First—Teach him to tell the hour hand from the minute hand.
Next—Teach him when he first looks at the dial, to find the hour hand and then notice which Roman Numeral it is nearest. This will tell about what time it is.
Then—Find the minute hand. The minute hand will tell exactly what time it is.
To Illustrate: Take this clock. The hour hand is near the Roman Numeral II., which stands for 2. Tell the child it is somewhere near two o’clock.
The minute hand will tell how near.
What time is it?
It must always point to the XII. before it is exactly the hour. If it is one numeral away [985] from the XII., toward the left, it is 5 minutes of two. If it is two numerals away to the left it is 10 minutes of two, etc. If it is one numeral away to the right, it is 5 minutes after two, etc. Proceed in this way and keep at it.