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What time is it in Times Square? Telling the time and daily routines

An A1 ESL lesson plan on telling the time in English and describing a daily routine.

Grammar
Two ways to tell the time (seven fifteen, quarter past seven), a.m. and p.m., and routine verbs in the present simple with at + a time and What time do you…?
Topic
Daily routines and New Year's Eve in New York, the night of the Times Square Ball drop, with words such as alarm clock, noon, midnight and confetti.
Activities
A New Year's Eve poster to read, a kitchen dialogue and a talking alarm clock to listen to, self-checking drills, a chat with Priya, open-the-box questions and a post about the student's day.

What's inside

  1. Chapter 1Tick-tock: my day

    • PictureUnlock
    • Spin the wheel and answerSpin the wheelUnlock
    • Study the words: my dayVocabularyTry it
    • Look at the pictures and chooseChoose by pictureUnlock

  2. Chapter 2Let's read: the Ball drop

    • Look at the photo: the Times Square BallPictureUnlock
    • Read Liam's posterReal-life documentTry it
    • Read and mark true or falseTrue or falseUnlock
    • Read again and choose the right answerQuizUnlock

  3. Chapter 3Let's listen: up early!

    • Listen to Mia and LiamListeningTry it
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen and choose the right answerQuizUnlock
    • Listen to Mia's alarm clockListeningUnlock
    • Transcript, for the teacherUnlock
    • Listen to Mia's alarm clock and choose the timeChoose the optionUnlock

  4. Chapter 4Grammar: What time is it?

    • Study the scheme: What time is it?Grammar schemeTry it
    • Choose the right words: What time is it?Choose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the table: two ways to say the timeFill in the tableTry it
    • Choose the right words: my dayChoose the optionUnlock
    • Fill in the gaps: What time do you…?Fill in the gapsUnlock

  5. Chapter 5Let's talk: my day

    • Choose the right replies: New Year's Eve with PriyaChatTry it
    • Open a box and answerOpen the boxUnlock

  6. Chapter 6Homework

    • Choose the right sentenceQuizUnlock
    • Put the letters in the right orderAnagramUnlock
    • Write a post: my dayWriting, checked by the teacherUnlock
    • Record a voice message for LiamSpeaking, checked by the teacherUnlock

25 exercises in 6 chapters. Start a 7-day free trial to open all of them, copy any part into your own lessons, and teach the lesson live.

Daily routine vocabulary

10 words and phrases from the lesson, each with a picture and audio in edio.

+7 more with pictures and audio in the lessonMore words

  • alarm clock
  • breakfast
  • noon
  • midnight
  • New Year's Eve
  • crowd
  • confetti

Grammar: telling the time and daily routines

New Year's Eve is a countdown, which makes the clock the natural place to start: the Ball drop begins at 11:59 p.m., and sixty seconds later it's midnight. Learners say each time two ways, then carry the same times into their own day with routine verbs, at and What time do you…?

What time is it? I get up at seven.

Say the time and talk about your day.

Two ways to say the time

Learners say the numbers, seven forty-five, or use past and to: quarter to eight. To always counts toward the next hour. In the US, quarter after means the same as quarter past, and many people simply say the numbers.

What time is it?

TimeSay the numbersAnother way
7:00It's seven.It's seven o'clock.
7:05It's seven oh five. (oh = 0)It's five past seven.
7:15It's seven fifteen.It's quarter past seven.
7:30It's seven thirty.It's half past seven.
7:45It's seven forty-five.It's quarter to eight.
12:00 ☀️It's twelve.It's noon.
12:00 🌙It's twelve.It's midnight.

Past or after?

quarter past seven = quarter after seven. You hear both in the US. Many people just say the numbers: seven fifteen, seven thirty, seven forty-five.

a.m. and p.m.

a.m. covers midnight to noon and p.m. noon to midnight, so the letters say which half of the day a time is in: I get up at 7 a.m. I go to bed at 11 p.m.

a.m. 🌅

  • from midnight to noon
  • I get up at 7 a.m.

p.m. 🌙

  • from noon to midnight
  • I go to bed at 11 p.m.

