Elapsed Time Teaching Resources
Browse elapsed time worksheets, word problems and more teacher-created resources designed with your lesson planning in mind!
Aligned with both TEKS and the Common Core math curriculum, each printable and digital activity in this collection has undergone a careful review by a member of our teacher team to ensure it's ready for your classroom — and your students!
New to teaching kids how to calculate elapsed time? Read on for a primer from our teacher team, including an elapsed time definition to help you explain what it is to your students, plus tips on helping your students develop a sense of time and improving their ability to measure and calculate time intervals.
What Is Elapsed Time? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Do you ever wish you had a script handy to introduce new concepts in the classroom? We can't tell you everything to say, but the Teach Starter site is full of handy definitions for common concepts to help you get started.
When it comes to explaining what elapsed time means, here's a definition we like to use with students:
Elapsed time refers to the amount of time that has passed between two specific points.
How Do You Calculate Elapsed Time?
Calculating elapsed time is typically done using subtraction. The formula we teach our students is:
elapsed time = end time – start time
Your students may find it helpful to start off with a number line to calculate the difference between the end time and start time, eventually moving away from the scaffold to calculate the amount of time in their heads.
Being able to measure how much time elapses helps us to do plenty of things in the real world! It can be used to measure the amount of time between the beginning and end of a particular event — such as the start of recess and end of lunch — or it can be used to calculate how much time it took to get from one place to another, such as the trip from your house to the school.
What Is an Example of Elapsed Time?
Here's a good example of elapsed time that you can share with your students:
If you leave the classroom at 1:10 p.m. to go to the bathroom and return to the classroom at 1:15 p.m., the amount of time that has elapsed is 5 minutes.
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Elapsed Time Interactive Word Problems Game
Practice solving elapsed time word problems with an interactive quiz game for 3rd and 4th graders.
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Elapsed Time - Math Maze Worksheets
Find start times, end times, and time elapsed to find your way through our printable Elapsed Time Math maze worksheets.
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Elapsed Time Anchor Chart - Strategies
Teach your students how to tell elapsed time with multiple strategies using a printable Elapsed Time Anchor Chart.
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Elapsed Time Anchor Chart - Printable
Show students how to calculate elapsed time on an open number line with a printable elapsed time anchor chart.
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Time to the Minute and Elapsed Time – Teaching Presentation
Practice telling time to the nearest minute and calculating elapsed time with this 18-slide teaching presentation.
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Time Number Line (5-Minute Increments)
A time number line to use when teaching elapsed time.
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Elapsed Time Test
Assess your students' abilities to determine elapsed time to the whole, half, and quarter-hour with a printable Elapsed Time Test.
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Elapsed Time Printables (Digital Clocks)
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students practice finding elapsed time using digital clocks.
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Differentiated Elapsed Time Worksheets for Beginners
Download a pack of differentiated Elapsed Time worksheets to help your students learn to calculate elapsed time in hours, half hours, and minutes.
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3-Act Math Tasks - Time Conversion Worksheets
Practice problem-solving skills and time conversions with a printable pack of 3 Act Maths Task worksheets.
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Elapsed Time With Analog Clocks – Worksheets
Determine how much time has passed with this collection of elapsed time worksheets.
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4th Grade Elapsed Time Word Problems - Task Cards
Solve different types of elapsed time word problems with a set of printable 4th-grade Elapsed Time Task Cards.
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Time and Elapsed Time - Task Cards
Solve a variety of time and elapsed time problems with a set of Elapsed Time to the Hour and Half-Hour task cards.
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Elapsed Time Rulers
Use an elapsed time ruler to help your students determine the duration of time.
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Elapsed Time Number Search Worksheets
Review how to find elapsed time and practice learned skills with engaging Elapsed Time Number Search worksheets!
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Figuring Elapsed Time - Interactive Game
Determine the elapsed time between events and have fun with an interactive Elapsed Time game.
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Elapsed Time Word Problems - Worksheets
Solve elapsed time word problems and build telling time skills with printable time and elapsed time worksheets.
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Elapsed Time Riddle Worksheets
Calculate elapsed time to solve the riddles in this printable pack of elapsed time worksheets.
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Elapsed Time on a Number Line Worksheets
Practice finding elapsed time using an open number line with a pair of differentiated elapsed time 3rd grade worksheets.
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Calculating Elapsed Time - Practice Sheets
Calculate time elapsed with a variety of scaffolded elapsed time table worksheets.
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Elapsed Time Worksheet
Determine how much time has passed with this collection of elapsed time word problems.
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Elapsed Time With Clocks – Worksheet
A worksheet for students to practice calculating elapsed time.
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Determining Elapsed Time-Word Problems Worksheet
Print an elapsed time word problems worksheet to provide students with practice measuring the passage of time.
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Time After Time Teaching Slides
Introduce your students to the history of the clock, time zones, and telling time with an interactive teaching presentation.
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Clock Reading & Elapsed Time Quiz
Assess your students' knowledge of telling time to the minute and working with elapsed time with this Clock Reading, Conversions, and Elapsed Time test.
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Interactive Teaching Clock
Use this interactive clock widget to teach time with fun hands-on learning!