This online 4 minute timer opens set and stopped, as a bar that shrinks to the left. Kids who cannot read the digits yet can see three quarters, a half and a quarter of the time left.
Read the full guide
Start the 4 minute countdown
1. Press Start with music: the bar starts to shrink and a track plays. 2. Press Full screen on the timer and the bar fills the board. 3. Need longer? Press + 1 min under the bar. 4. To set a timer for 4 minutes again at the end, press Start again.
240 seconds in four quarters, with a chime between them
Under More options, Chime at 3:00, 2:00 and 1:00 are off until you check them. With all three on, Four at a table, a minute each, under Ready-made routines, changes speaker at every chime.
Questions and answers
Can it ring like a 4 minute alarm?
Yes. Under More options, choose Hand bell, Soft chime or Wood block for When the time is up, and it rings once at 0:00. Test sound plays it first, so you can set the volume.
What does the 4 minute timer with music play?
One of four tracks that the page makes as it plays, so there is no song and nothing to download. Tidy-up gets faster over the last third, which on 4 minutes is from about 1:20 left.
Is this 4 minute visual timer a bar or a disc?
It opens as a bar. For a round face, open More options and press Disc: each minute is then a quarter turn. Disc only, beside it, hides the digits.
How do I get a 4 minute silent timer?
Choose No music in the Music list by the main button. Then nothing plays at all, because the end sound is off until you choose one, and at 0:00 the screen says Time is up.
All 17 routines
Speaking turns 5
Any one of four answersTeams of four number off, and you ask one hard question. For 3 minutes the team puts its heads together until all four can explain the answer. At 1:00 left you call a number, and that pupil from each team answers alone. Nobody knows who it will be, so everybody prepares. Cues: 1:00 Pencils down. A number is called.
Four at a table, a minute eachEvery table of four talks at once. Pupils number off 1 to 4, and each has one minute on the prompt while the other three only listen. Each speaker is a quarter of the bar, so a glance shows how much of the minute is left. The cue calls the next number. Cues: 3:00 Number 2, your minute; 2:00 Number 3, your minute; 1:00 Number 4, your minute.
Partner interviewPartner A asks three questions from the board and notes the answers for 2 minutes. When half the bar has gone, they swap and B asks. Afterwards each pupil introduces a partner to the class in one sentence, which shows who listened. Cues: 2:00 Swap. Partner B asks now; 0:20 Last answer. Finish your notes.
Show all 17 routines (14 more)
Speaking turns, continued
Speech, two stars and a wishOne pupil gives a prepared speech for 2 minutes. For the next minute the class names two things that worked. The last minute is for one wish: a single thing to try next time. 2 + 1 + 1, and the speaker sits down knowing what to keep. Cues: 2:00 Stop there. Two stars from the class; 1:00 Now one wish for next time.
Story chain, twice aroundA table of four tells one story aloud. Each pupil adds to it for 30 seconds and stops mid-sentence at the cue, and the next voice carries on. Twice around the table is eight turns, which fills the 4 minutes exactly. The last speaker has to end the story. Cues: 3:30 Pass it on; 3:00 Pass it on. Add a problem; 2:30 Pass it on; 2:00 Halfway. Second time around; 1:30 Pass it on; 1:00 Pass it on. Start solving it; 0:30 Last voice. End the story.
Four-minute warm-ups 6
Eight rounds of 20 and 10Work for 20 seconds, rest for 10, eight times over: 8 x 30 seconds is exactly 4 minutes. Use the large digits. Pupils rest whenever the seconds read 40 or 10 and go again at 30 and 00. Change the move each round: star jumps, toe taps, side steps, marching. Cues: 3:30 Round 2. Go; 3:00 Round 3. Go; 2:30 Round 4. Go; 2:00 Round 5. Go. Halfway; 1:30 Round 6. Go; 1:00 Round 7. Go; 0:30 Round 8. Last one.
Feed and strike, then swapIn pairs, one pupil feeds the ball and the other strikes, catches or volleys it back, for 2 minutes without stopping to chat. At half time they swap jobs. Both get the same number of seconds with the bat, and nobody has to ask for a turn. Cues: 2:00 Swap jobs.
Four operations warm-upFold a sheet in four and put one operation in each box. Pupils spend a minute on the addition facts, a minute on subtraction, a minute on multiplication and a minute on division, moving on at the cue whether or not the box is full. Mark one box at a time. Cues: 3:00 Move on: subtraction box; 2:00 Move on: multiplication box; 1:00 Move on: division box.
