ela assignments for google classroom

Free interactive ELA quizzes to use via Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a great tool to use during lockdown or hybrid learning, but it can take a lot of time to put together activities, quizzes and assignments. To address this problem, my colleagues and I are sharing our ELA resources with all teachers for free!

We have hundreds of interactive, self-graded activities, created to increase student engagement and learning. Simply select the ones you like and send to your students via Google Classroom.

Fill out the form and I will then send you an email with step-by-step instructions.

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Transitioning From Undergraduate to Grad Learner: Everything You Need to Know

College textbooks costs: everything you need to know, what is an ahk file, keeping yourself safe in college: everything you need to know, myths about online high schools: everything you need to know, reasons you should study geography: everything you need to know, the vtoman jump 1800 portable power station: the best of the best, key roles of a school superintendent: everything you need to know, is earning a degree online worthwhile and beneficial, why learners cheat: everything you need to know, interactive reading for the google classroom.

Reading comprehension and reading fluency are two of the most important aspects of learning regardless of subject matter. The ability to read forms the basis for all other content areas and knowledge. With Google Classroom, teachers can incorporate interactive reading lessons for students to work on comprehension and fluency skills while creating a fun, supportive, and engaging learning environment.

Newsela is a collection of articles and text sets which can be assigned to students for lessons. The library contains articles in a multitude of topic areas including arts and culture, science and math, religion and philosophy, government and economics, geography, world history, and U.S. history. It also includes primary sources, biographies, famous speeches, and many more topics. Newsela features text sets for a variety of areas such as science, literature, social studies, and math. Spanish texts are also available for users. Articles are published for five reading levels based on lexile so readers of all ability levels can read the same article. Each article includes a standards-aligned quiz, writing prompts or additional activities. Assignments can be shared with students directly through Google Classroom. Newsela has a basic plan which is free, but the option to upgrade to a premium service is available.

Read&Write for Google Chrome

Read&Write is a reading tool which is available as an extension for Google Chrome. The extension is free for 30 days, and teachers can upgrade to the premium plan for free after the 30 day trial for the Chrome extension ends. Read&Write for Chrome includes text-to-speech, text and picture dictionaries, dictation, word prediction, and many more features. The extension works in most Google Drive file types such as Docs, PDFs, etc.

Actively Learn

Actively Learn is an online literacy platform which allows teachers to find texts to pair with lessons in ELA, science, or social studies. It includes scaffolding and higher order questioning for students as well as annotation capabilities and assessments. Teachers can also provide instant feedback to students and support English Language Learners through the translation feature. Actively Learn is completely integrated with Google Classroom.

PBS Learning Media

PBS Learning media is a resource for lesson plans, videos, and interactive activities for teachers and students. It allows teachers to create puzzles and assessments as well as customize lesson plans. Content can be filtered by type or grade level which allows quick and easy searches for resources. PBS Learning Media is free and fully compatible with Google Classroom.

Story Shares

Story Shares is a digital library complete with books for a variety of reading and interest levels which aims to inspire reading practice and improve literacy. It is geared towards teen and young adult readers. Story Shares includes a read-aloud feature and a dictionary for students to look up words while reading. It also includes a writing tool for students to create their own books which can be published in the Story Shares library. Teachers also have the ability to track students’ reading progress in real time and use the book-building tool. Story Shares can be sent to students through the Share to Classroom extension for Chrome.

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Google ela classroom activities

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No matter where you’re at in the world right now, you’ve probably experienced face-to-face, hybrid, or distance learning at some point so far this school year… or maybe all 3!

As a former teacher, I commend you and I see you. I know you’re doing your best and you’re doing a superb job at that!

It can be challenging to create interactive Grammar and ELA activities in the physical classroom, let alone a virtual classroom.

But… I’m here to help. 🙂

I want to share with you a few different ELA activities that you can start using in your virtual classroom now , as well as a couple of ideas I think you’ll love to start planning for next semester!

Are you ready? Here they come!

Digital Mystery Pixels

If you’ve already checked out my previous blog about digital fact fluency activities , you know all about my love for these digital mystery pixels !

I have even more options for your ELA virtual classroom!

As students correctly answer questions, a mystery picture appears!

They’re such a fun and engaging activity for your students that r equire little to no prep on your part and is also self-checking. WIN!

This Subject and Predicate Digital Mystery Pixel comes with 5 different pixels.

And… I’ve just created 4 more digital mystery pixels that you can use for teaching other parts of speech!

I know teaching parts of speech is a daunting task , and I can imagine it’s even more daunting teaching them virtually.

