Station Rotation Timer

How to Run a Station Rotation Timer

Set the number of stations, the minutes per station and the move time in the station rotation timer above, then press Start. At Chalkbox, we build free classroom tools that run in the browser with no account, and this one times every rotation and every move while it shows each group where to go. It builds one rotation per station, so every group visits every station once.

1. Set Stations to any number from 2 to 8. The default is 4.
2. Set Minutes per station from 1 to 60. The default is 10.
3. Pick a Move time: none, 15 sec, 30 sec, 45 sec, 1 min, 1.5 min or 2 min. The default is 30 sec.
4. Name your stations in the "Name your stations" boxes if you want. A blank box shows as Station 1, Station 2 and so on.
5. Press Start, then press Fullscreen so the whole room can read the clock and the group list.

The whole-rotation time appears above the clock. It equals stations times minutes, plus one move period between each pair of rotations. With the defaults, 4 stations x 10 minutes = 40 minutes, and 3 moves x 30 seconds = 1 minute 30 seconds, for 41 minutes 30 seconds in total.

Four stations get three moves because there is no move after the last rotation. Set everything before you press Start. Changing the stations, the minutes or the move time restarts the timer from the beginning, so an edit during rotation 3 sends the class back to rotation 1.

What the Screen Shows During a Rotation

The main display shows the phase, a big countdown, the group-to-station list and a progress bar for the whole rotation. The phase line reads "Rotation 2 of 4" while groups work and "Move to your next station" followed by the upcoming rotation number during a move period. The move period also has a different background color.

During a move period, each line of the group list shows an arrow and the station that group goes to next. A three-note chime plays at the end of every rotation and every move period when Sound is on. After the last rotation the screen shows "Time's up!" with a Start over button.

Four buttons control the run:

• Start / Pause starts the clock or holds it while you deal with something in the room.
• Skip to next ends the current rotation or move period early for every group.
• Reset returns to the start of rotation 1.
• Fullscreen fills the projector with the display.

How the Groups Move through the Stations

At every rotation, each group moves one station forward in the list, and a group at the last station wraps around to Station 1. Groups are labeled Group A, Group B and so on, with one group per station. Count groups and rotations from zero, and group g works at station (g + rotation) mod N, where 0 means Station 1.

The full plan for the default four stations, using the default station names, looks like this:

Read down any column and each station appears once, so two groups never share a station in the same rotation. Read across any row and that group visits all four stations. The Rotation schedule table under the tool builds this same grid for whatever number of stations you set, and it highlights the current rotation's column.

Choosing Minutes and Move Time

Pick the minutes per station from your longest station task, because every station gets the same time. Treat these as starting points and adjust after you watch one full round:

• Short tasks or younger students: try 5 to 8 minutes per station with a 30 sec or 45 sec move.
• Standard practice stations: try 10 to 15 minutes with a 30 sec move.
• Long tasks such as a lab or a writing piece: try 15 to 20 minutes with a 1 min move.
• Stations with materials to tidy or devices to hand over: give the move 1 min to 2 min.
• Stations side by side with nothing to clean up: a 15 sec move, or none, keeps the class working.

The move time is one setting, so every move between stations gets the same length. If one station needs a long reset and the others need none, set the move time for that station's reset.

Fitting a Station Rotation Timer into a Class Period

Work backward from the minutes you have. Subtract time for directions at the start and cleanup at the end, then subtract the move periods. Divide what is left by the number of stations and round down to a whole minute.

Take a 50-minute period with 5 minutes of directions and 5 minutes of cleanup, which leaves 40 minutes. With 4 stations and 30 sec moves, the 3 moves use 1 minute 30 seconds, leaving 38 minutes 30 seconds. Dividing 38.5 by 4 gives 9.6, so set 9 minutes per station, and the whole rotation reads 4 x 9 minutes + 3 x 30 seconds = 37 minutes 30 seconds.

Other combinations, using the same formula:

If the total runs long, you have two levers. Removing one station saves its minutes plus one move period. Cutting one minute from the setting saves one minute per station.

Setting Up the Stations

The four default names give a ready-made layout: Teacher table, Independent reading, Computers and Hands-on activity. Type your own names over them to match your plan, and the group list shows those names in place of Station 1, Station 2 and so on. These ideas fit the default four:

• Teacher table: your small-group lesson. Every group reaches you once per full rotation, so plan one lesson you can repeat four times.
• Independent reading: books chosen before you press Start, so the first minute of the station goes to reading.
• Computers: log-ins done ahead of time and a task with a clear stopping point that fits inside the station minutes.
• Hands-on activity: a tray or kit with a printed direction card, so a group can begin without asking you.

Use the move period to reset materials. Ask each outgoing group to put its station back the way it found it before following the arrow on screen. If a station needs a bigger reset, such as sorting manipulatives, choose a 1 min move or longer.

Forming the Groups

The timer expects one group per station, so 4 stations means Groups A to D and 8 stations means Groups A to H. Use the random group generator to form your groups, one group per station. Then write each group letter beside its names on the board.

The timer tracks groups by letter only and never sees student names. Your board or printed list is the record of who belongs to Group A, so keep it posted where students can see it from their stations.

Running the Rotation Timer with the Room

Project the timer in Fullscreen so every station can see the countdown, the phase line and the group list. Point each group to its row in the Rotation schedule table at the start, and it can follow its own path through the stations. Keep Sound on, because the chime marks both the end of a rotation and the end of a move.

A few Chalkbox tools work alongside it:

• Open the noise meter in a second window beside the timer.
• Keep a tally on the classroom scoreboard if groups earn points at each station.
• For a whole-class countdown with no groups, use the classroom timer.
• For one fixed block of work, open the 10-minute timer or the 15-minute timer.
• The classroom dashboard is another Chalkbox page to keep open during class.

What the Station Rotation Timer Cannot Do

The timer runs equal groups for equal times, one group per station, and each limit has a workaround:

• Different minutes for different stations. There is one minutes setting. Set it for your longest station and keep a short extension task at the quicker stations. If every group finishes early, press Skip to next to end that rotation for everyone.
• A shorter last station. The last rotation uses the same minutes as the others. Press Skip to next when the class is done, or keep a wrap-up task ready for any spare minutes.
• Uneven group sizes. The timer has no group-size setting and labels groups by letter only. If your class does not split evenly, make some groups one student larger. If you have more groups than stations, add stations up to 8, for example a second reading station.
• Saved setups. Settings are not saved, so write your stations, minutes and move time in your lesson plan and enter them before class.
• A repeating alarm. The chime plays once per change. Teach students to watch for the move-period background color as their second signal.
• Student names. Groups appear as letters, so post the letter-to-name list on the board.

Enter your stations, minutes and move time in the station rotation timer above, compare the whole-rotation time with your period, and press Start.