How to Assign Work in Google Classroom

I sat down to create my math station rotation for the upcoming week– excited to plan activities with my new computers.

But, I was stumped. How do I tell students what to do?

In the beginning, I added links to my class web page and taught students how to navigate the site and find the link. I even added a special section on my web page for station tasks. (Read more about technology management strategies here.)

Still, I wondered how I could do more than just assign websites for the students to visit or online games they could play. 

I decided to start using PowerPoint slides to share activities with my students– which was pretty cool at the time. 

On each slide of the slideshow, I gave directions for what students should do to complete the slide. 

For example, I would create a template for the task. I used outlined text boxes as placeholders for information and added colored text boxes with directions.

Students then recorded their information in the placeholder text boxes and deleted the colored text boxes once they completed the slide. Each slideshow included 5-10 slides and students followed this process to complete each activity. 

This was a solid process at a time when sharing files electronically was not possible. 

It wasn’t without its challenges though.

Working through the Trouble Spots

Students had to learn to open my original file, use “Save As” to save it in their folder, and change the title to include their name. 

Whew! You wouldn’t believe what a challenge it was to teach the students to do this correctly, but we did it!

That was eleven years ago. Now, we can easily share files electronically. We even have tools that will make a copy for each student before they begin working– this would have solved so many problems for me.  

Where was this tool when I needed it? 

How to Share Work in Google Classroom

Google Classroom and the other Google Apps give us an unprecedented opportunity to communicate with students like never before.

Ready to learn how to assign work in Google Classroom? Check out three creative ways to share assignments with your students via Google Classroom. 

Three Creative Task Sheet Ideas

1. Must Do/Can Do Task Sheet

I love the simplicity of this task sheet. Teachers can “dump” all of their resources for this skill in one of the two columns, link any resources not located in Google Classroom, and share it with students. Easy Peasy!

The only limitation I see is due to the simplicity of the design. Teachers will need to provide guidance on the learning sequence– which could be accomplished with numbered tasks and a note in the directions. It’s just something to consider. 

2. 20-30-50 Math Menu Task Sheet

I love this menu because it creates a customized learning experience for students. Each student has the opportunity to select 100 points worth of activities; therefore, they could choose five 20-point activities, two 20-point and two 30-point activities, or a 20-point, 30-point, and 50-point activity. 

The biggest drawback I see is the care that must be taken to assign each task a point value as the higher the point value, the more challenging the task. For some students, this isn’t a problem; however, some students will choose five 20-point activities because they believe they are “easier” than the higher-point tasks. One way to avoid this issue is to assign less than five tasks to this category, like in my example above, so students must complete activities from other categories too. 

3. Modified 5-E Model Lesson Plan Task Sheet

This task sheet corresponds with the online math learning planning guide I shared via this post. What I love about this tool is students can progress through the learning process in much the same way as they do during a traditional 5-E model lesson.

There are engage activities, explore/explain activities, practice and extension activities, and tasks for evaluation. The progression of activities is succinct and allows students to develop their thinking in a way that is similar to the way they might in the classroom. 

The biggest challenge with this task sheet is teachers have to find activities to fill each area. Depending on the time you have available, this could be a significant limitation; however, using my online math learning planning guide provides ideas and activities to help you fill the boxes. 

How to Get Started

Understanding how to assign work in Google Classroom can be cumbersome when you upload tasks one-at-a-time. Using the task sheet ideas shared here can take your Google Classroom up a notch and add some pizzaz to your students’ weekly assignments. It’s also a great way to help you organize your content.  

Ready to create your own task sheet? You can grab a free copy of the templates shared in this post to use in your classroom using the form below. 

Sound Off!

How do you assign tasks to your students in Google Classroom? Share your ideas in the comments section below.