You can grab my nouns , verbs , adjectives , and adverbs digital mystery pixels here – they too come with 5 pixels each and are ready for your virtual classroom!

Not sure if a digital mystery pixel is for you? Make sure to sign up below to get a FREE reading comprehension digital mystery pixel sent right to your inbox!

Google Classroom Grammar Bundle

This comprehensive Grammar for Google Classroom is probably my favorite ELA virtual resource to share with you all!

It includes 16 different topic areas including multiple parts of speech, contractions, types of sentences, and even abbreviations.

It has over 100 activities!

Each topic area comes with multiple different digital activities such as matching definitions, sorting, rewriting sentences and identifying specific parts of speech.

All prepped and ready to go for you – all you have to do is assign it! 🙂

Google Doc Color Coding

It’s important to keep looking for the positives during this trying time.

One positive of distance learning is that students are getting more and more exposed to technology and can work on improving their typing skills and getting comfortable with different tools and features.

A super simple activity that utilizes Google Docs and the many tools it has to offer is color coding sentences.

You can make this activity as extensive or as limited as you’d like!

As the teacher, create a Google Doc of sentences that you want your students to color code.

Share this Doc in Google Classroom and have each student make their own copy of it ( this step is super important to emphasize or you’ll have students editing your mastery copy!). 

In the Doc that you create, provide instructions for what should be color-coded, italicized, highlighted, or even underlined.

For example, let’s say you’re working on parts of speech. In the instructions, have students make the text color of nouns blue, verbs can be red, adjectives may be yellow, etc.

You could also have them underline prepositional phrases, highlight the subject portion of the sentence green and the predicate portion pink.

There are so many options you can decide on, and this is a great way for students to practice using writing tools in your virtual classroom!

Project-Based ELA Activities

Project-based learning takes more preparation on your part, but I do think it’s worth it in the end!

If you’re feeling repetitive with what you’ve done this past semester in your virtual classroom, now may be the time to have your students start project-based learning!

There can be a lot of research involved for your kids, but what better time to use the world wide web, than now? 🙂

Not everyone thinks of ELA & Grammar when you start a project, but there are tons of ways to incorporate these skills!

For example, you don’t have to have your students physically build something (although if they have supplies already at home, this is a great option!).

Their end project could be as simple as a video of them presenting their research or even making a song about it.

Public speaking skills and the preparation of writing descriptive sentences for the presentation are key areas to emphasize!

Flipgrid is a great resource for utilizing video in your virtual classroom, and allows students to watch and comment on each other’s videos as well. 

You could focus on one main topic as a class, or allow students to choose their topic of interest (you could always have a mixture and provide boundaries to their choices, too!).

During the project, you could conduct virtual interviews or have your students create Google surveys for a specific audience. 

The options are endless and I love the flexibility of project-based learning!

Tweak it all to make it work for your virtual classroom!

Keep a Journal

My last ELA activity idea for your virtual classroom is super simple – have your students keep a journal.

While this may seem obvious, or maybe instead you’ve completely gotten rid of journaling since starting distance learning, it can be a great relationship and connection piece for you and your students.

I would recommend having each student keep a running Google Doc of their journal.

You can talk about headings and using dates as each daily heading.

I would encourage you to share with your students the idea that this journal is like any written journal – a place for them to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions. 

It can be hard to build and maintain relationships when you’re in a virtual classroom.

If your students’ journal in a Google Doc, you can leave comments in their document to respond to their journal entries.

It’s a great way to check-in with each individual student, incorporate social/emotional skills, and of course, work on typing complete sentences.

Do you have other ELA activities for your virtual classroom?

What’s your biggest struggle with going digital during ELA?

I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

I hope you find these 5 ELA activities useful for your virtual classroom! Happy learning! 🙂

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Hey there, I’m Kelly! I I love helping teachers save time with technology and resources so they have more hours in the day to spend with family and friends. Take a look around to find new ideas that you can implement in your classroom today!

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Learning & Education

8 Google Classroom tips every teacher should know

Apr 17, 2024

[[read-time]] min read

Google Classroom offers a suite of tools for teachers to tailor lessons, engage students, monitor progress, and provide support.

• General summary

Google Classroom offers a range of features to enhance teaching and learning. Teachers can tailor lessons, encourage feedback with rubrics, and gain insights into student progress using analytics. Practice sets provide real-time feedback and support, while interactive questions for YouTube videos enhance learning. Importing and sharing resources saves time, and flexible assignment options cater to diverse needs. Screencast allows teachers to record lessons with embedded videos and automatic transcripts. These tips empower educators to create personalized and engaging learning experiences for their students.

