15 Minute Timer
One rotation of small-group teaching — or one meeting that actually ends.
Need a different duration or your own label? Build a custom classroom timer →
The workshop-model block
In a reading or writing workshop, the mini-lesson runs ten to fifteen minutes and the small-group rotations that follow run fifteen to twenty. Fifteen minutes is where those two overlap, which is why it is the most useful single length in the model: it fits the mini-lesson at its longest and the guided-reading group at its shortest.
The practical value of a projected countdown here is not for the group you are teaching — it is for the twenty-five students you are not. While you are on the floor with four readers, the rest of the room needs to know when rotation happens without asking you, because asking you is what breaks the small-group session. A visible timer transfers that job from the teacher to the wall.
Fifteen minutes outside the classroom
The daily stand-up in Scrum is explicitly timeboxed to fifteen minutes regardless of team size, and the timebox is the mechanism: it is what forces the meeting to be a status exchange rather than a working session. Teams that project a countdown finish inside it; teams that do not, do not.
The same number anchors the fifteen-minute reset — a tidy, a walk, an inbox pass — used precisely because it is small enough that starting is not a decision. Fifteen minutes is also the standard length of a mid-morning school break and a common exam reading period.
Embed this timer
For guided reading, embed this timer in the independent-work page students already have open rather than projecting it, so the group at the table with you is not looking at a countdown while they read. The generated code starts counting from the moment you create it, so create it as the first rotation begins.
Frequently asked questions
How do I use one timer across several guided reading rotations?
Run it once per rotation and press Reset between them, or embed it in the independent-work page and regenerate at each changeover. Either way the room hears one signal, which is the point — a rotation that starts at different times for different groups stops being a rotation.
Is fifteen minutes long enough for a mini-lesson?
It is at the upper end of what the workshop model intends. A mini-lesson is meant to be a single teaching point with a short demonstration, and fifteen minutes is generous for that. If you consistently need more, the content is usually a full lesson wearing a mini-lesson label.
Can I change the theme for a darkened room?
Not from this page, which uses the high-contrast Slate theme. The classroom timer builder offers five themes, including a light theme for bright rooms and a black Classic theme that is the most readable option when the lights are off.