light, no-pressure way to see what’s sticking:
- Can your child tell you the time right now in Chinese?
- Can they say half past something?
- Do they put the time before the verb?
O’clock and half past are enough. Quarter-hours and exact minutes can wait until Grade 3.