• Bullet points
• Tailor lessons: Create assignments for specific students or groups.
• Encourage feedback: Use rubrics to set expectations and grade assignments.
• Get early insights: Use analytics to monitor student progress and identify areas for improvement.
• Offer support: Use practice sets to provide students with additional support and resources.
• Help students learn at their own pace: Use interactive questions for YouTube videos to engage students and track their progress.
• Import and share: Share practice sets, video activities, and classes with other teachers.
• Add flexibility: Give students more time to submit assignments or mark assignments as excused.
• Record your screen: Use Screencast to create video lessons and provide students with a personalized learning experience.
• Shakespeare-ish

In Google's realm, a Classroom doth reside, Where teachers thrive, with knowledge as their guide. Eight tips revealed, to aid their noble quest, To teach and guide, with passion and zest.

Tailor lessons, to each student's need, With rubrics clear, their progress shall proceed. Analytics deep, insights they shall bestow, To intervene and help their students grow.

Practice sets, with AI's guiding hand, Support they offer, where students stand. YouTube's videos, with questions interspersed, Engage young minds, their learning is immersed.

Import and share, resources rich and vast, Collaboration blooms, the future unsurpassed. Flexibility in grading, a teacher's grace, Screencast's recordings, a diverse embrace.

With these tips in hand, teachers shall soar, In Google's Classroom, learning evermore.

Explore other styles:

Get the most out of Google Classroom with these top tips and tricks to help teachers and students adapt to new ways of learning — and succeeding — in the classroom.

1. Tailor your lessons for your students

In most classrooms, students have different preferences, levels and abilities when it comes to learning. While an article might work for some, a video could be better for others. Meeting students where they are is essential to helping them learn, but isn’t always easy to scale.

Classroom can help get the right lesson to the right student. Under the “Classwork” tab, click “Create” to create an assignment for your students. Select which students in the class will receive it by unselecting “All students” and choosing the specific students for that lesson. From there, create as many assignments as you need for groups or individuals. In the next few months, we will be making this even easier by enabling educators to create groups of students to organize their class and deliver personalized instruction. Educators can create or update student groups right from the assignment creator so they no longer need to manually find each individual student (available with the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade).

2. Encourage a feedback loop with rubrics

When creating an assignment, you can make, reuse or import a rubric so students can understand expectations and their grades. This information makes it easier to have a conversation with students based on their assignments. You can even share rubrics with other educators to save time or weigh certain criteria differently. Simply choose the “Create rubric” option when creating your next assignment. Students will see the rubric before turning in their work, and you’ll be able to grade against the rubric when returning it to them.

3. Get early insights into student learning

With Classroom analytics , you can get a birds-eye view of how your class and students are doing. You can see how students are performing in terms of grades, assignment completion rates, how many missing assignments they have, or how often they’re accessing Classroom on their own. As we add more analytics capabilities to this page, you’ll get more insights about how to support all your students, when you might need to intervene, and how you can differentiate your instruction. To view analytics for your class, click the “Analytics” icon on a class card on the homepage or in the header bar in a class. Available with the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade.

4. Use practice sets to offer support where students need it, at scale

Practice sets help teachers provide students with a way to engage more deeply with a subject when they need a little extra support. Unlike the experience of a static worksheet or PDF, students can see in real time whether they got an answer correct. Teachers can also provide a bank of resources specific to each problem for when students get stuck, like a text hint (“Remember to isolate the variable”) or a YouTube video that reviews the underlying concepts to the problem. Students can show their work using the keyboard or stylus, with teachers receiving snapshots of that work each time a student attempts a problem.

It’s easy to get started with practice sets. First, import an existing Google Form or PDF to instantly transform it into an interactive practice set, or start fresh by creating your first problem. Add a problem question (multiple choice, or short answer, or something else) and tag each problem with a learning skill. AI will suggest learning skills and additional resources as you build your practice sets. An insights dashboard shows how students performed on every practice set assignment, with helpful details and insights like how many tries it took for each student to arrive at the correct answer, or how many students struggled with a particular question. Available with the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade.

5. Help students learn at their own pace with interactive questions for YouTube videos

YouTube is a common learning tool in Classroom today and with interactive questions for YouTube videos , it’s never been easier to use. Add questions at any timestamp and the video will pause and prompt students to answer. They’ll receive real-time feedback and can go back and rewatch segments to help them arrive at the right solutions. Like with practice sets, you’ll get an insights dashboard with details about how students engaged with the video. Soon, educators will be able to test out AI-suggested questions, making interactive videos a snap. Available with the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade

6. Don’t start from scratch — import and share

Want to share practice sets, video activities and classes with a fellow teacher or use something you loved from a previous year? No problem. Enable link sharing for your practice set, video activity or an entire classwork page to share directly with other teachers in your organization. From there, they can import classwork or make a copy of your practice sets or video activities to use for their students. Available with the Google Workspace for Education Plus edition or Teaching & Learning Upgrade.

