Timers are useful in maths lessons because they make time passing visible. Students can see a countdown, compare elapsed time, or measure how long a task takes before writing any time calculation.
The Daily Maths Review timer and stopwatch tool gives teachers a large screen-based timer, stopwatch mode, preset countdowns, minute and second adjustments, start, pause, reset, lap recording and fullscreen display.
Use timer mode for short routines
Set a short countdown when the class needs a shared time limit. The visible display and progress bar help students judge how much time is left without stopping the lesson.
- Use one minute for a quick fluency sprint.
- Use three or five minutes for a warm-up, exit ticket or partner task.
- Adjust by ten seconds when a task needs a small extension.
- Use fullscreen when the timer needs to be read from across the room.
Use stopwatch mode for elapsed time
Stopwatch mode is useful when students are measuring how long something takes. Start from zero, let the time count up, then ask students to read the elapsed time before recording it.
Run a one-minute fact sprint, reset, then use stopwatch mode to time a second attempt and compare the elapsed times or saved laps.
Connect timing to maths language
After students watch the timer or stopwatch, connect the display to language such as elapsed, remaining, faster, slower and difference. If they need time-reading support, move to the clock tool before returning to timed challenges.