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Elapsed time and schedules – Grade 3 math lesson

Lesson 15 of 15 in the Grade 3 math course

US version. US grades, US spelling and dollars ($). · UK Maths Department

A complete 45-minute lesson for grade 3 (ages 8–9) that runs on this page – at school or at home. Every answer is graded right away, with a worked explanation.

Time
45 minutes + 15 min homework
Grade
Grade 3 (ages 8–9)
You need
Paper, a pencil and this page
Graded
Instantly, with explanations

For parents: how to use this lesson

You don't need to know this topic yourself. The lesson explains each step on screen, one tidy step at a time. Every answer is graded straight away with a worked explanation, so you never have to grade anything.

  1. Read what your child will learn and the big ideas together.
  2. Press Start the lesson below and sit with your child for the teaching and the worked examples (about 19 minutes).
  3. Let them do the practice on their own. They choose Getting started, On track or Challenge – start on On track and move up after a few right in a row.
  4. Finish with the exit ticket and the talk question: “Why can't you just subtract times like normal numbers?”
  5. Later that day or the next day: the homework (15 minutes), then a practice test.

Watch out for

  • Subtracting times like ordinary numbers (10:15 − 9:50 = 65). Count on in minutes to the hour, then add the rest.
  • Reading across the wrong row. Use a ruler under the row.

Tip for home: Work out how long a TV program or a journey takes together.

What your child will learn

Learning goal: read schedules and work out elapsed time.

Success looks like

  • I can read a timetable.
  • I can work out how long a journey takes.
  • I can plan using a timetable.

Key words

schedule
a table of times
duration
how long something lasts
depart
leave
arrive
get there

What to have ready

  • Paper and a pencil
  • This page on a computer, tablet or phone
  • For the hands-on part: Find a real bus or train timetable online and plan a journey: when to leave and when you arrive.

The big ideas (for the adult)

A schedule lists the times when a bus or train is at each stop. Read along a row for a stop and down a column for one trip.

To find how long a journey takes, count on from the start time to the end time: first to the next hour, then the rest.

Check whether times are am or pm, or written on the 24-hour clock.

The lesson, step by step

45 minutes in 5 parts
PartTimeHow it is checked
Starter: quick recall5 minGraded by Classfern
Teaching input10 minNot assessed, self-checked
Worked examples and guided practice9 minNot assessed, graded by Classfern
Independent practice15 minGraded by Classfern
Closure and exit ticket6 minGraded by Classfern, self-checked

Starter, "your turn", practice and exit ticket are graded by Classfern. Worked examples and teaching are not assessed. The hands-on task and the reflection are self-assessed. Explanations in talk are judged by the parent and not recorded.

The lesson

It runs here on the page. No sign-up and no names – progress is kept only in this browser.

Homework and practice at home

15 minutes: 8 practice questions, 3 multiple-choice questions and 2 to remember from earlier work, then a short reflection. New questions every time, all graded instantly.

More practice

All Grade 3 math lessons and tests · Math Department

More Grade 3 math lessons

Curriculum

Common Core State Standards 3.MD.A.1: “Tell and write time to the nearest minute and measure time intervals in minutes. Solve word problems involving addition and subtraction of time intervals in minutes, e.g., by representing the problem on a number line diagram.”

Our lessons and questions are our own. They are not written or endorsed by any government department, testing agency or exam board.