Four-minute distance runMark a loop of known length, 100 metres if you can. Pupils jog or walk it at a steady pace for 4 minutes and count their laps. Back in class, turn laps into metres and compare them with a mile, 1.609 km, which the fastest runners cover in less than 4 minutes. Cues: 3:00 One minute gone. Steady pace; 2:00 Halfway. Keep counting laps; 1:00 Last minute.
Four-move PE warm-upOne minute for each move, in the hall or on the field: jog the lines, side-step the width, high knees on the spot, then slow reaches to bring the breathing down. The bar loses a quarter with every move, so the class can see the end coming. Cues: 3:00 Side-steps across the width; 2:00 High knees on the spot; 1:00 Slow reaches. Breathe out.
Pulse before and afterA science warm-up in three parts. Sitting still, pupils count their pulse for the first minute and write it down. They jog on the spot for 2 minutes. They sit and count again for the last minute. 1 + 2 + 1, and every pupil has two numbers to compare. Cues: 3:00 Write it down. Jog on the spot; 1:00 Sit. Count your pulse again.
One page, four parts 4
Four-box story planFold a sheet in four before anyone writes a story. One minute a box, in notes and not sentences: who is in it, where and when it happens, what goes wrong, how it ends. A plan made this fast stays a plan and does not turn into the first page. Cues: 3:00 Box 2: where and when; 2:00 Box 3: what goes wrong; 1:00 Box 4: how it ends.
Four-line poemGive the class a subject and a minute for each line. Line one says what you see, line two what you hear, line three what it reminds you of, line four how it leaves you feeling. Rhyme is optional. Four lines in, there is a poem to read out. Cues: 3:00 Line 2: what do you hear?; 2:00 Line 3: what is it like?; 1:00 Line 4: how does it feel?
One word, four boxesWrite one new word in the middle of a sheet folded in four. Box one: what it means, in your own words. Box two: a quick drawing. Box three: an example. Box four: something it is not. One minute a box keeps every box short. Cues: 3:00 Box 2: draw it; 2:00 Box 3: give an example; 1:00 Box 4: something it is not.
Somebody, wanted, but, soSum up a story in four short parts, a minute each. Somebody: who is the main character? Wanted: what were they after? But: what got in the way? So: how did it turn out? Read the four parts in a row and the summary is written. Cues: 3:00 WANTED: what were they after?; 2:00 BUT: what got in the way?; 1:00 SO: how did it turn out?
Around the room 2
Four corners, four statementsLabel the corners strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. Read a statement each minute. Pupils walk to a corner and tell the nearest person why they chose it. Four statements fill the time, and nobody is ever out. Cues: 3:00 Statement 2. Choose a corner; 2:00 Statement 3. Choose a corner; 1:00 Last statement. Choose a corner.
Four-poster gallery walkHang four posters, one on each wall, and start a group at each. Every group has a minute at a poster to read it and add one sticky note, then moves clockwise at the cue. After 4 minutes every group has seen all four. Cues: 3:00 Move clockwise to poster 2; 2:00 Move clockwise to poster 3; 1:00 Move on to your last poster.
How this list was compiled: Own work, written on 2026-09-18 from common classroom practice. Each routine is one way to spend exactly 4 minutes (240 seconds) with a class, and each cue is given as the time left on the countdown when it appears. Every routine is built on a split that 240 seconds gives, and each split was added up twice: 4 parts of 60 seconds (cues at 3:00, 2:00 and 1:00 left) for Four at a table, a minute each, Four-move PE warm-up, Four operations warm-up, Four-box story plan, Somebody, wanted, but, so, One word, four boxes, Four-line poem, Four corners, four statements, Four-poster gallery walk and Four-minute distance run; 2 parts of 120 seconds for Partner interview and Feed and strike, then swap; 8 parts of 30 seconds for Story chain, twice around (4 pupils x 2 turns x 30 s = 240 s, cues at 3:30, 3:00, 2:30, 2:00, 1:30, 1:00 and 0:30 left) and for Eight rounds of 20 and 10 (8 x (20 + 10) = 240 s; work starts at 4:00, 3:30, 3:00, 2:30, 2:00, 1:30, 1:00 and 0:30 left, rest starts 20 seconds later at 3:40, 3:10, 2:40, 2:10, 1:40, 1:10, 0:40 and 0:10 left, so the seconds read 40 or 10 at every rest and 30 or 00 at every start); 2:00 + 1:00 + 1:00 for Speech, two stars and a wish; 3:00 + 1:00 for Any one of four answers; 1:00 + 2:00 + 1:00 for Pulse before and after. One outside fact is used, in Four-minute distance run: a mile is 1.609 km, read at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four-minute_mile on 2026-09-19. The timings are suggestions, not rules or research findings. Change them to suit your class. Licence: own work