Routine verbs with I, you, we and they

Nine routine verbs run from get up to go to bed. With I, you, we and they, the verb never changes; the table shows she gets up as well, but the -s form waits until A1.2.

My day

  • ⏰ get up
  • 🚿 take a shower
  • 👕 get dressed
  • 🥣 have breakfast
  • 💼 go to work / 🎒 go to school
  • 🥪 have lunch
  • 🏠 get home
  • 🍝 have dinner
  • 🛏️ go to bed

I get up, we go to bed

Personget upgo to bed
II get up at 7:00.I go to bed at 11 p.m.
youYou get up at 6:30.You go to bed at 10 p.m.
weWe get up at 8:00.We go to bed at midnight.
theyThey get up at 5:45.They go to bed at 9:30 p.m.
he, she, it→ A1.2: she gets up→ A1.2: he goes to bed

At + a time, and What time do you…?

Every clock time takes at: We have lunch at noon. Questions about the day need do after What time, as in What time do you get up?, and the answer can be just At seven.

Your day: at + time

I / you / we / theyget up / have lunch / go to bedat6:30 / noon / 11 p.m.

I get up at 6:30.

We have lunch at noon.

They go to bed at 11 p.m.

Ask and answer

QuestionAnswer
What time is it?It's quarter past seven.
What time do you get up?I get up at seven. / At seven.
What time do we have dinner?At seven thirty.
What time do they have lunch?At noon.

Common mistakes

  • It's seven and fifteen.

    It's seven fifteen.

    no and

  • I get up in seven.

    I get up at seven.

    at + time (not in, not on)

  • 7:45 = quarter to seven

    7:45 = quarter to eight

    to = before the next hour

  • What time you get up?

    What time do you get up?

    What time + do you

Try the telling the time exercises

Try them yourself: these are the same exercises your students do in edio.

More exercises

What's in the lesson

  • 11 auto-checked exercises
  • 3 games
  • 2 teacher-checked tasks
  • 1 real-life document
  • 1 grammar scheme
  • 1 set of word cards
  • 2 audio clips
  • 2 pictures
  • 2 transcripts

The main objectives of this lesson are to:

  • tell the time in two ways, with the numbers or with past and to: It's seven fifteen. It's quarter past seven.
  • use a.m. and p.m., and say twelve o'clock as noon or midnight
  • describe their day with routine verbs and at + a time: I have breakfast at 7:15. We go to bed at midnight.
  • ask What time is it? and What time do you get up?, and answer in a word or two: At seven.

Lesson 21 opens My day, the sixth unit of English A1.1 · Hello, World, which lesson 24 reviews. Its clock times use the numbers 0 to 100 from lesson 9, and What time do you…? follows the questions with do from lesson 18. On New Year's Eve the evening runs past midnight, from pizza at 9:00 p.m. to bed at one a.m., so a.m. and p.m. both matter.

A spin wheel of questions about mornings and New Year's Eve comes first, then ten words for the day and the big night, from alarm clock to confetti, with pictures and audio. Students read Liam's poster about the Times Square Ball and answer true-or-false and multiple-choice questions. They listen to Mia and Liam (an AI-voiced dialogue) and to Mia's talking alarm clock, picking out each time. The grammar chapter has the scheme and four exercises, from choosing the right time words to a table of two ways to say each time and writing What time do you…? questions, each checked as students answer. In the speaking chapter, they reply to Priya in a New Year's Eve chat and open boxes of questions about each other's day.

Homework starts with a quiz on right and wrong sentences and an anagram of time words such as midnight and quarter, which check themselves. Then students write a short post about their day and record a voice message for Liam's podcast; the teacher reads the post and listens to the message.

Grammar:
telling the time · quarter past, half past, quarter to · a.m. and p.m. · at + time · present simple: I get up · What time do you…?
Topic:
New Year's Eve · Times Square · time · daily routine

Teaching tips

  • Read Liam's poster aloud as a countdown: point at each time and have the class say it, from nine p.m. to eleven fifty-nine and midnight, before the true-or-false questions.
  • Play Mia's alarm clock twice: first for the times, then for the Time to…! lines, so students hear the routine verbs in the order of a real morning.
  • Write 7:45 on the board before the table exercise and ask: quarter to seven or quarter to eight? The scheme's common mistakes include this exact trap.
  • Turn the open-the-box questions into a class survey: who gets up first, who goes to bed last? Pairs report back with we: We get up at seven.

