Structuring a 45 Minute Class Period

Does a perfect class length exist? Let’s talk about structuring a 45 minute class period. 45 minute class periods are what I experienced as a student, but as a teacher, whew – it is a whirlwind!

Pros of 45 Minute Periods

Students’ attention spans are only so long. 45 minutes means that the pace is quick, and there is no time to waste. Students can feel that urgency! Ideally, this means that there is less off-task behavior and students can stay focused.

Cons of 45 Minute Class Periods

As much as I tried to make the pros exceed the cons, I just couldn’t do it. Here are the challenges that a teacher faces with such a short amount of time:

• Makes projects, assessments, performance tasks, or anything else requiring more time challenging to implement
• Teaching a skill and having students practice it with fidelity in a single class period is tricky
• Outside class time is necessary for students requiring extra help 
• The fast pace is exhausting for teachers! (I can attest)

How to Maximize Your Time 

Since 45 minutes goes fast, here is my non-exhaustive list of ways to make your time work for you:

• Get right to work! Have a short warm-up to get students to start focusing right away!
• Tighten up those transitions – Transitions are a time suck. Sticking to a routine can help keep those transitions predictable and quick.
• Be overly prepared – Work the problems ahead of time. Know exactly which problems you are going over to cover the content. Friendly reminder: if you use MTM, you and your students don’t need to go over every single problem on the student handout. 
• Remove time wasters:
  • Passing out papers/materials – students are grabbing those on their way in or they are already located at the table
  • Using an interactive notebook – anything that requires cutting and gluing, be gone!
• Set timers! Have one for yourself and one that is visible for students. 

Ideas for a 45 Minute Lesson

Note: These are guidelines; sometimes albeit often, in a middle school classroom, things do not go according to plan, but it is always a good idea to have a structured routine for both yourself and your students.   

Some lessons require more time, and some lessons don’t. Use your judgment! There are also a variety of other factors that impact the day-to-day running of your classroom such as the occasional pep rally, field trip, or fire drill.

45 Minute Class Period Idea #1

This structure is great if your students need a slower pace. Your students have adequate time to digest the material. However, you would need to look at your entire year to see if you have time to get through all of the standards. You could always limit two-day lessons for more challenging standards. 

Sample Structure

Day 1

• Warm up (5 minutes)
• Lesson (15 minutes)
• Practice (25 minutes)

Day 2

• Warm up (5 minutes)
• Lesson (15 minutes) – Go over material in more depth or address misconceptions from the prior day
• Practice (20 minutes)
• Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

45 Minute Class Period Idea #2

This structure would be for classrooms that can handle a faster pace. You can still pull small groups – you probably have time for only one group per day. 

Sample Structure

• Warm up (5 minutes)
• Check HW (5 minutes) 
• Lesson (15 minutes)
• Practice (15 minutes)
• Exit Ticket (5 minutes)

45 Minute Class Period Idea #3

This structure is great for a medium pace. Every two lessons, students have the opportunity to practice or go deeper. You have built-in a potential reteach day, so your pacing can stay on track. 

Sample Structure for a Flex Day

• Warm up (5 minutes)
• Mini-lesson/directions/reteach (5-10 minutes)
• Stations or Rotations (30 minutes)
  • Station 1: Small Groups (10 minutes)
  • Station 2: Activity (10 minutes)
  • Station 3: Tech (10 minutes)

45 Lesson Idea #4 and #5

One of the benefits of Self-Paced Learning is that students are able to learn at their own pace, but we still have to provide a structure within our classroom. This structure is from Jodi, a teacher who uses All Access, and talked about self-paced learning on our podcast. 

• Warm up (5 minutes)
• Mini-lesson (5 minutes)
• Students work on their grids (35 minutes)
  • Teacher conferences/small groups

Flipped classrooms are going to have a similar need for structure. Here is how I would structure a 45 minute class: 

• HW: Watch Lesson Video
• Warm Up (5 minutes)
  • Teacher checks student notes to prove videos were watched
• Mini-lesson for any questions or misunderstandings (5 minutes)
• Practice (30 minutes)
  • Teacher pulls small groups
  • Stations would work too!
• Exit Ticket (5)

No matter how you structure your time, those 45 minutes will go quick! How do you structure your 45 minute class period?