Managing Group Assignments in Google Classroom

Often times, teachers want to assign group work to students using Google Classroom. They want students to be able to work on the same document and turn in a single copy. Right now, there isn't a way to create sub-groups in Google Classroom like many teachers wish, but there is a way to do this without some students having "not done" assignments when it's all over.

Create your assignment document. Create the assignment as you usually would. Give it a title, add instructions, and attach your document for your first group. Then, click where it says all students.

You'll see a dropdown box with the name of each student in the class. Un-click the box next to "all students".

Check only the name of the students in a particular group. Make sure that instead of "make a copy for every student," you'll want to choose "students can edit". This way, all students in the group will be working on the same doc, and each student will be able to click "turn in" when the group is finished. 

To post the assignment for group two, click the "create" button in the upper left of the Classwork Tab. Select "Reuse Assignment". 

Find the first group assignment you posted in the reuse window and select it. Make sure to select the option to "make all new copies of all attachments". Then click the blue "reuse" button. 

In the new posting window, make sure to go to the "all students" dropdown as selected above and select the new group of students. 

Here's the rub to using this method: You'll need to repeat the "reuse post" process for each new group. There is a little more set-up time on the front end for teachers, but it is much less confusing for students and for the teacher, especially when grading time comes!

As always, feel free to reply with any questions!

Google Classroom Parent Letter

If you're using other web 2.0 tools with your students, you've likely noticed that many of them come with an introductory letter for parents to let them know a little about the tool. One of the most common questions I get when leading trainings is whether or not Google has created an introductory letter to send to parents about Google Classroom.

The short answer is.....NO. So, I created one! This letter is pretty appropriate for teachers at about any grade level, and gives parents the basic information about Google Classroom, as well as the opportunity to provide their email address if they're interested in getting Guardian Summaries.

Since I'm an ESOL specialist and work in a district with over 25,000 ELLs, most of whom speak Spanish, I created this in both English and Spanish.

Click here or on the image below to get a copy. This is a Google Slides file, with a text box that allows you to personalize by adding in your name and email address.

I hope this is helpful for you in your classroom- please feel free to share with other teachers!