Lesson Plan

Beat the Clock Lesson Blueprint

Students will learn key time-management strategies—chunking tasks, using timers, and prioritizing—through engaging class challenges and reflection to improve focus and task completion within set time limits.

Building executive function and time-management skills helps 4th graders stay organized, complete work efficiently, and gain confidence in managing classroom tasks independently.

Audience

Time

Approach

Materials

Prep

Prepare Materials and Space

5 minutes

Step 1

Warm-Up & Introduction

5 minutes

Step 2

Teach Time-Management Strategies

10 minutes

Step 3

Classroom Time Challenge

20 minutes

Step 4

Reflection Race Exit Ticket

10 minutes

Slide Deck

Race Against Time!

Welcome students! Today we’re going to learn how to manage our time so we can finish tasks without feeling rushed. Explain that we’ll look at three strategies to help us ‘beat the clock.’

Why Manage Your Time?

Ask: Why might it be hard to finish tasks on time? Record answers. Then highlight the benefits of good time management: less stress, more free time, and feeling in control.

Strategy 1: Chunking Tasks

Explain chunking: breaking big tasks into smaller steps makes them easier. Ask students for examples of big tasks at school and how they could chunk them.

Strategy 2: Using a Timer

Show a picture of a kitchen timer or stopwatch. Explain how setting a timer helps maintain focus and shows us how much time remains.

Strategy 3: Prioritizing Tasks

Discuss how prioritizing means doing the most important tasks first. Give a real-life example (homework vs. chore) and ask students to rank them.

Example: Planning Your Task

Walk through the example step by step, modeling chunking the cleanup task, setting a 2-minute timer, and prioritizing the steps.

Let’s Practice!

Explain the upcoming Classroom Time Challenge. Remind students to use chunking, timers, and prioritizing as they work in teams.