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The whole course: English A1.1 · Hello, World

32 lessons for complete beginners in simple American English, from the verb to be to can and can't. Eight units cover greetings, family, numbers, home, food, daily routines, the town and free time, and each ends with a review lesson. Pictures and definitions replace translations, and the practice exercises check themselves.See the course

  1. Unit 1 Hello!

    greetings, the verb to be, countries and nationalities, yes/no questions

    1. Lesson 1Hi, hey, howdy or aloha?The verb to be with I and you
    2. Lesson 2Ellis Island: where are they from?He's, she's, they're: the verb to be
    3. Lesson 3Six languages at the UNYes/no questions with be and short answers
    4. Lesson 4Review: hello from the Statue of LibertyThe verb to be and yes/no questions, reviewed

  2. Unit 2 My people

    family members, possessive adjectives, have got, describing people

    1. Lesson 5Why is Mother's Day in May?Possessive adjectives: my, your, his, her
    2. Lesson 6Best in show!Have got and the possessive 's
    3. Lesson 7National Best Friends DaySubject pronouns, possessives and describing people
    4. Lesson 8Review: Bobbie the Wonder DogPossessives, have got and 's, reviewed

  3. Unit 3 Numbers all around

    numbers and dates, a/an and plurals, phone numbers and prices

    1. Lesson 9Why is March 14 Pi Day?Numbers 0 to 100, decimals and US dates
    2. Lesson 10How old is the General Sherman tree?A, an and plurals, with big numbers and How old…?
    3. Lesson 119-1-1 and other numbers to knowSaying phone numbers, emails and prices
    4. Lesson 12Review: 102 floors and 1,860 stepsNumbers, dates, ages and prices, reviewed

  4. Unit 4 Home sweet home

    rooms in a house, this, that, these and those, furniture, opposites

    1. Lesson 13A house with 132 roomsThis is, these are and plurals
    2. Lesson 14Boston's skinny house: where's the bed?This, that, these, those and Where's…?
    3. Lesson 15Can a dorm room be cozy?Opposite adjectives and have got
    4. Lesson 16Review: homes for everyoneShowing and describing a home, reviewed

  5. Unit 5 Food I love

    likes and dislikes, present simple questions, ordering food

    1. Lesson 17Pancakes for breakfast?I like, I don't like and plural nouns
    2. Lesson 18New York pizza or Chicago deep-dish?Present simple questions and short answers
    3. Lesson 19A coffee to go, please!Ordering food with I'd like and Can I have…?
    4. Lesson 20Review: lunch from a food truckI like, Do you like and I'd like, reviewed

  6. Unit 6 My day

    telling the time, daily routines, days of the week, prepositions of time

    1. Lesson 21 · you're hereWhat time is it in Times Square?Telling the time and daily routines
    2. Lesson 22Who brings the mail?The present simple with we and they
    3. Lesson 23Is it morning in Hawaii?Prepositions of time with parts of the day
    4. Lesson 24Review: a New York morningTime, routines and days, reviewed

  7. Unit 7 My town

    places in town, prepositions of place, giving directions

    1. Lesson 25Main Street, USAPrepositions of place: near and next to
    2. Lesson 26Meet me at Union SquarePresent simple questions and negatives with we and they
    3. Lesson 27Turn left on 42nd StreetImperatives for giving directions
    4. Lesson 28Review: streets for peoplePlaces, the present simple and directions, reviewed

  8. Unit 8 Free time

    hobbies, can and can't, sports, making plans

    1. Lesson 29Can you play Scrabble?Can and can't for ability
    2. Lesson 30Can you surf?Can for ability and how well
    3. Lesson 31Saturday morning: Little LeagueFree time and making plans
    4. Lesson 32Review: a book for every childCan, can't and free time, reviewed

