Lesson Timer — a big countdown and count-up timer for the classroom whiteboard

What is Lesson Timer?

Lesson Timer is a free classroom timer and online stopwatch for the whiteboard. Set a single countdown, run two timers side by side, build your whole lesson as a sequence of timed stages that auto-advance, or repeat one time for a carousel. Pick the face that suits the class, choose what it sounds like, and it fills the screen so the whole room can read it.

Eight timer faces

The same timer underneath, drawn eight ways, because a Reception tidy-up and a Year 6 arithmetic paper need very different things on the board.

• Liquid tank: a measuring jug of time. Marks show the minutes left, and the water sloshes each minute.
• Neon orbit: a glowing ring on black, throwing sparks. Best with the lights down.
• Sand timer: sand pours and piles up. Calm, for quiet work.
• Sunset: the sun sets as time runs out and the stars come out, so children feel the time without reading it.
• Station board: flip digits like a train station board, with your title spelled out on top.
• Rocket to the Moon: the rocket flies to the Moon and lands on zero. Great for tidy-up races.
• Growing tree: grows from a seedling and blossoms at the end. Lovely for counting up.
• Big digits: nothing else on screen. Tests, and older classes.

Whichever you pick, the last ten seconds become a giant countdown the class can chant along to.

Sound you actually control

Choose a warning at 30 seconds, 1, 2 or 5 minutes before the end, so the class gets a heads-up rather than a shock. Choose the end sound — a soft chime, a hand bell, applause, an air horn, or nothing. Set the volume, or switch on silent mode for a test, where the screen does all the talking.

Time your whole lesson in stages

Add stages like Starter (5 min), Main task (20 min) and Plenary (5 min) — or tap a template — and Lesson Timer runs through them in order, chiming and moving on by itself. A strip along the bottom shows the whole lesson at a glance, with what's now and what's next, and you can tap any stage to jump straight to it when the class is ready to move on. Save a lesson shape and it's there next week.

Carousel and rotations

Set one time and how many rounds — twelve minutes, four times — and it runs the whole rotation hands free, chiming between each round and showing which group is up. Built for guided reading, station work and talk-partner swaps.

How to use it

1. Tap a time to start straight away, or choose "Set up a timer".
2. Count down or count up, pick how long, and give it a title if you like.
3. Choose the face. The preview beside it shows exactly what the board will show.
4. For lesson stages, a carousel, two timers, sounds or a finish time, open More options. Then start. Space bar pauses, arrows add or take a minute.

Why teachers like it

• Free, and big enough to read from the back of the room.
• Eight animated faces, so the timer fits the class rather than the other way round.
• A warning before the end — the thing most timers leave out.
• Lesson stages and carousel mode keep the whole session on track, hands free.
• A giant countdown for the last ten seconds, and dark faces for darkened rooms.
• It holds the whiteboard awake, so the screen never sleeps mid-lesson.

Lesson Timer FAQ

Is Lesson Timer free?

Yes — it's free. Just tap a time and go.

Is there a visual timer for younger children?

Yes. The sunset, sand timer, liquid tank and growing tree show the time passing as a picture, so a child can see how long is left without reading the numbers.

Can I get a warning before the time runs out?

Yes — a warning chime at 30 seconds, 1, 2 or 5 minutes before the end, and an end sound you choose.

Can I time a whole lesson in stages?

Yes — add stages with a time each and it runs through them, auto-advancing with a chime and showing now and next. Tap any stage to jump to it.

Is there a timer for carousel or station rotations?

Yes — set one time and how many rounds, and it runs the whole rotation for you.

Can I count down to a clock time?

Yes — type the time you need to finish by, such as 10:45, and it works out the minutes.

Can it count up as well as down?

Yes — choose count up for a stopwatch, or turn on overtime so it counts up in red past zero.

Related apps

Keeping the day on track? Put a big Countdown on the board, scribble on the Whiteboard, or start the morning with the Morning Board.