When I first taught elementary school, we learned math for almost 2 hours. That wasn’t the plan or even the schedule. But we spent double the allotted time on math. I just hit a groove with math and running math stations that I forgot all about the time. I’m sure my students didn’t. But there were definitely some classroom time management strategies I needed! I went to Google, asked other teachers, and scrolled through Pinterest and Instagram looking for any answer I could find. Luckily I found a few tips, learned a few ideas and we didn’t spend 2 hours on math ever again…until state testing rolled around.
While timers for classroom use definitely helped me with my classroom time management, that wasn’t the only way I got the timing of lessons under control. Today I’m sharing 5 time management strategies that worked for me in my classroom. Whether I was teaching 3rd grade or 8th, or somewhere in between, these strategies have shaped how I run my classroom.
Time management in a classroom
Why do you need time management in a classroom? Great question! Without strong classroom time management skills, lessons will run over. You too might find yourself teaching math for 2 hours instead of 1!
Time management in a classroom is necessary to not only stay on track with lessons but to also give variety to your day. Even if you are teaching middle school, it is rare that students are working on the same task for a 45-minute block of time. I share more about how I run a 45-minute math block in this blog post. Students need variety in their learning and one way to switch up their learning is to have different activities for different lengths of time. For example, I have to do nows that last for 5 minutes, video notes that are a little longer at 15 minutes, and then partner practice for 10 minutes. Each of these activities requires me to have time management in teaching lessons.
Timers for Classroom
In my search for classroom time management strategies, I quickly stumbled upon some teachers using timers for classroom use and so I started to do the same. I set timers for everything. I added them to my google classroom slideshow each day. My room runs on timers. From morning work for 5th grade to science labs, to morning meetings and everything in between, there’s a timer for that. That should honestly be my teacher slogan.
I mostly incorporate my timers for classroom slides. These slides and timers help me so much. If you aren’t teaching from a google classroom slideshow, I don’t know how you do it! Props to you! I, on the other hand, need slides to tell me what I’m doing. Teaching from slides is a soapbox for another day though!
I simply add timers for classroom activities. If students are working independently, I add a timer. If students are completing math learning centers, there’s a timer for each rotation. Cleaning up? TImer. Testing? Timer. Snack time? Timer.
Timers for classroom activities help my students as much as they help me! We don’t spend 2 hours on a single math lesson. But students also know how much time they have left to finish a task. Teaching time management to students isn’t always easy. But in my classroom, we talk about stamina and how to focus for a set amount of time. I break up chunks of time with brain breaks and chat breaks in middle school. Timers help me have classroom time management skills that I don’t otherwise have.
If you want to have cute slides and timers already created for you be sure to check out this bundle of timers for classroom slides in my Teacher’s Pay Teachers shop.
What Time Management Skills do Teachers need?
I actually did a whole blog post about what time management skills teachers need. If you are looking for how to organize your plan time better, be sure to check out that blog post.
Just to recap the blog post though:
- Make to do lists
- Batch your copies- I also have a blog post dedicated to batch lesson planning over here
- Prepare the next day’s lessons the day before
- Quickly change out math stations- more on that topic in this blog post
- Tidy up your desk and student spaces
All of these classroom time management tips help me keep an organized and well-functioning classroom which puts me at ease and helps my students learn. Which is honestly what we are all about around here!
Teaching time management to students
Another side to classroom time management is teaching time management to students. This is more at the middle school or high school level, but upper elementary grades can start to lay some foundation for this skill. I love sharing with students what works for me and how I manage my time. I share with them that I use a planner to keep track of things. Also, I use to-do lists, which they see me use all the time! Timers for classroom activities, homework, or projects can also help with teaching time management to students.
In some ways, teaching time management skills just take some time. Haha, get it? As students’ brains develop more, they gain a better understanding of how long assignments can take them and how to prioritize their time. However, I think it is important to model time management strategies that work well for us. Just like we teach students to keep organized, teaching time management to students takes a variety of different methods.
Other Tips & Tricks
Looking for more classroom time management tips? These blog posts and Youtube videos have so many great tips to help you structure your class time. Even if they are for a different grade level, there’s so much to learn! I joke that I didn’t know classroom time management until I started to teach elementary school! And now teaching middle school, I’m able to take what I learn and still apply it to the big kids!
- 5 Time Management Tips for Teachers – Resilient Educator
- 5 Strategies to Improve Time Management for Teachers – The Simply Organized Teacher
- Taking Time In: 7 Simple Ways to Make Classroom Time Management Work for You – Busy Teacher
- Time Managment in the Classroom – Youtube Video from Kyle Thain
- Time Management Tips for Teachers – Youtube Video from Macmillion Education ELT
- Effective Time Management in the Classroom – Youtube Video from Langevin Learning Services
- Timers for Classroom Use – TPT Product mentioned in this blog post
I’d love to know what classroom time management strategies you use in your classroom! Do you use timers for classroom activities? Drop your response in the comments!
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