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

What is Lesson Timer?

Lesson Timer is a free-to-try 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.

Seven timer faces

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

• Ring — the ring plus digits. The all-rounder.
• Shrinking pie — a coloured wedge and no numbers at all. The visual countdown used across EYFS, KS1 and SEND, where a number means little but a shrinking shape means a lot.
• Draining bar — the clearest thing to read from the back of a hall.
• Big digits — nothing else on screen. Tests, and older classes.
• Blocks — squares vanish one at a time, like the countdown strips support staff already use.
• Sand timer — calm and watchable, for quiet work.
• Race — a run for the finish line, for tidy-up races and beat-the-clock challenges.

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. Pick what kind — a single timer, two timers, lesson stages or a carousel.
3. Set how long, or type the clock time you need to finish by.
4. Choose the face and the sounds, then start. Space bar pauses, arrows add or take a minute, and you can drag the ring to adjust on the fly.

Why teachers like it

• Free to try, and big enough to read from the back of the room.
• Seven 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.
• Colour shifts green → amber → red as time runs low, plus a dark screen 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 to try. Just tap a time and go.

Is there a timer with no numbers for younger children?

Yes — the shrinking pie face shows only a coloured wedge getting smaller, with no digits at all.

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.