Questions about this lesson

How do you talk about your daily routine in English?
To describe a daily routine in English, use a routine verb with at and a clock time: I get up at 6:30. I go to work at quarter to eight. I get home at 5:30 p.m. With I, you, we and they, the verb takes no ending, and a clock time always takes at, never in or on. Noon and midnight work the same way: We have lunch at noon.
How do you tell the time in English?
You can tell the time in English with the numbers, or with past and to: It's seven fifteen or It's quarter past seven, It's seven thirty or It's half past seven. Past counts the minutes after the hour, and to the minutes before the next one, so 7:45 is quarter to eight. The A1 lesson What time is it in Times Square? on edio.ai sets the two ways side by side in one table.
What do a.m. and p.m. mean?
In clock times, a.m. means from midnight to noon, and p.m. means from noon to midnight: I get up at 7 a.m. I go to bed at 11 p.m. For 12:00 itself, English has two words, noon and midnight. New Year's Eve shows the switch: the Times Square Ball starts to drop at 11:59 p.m., a minute later it's midnight, and a party that ends at one ends at 1 a.m.
Is 7:45 "quarter to seven" or "quarter to eight"?
7:45 is quarter to eight, fifteen minutes before eight o'clock. With to, the hour you name is the one coming up, so quarter to seven is 6:45, quarter to nine is 8:45 and quarter to eleven is 10:45. Beginners often name the hour on the clock instead. Saying the numbers, seven forty-five, avoids the slip.
Do Americans say "quarter past" or "quarter after"?
In the US, both quarter past and quarter after are common: quarter past seven and quarter after seven both mean 7:15. Many Americans skip both and just say the numbers: seven fifteen, seven thirty, seven forty-five. For 7:30, say half past seven or seven thirty. In the fill-in table of two ways to say each time, past and after are both marked right.
Is it "What time you get up?" or "What time do you get up?"
The correct question is What time do you get up?, because a question about a routine needs do before the subject. More examples: What time do you have lunch? What time do they go to bed? Only What time is it? goes without do, since its verb is is, and as a question it's never What time it is? The answer can be short: At seven.
What daily routine vocabulary should beginners learn first?
Beginners need nine verb phrases that take them through a day: get up, take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, go to work or go to school, have lunch, get home, have dinner and go to bed. On edio.ai, the A1 lesson What time is it in Times Square? lists the nine in order in its scheme, and picture cards with audio add alarm clock, noon and midnight.
How do I teach telling the time to beginners?
With beginners, start from real times, then show each one two ways. In What time is it in Times Square? on edio.ai, learners first meet times on a New Year's Eve poster and in a talking alarm clock's reminders. A scheme then pairs seven fifteen with quarter past seven, and the drills climb from choosing the right word to filling in both columns and writing What time do you…? questions.
What's a good game for practicing telling the time?
A good game for telling the time is open the box, where each box hides a time task: Say the times two ways: 7:15, 8:30, 9:45, or Ask your partner: What time do you go to bed? Eight such tasks close the speaking chapter of edio.ai's A1 lesson What time is it in Times Square?, which opens with a spin-the-wheel warm-up asking What time is it now?
How do you practice telling the time one-to-one?
One-to-one, ask real questions about each other's day: What time do you get up? What time is it now? Then take turns with times on paper: you write 8:30, the student says half past eight, and you swap. The New Year's Eve chat needs no partner, since the student picks replies like At quarter past six, and the open-the-box prompts become a real talk about two people's days.
What's good homework for practicing daily routines?
Good homework for daily routines is a short post about the learner's own day, with a time for each step: I get up at 6:30. I have lunch at noon. I go to bed at 11 p.m. Homework in the edio.ai lesson What time is it in Times Square? puts that post after a self-checking quiz and an anagram, then adds a voice message about the day for the teacher.
Are there interactive exercises for telling time in English?
Yes: interactive exercises for telling time in English check each answer the moment it's given. What time is it in Times Square?, an A1 lesson on edio.ai, plays four parts on its page without an account: a New Year's Eve poster to read, a kitchen dialogue about getting up early, a table where students write each time two ways, and a New Year's Eve chat. The rest of the lesson is locked.
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