Category: Lesson Plans

Visual Timers for Classroom and Time Management

Round Analog Clock
Photo by bruce mars
A ring timer, as see on
online-stopwatch.com/sensory-timers/

Managing time effectively is crucial for teachers, and it’s also often important to effectively communicate to students how much time they have for a given task. Visual timers are one of the best tools I’ve found to help teacher and students all together manage their time more effectively. They help students who struggle with transitions, and they’re also helpful for students (and teachers) with ADHD.

There is a tool out there recommended by Jessica Minahan, author of The Behavior Code called a “time timer.” However, these timers cost at least $20 to $30. There is an app for smart phones which is more affordable, for $2.99. However, to get a desktop version, you need to pay about $20.

Alternatively, the best free timers I’ve found available online are here:

https://www.online-stopwatch.com/sensory-timers/

This one is my personal favorite:

https://www.online-stopwatch.com/sensory-timers/ring/

Another valuable time management tool is called the Pomodoro timer. It’s basically a tomato kitchen timer, and the technique for using it to manage your time is called the Pomodoro technique. You can read about it here:

https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

Here’s an online version of the timer:

https://tomato-timer.com/

Name Tags/Name Tents for Student Desks — Excellent First Day and Week of School Routine

I heard about name tents last year, during an excellent professional development training from CPM (College Preparatory Mathematics). The facilitator mentioned name tents, and this website has a worksheet/paper copy ready to use. The cool thing is that inside the name tent (really a name tag that sits on the desk) is a place for students to give you feedback. During the first week, I got some positive feedback from students which was uplifting, as well as some useful information like how a couple students couldn’t see the board very well, which allowed me to move them to the front of the room.

Here’s the link. Thank you to the awesome teacher who shared this: https://www.saravanderwerf.com/week-1-day-1-name-tents-with-feedback/