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Maths · Years 3-5
How can I teach elapsed time with a timetable?
Find time intervals by counting forward through the hour.
Download: Time intervals timetable
A4 PDF · 2 pages · free · no sign-up
Print page 1 for the activity and keep page 2 for teaching notes, answers or review criteria.
Use A4 paper at 100% or Actual size. Suggested years or grades are selection aids, rather than curriculum alignment claims.
How to use this resource
- Show 09:50 -> 10:00 -> 10:20 on a timeline and add 10 + 20 minutes.
- Use the supplied example or task brief. Let the learner respond through writing, drawing, discussion or their usual communication method.
- Review the answers or criteria below. Check that crossing an hour is treated as 60 minutes, rather than a base-ten subtraction.
What is in the printable?
Invented club timetable: Setup 09:35-09:50; Reading 09:50-10:20; Break 10:20-10:30; Making 10:30-11:05. Times use a 24-hour clock.
- How long does setup last?
- How long does reading last? Show a jump through 10:00.
- How long is the break?
- How long does making last?
- How much time passes from 09:35 until 11:05, including the break?
Make it easier or add challenge
More support
Use a clock alongside the timetable and work with one interval at a time.
More challenge
Move the whole schedule 25 minutes later without changing any durations.
What to look for
Check that crossing an hour is treated as 60 minutes, rather than a base-ten subtraction.
Teacher answers and suggested responses
1. 15 minutes.
2. 30 minutes: 10 minutes to 10:00, then 20 more.
3. 10 minutes.
4. 35 minutes.
5. 90 minutes, or 1 hour 30 minutes. The whole session includes every interval.
Further teaching guidance
Related guidance from EP for Schools: How can number lines support pupils who find maths difficult?
Try another activity
Deliver individually or in a small group
Choose one learning aim from this activity. Model one example, work through another together, then give each pupil a turn with a fresh example. In a group, ask everyone to think or show a response before sharing; one confident answer does not show what the whole group understands.
Keep the task’s more-support option available. Allow the usual communication tools, practical materials or drawing where these preserve the learning aim. Reduce the number of examples if needed, rather than rushing through the sheet.
What progress should I look for?
Check that crossing an hour is treated as 60 minutes, rather than a base-ten subtraction.
Note the example used and whether the response was independent, followed a general prompt or needed a model. Try a different example on a later occasion and look for clearer reasoning or less support on a comparable task. Use these observations to plan the next teaching step.
Printing, access and sharing
Use separate paper or a different recording method when more space or an accessible format is needed. Free to print and copy within your school, setting or family. Retain the website credit and share this teaching page with other settings.