7. Add flexibility to your assignments and grading

Give students one last shot to get in any missing assignments, or disable submissions after the due date. On your dashboard, go into “Assignments” and uncheck “Close submissions after the due date.” You can always go in and add a final due date to close out the assignment for good when you’re ready.

There might be times when you want to have more control over what counts toward a student’s final grade. By marking an assignment as “excused,” you can prevent it from counting toward the average in times when you don’t want it to. Under the “Grades” tab, click the three dots and select “Excused.”

8. Record your screen with Screencast to meet your class’s diverse needs

If you’re using Classroom on a Chromebook, take advantage of the Screencast app. Screencast allows you to record your screen with your own video embedded, so your students can see you and your screen. Screencast provides an automatic transcript and AI-enabled editing tools. Don’t love how a specific 14 seconds came out? Simply trim it away by deleting the transcript text.

Once you have that video lesson recorded there are endless possibilities to provide students with an effective and personalized experience. For example, upload your recording as an unlisted YouTube video and assign it as an interactive questions video in Classroom. Pause after key moments of the lesson to prompt your students with questions and get insights about their performance and engagement, all while helping them learn at their own pace.

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Engaging First Grade Google Classroom Digital Activities for ELA Centers

Grammar plays a role with reading comprehension and writing development, so its important kraken2trfqodidvlh4aa337cpzfrhdlfldhve5nf7njhumwr7instad.onion> students are getting a firm foundation with grammar early on in elementary. It can be tough to find engaging first grade grammar activities to use in one’s ELA centers. That is why I came up with some digital activities that can be used in Google Classroom. I wanted to make sure students could easily decode the sentences as they practiced these grammar concepts from the standards and worked towards improving their writing. I wanted to make sure they were as hands-on as much as possible, so I added fun twists like sliding magnifying glasses and punctuation marks. Also, I made sure to include activities that used higher-order thinking, so I made sure to have things like fix-it sentences to get them analyzing and fixing the errors.

At the beginning of each digital grammar activity, I include a video that plays at the beginning of each of them that teaches the grammar concept. Now these videos are not meant to replace great teaching instruction, but they are great for review before completing the activity. However, you can also certainly use these activities in your classroom with an interactive whiteboard to teach a mini-lesson and do some guided practice with them.

I also made sure to include kid friendly instructions with each resource if your students will be using these independently as a center activity.

If you have ever looked at the Common Core standards for grammar, you know how much ground there is to cover and how some of the things they want mastered seem to be a bit much for first grade. I worked diligently to make sure to cover these standards while putting a lot of thought into making them developmentally appropriate. At the beginning of the year, you may have students that are still grasping basic reading skills. However, its important to start covering grammar out the gate to make sure to cover everything that year. That is why I made sure to include some grammar activities for first grade that did not involve the need for decoding sentences, but students could still work in developing an understanding for things like adding an -s to make the word plural.

Understanding proper nouns and the use of capital letters was another grammar standard I felt students could start to learn early on in first grade too.

Building up student’s oral language with using things like demonstratives is also a concept that is good for the early part of first grade. Just like the sentences above, these grammar activities do not involve sentence decoding either, yet students are learning proper usage of words like these and those.

When you are ready to combine sentence decoding and grammar to get students to apply these concepts in their writing, its important to start off with some familiar concepts like action verbs. With this activity students decode the simple sentence and mark the action word with a star.

As students begin to gain a firm foundation in recognizing and understanding verbs and plural nouns, they can then move on to subject-verb agreement. These activities can also flow over into their writing activities. You could easily put a focus that week in writing workshop to get students paying attention to their use of nouns and verbs in a sentence to make sure they agree. Application is always important, but sometimes there is definitely a gap between grammar and writing when they do not have some focused, engaging activities to make these concepts more concrete. It is hard for young students to apply grammar when the concept has never been made concrete to them.  These activities play a huge part with grammar use in writing because it provides visuals in their minds to help them recall as they write and gives them some hands-on practice. That makes the concepts more concrete to them. The more concrete, the more they will be able to apply the use of subjects and verbs agreeing in their writing.

Another aspect of verbs to cover in first grade that is important is verb tenses. This is important because often they will come across many past tense verbs as they read. This aids in them being able to decode these words more easily by recognizing that -ed on the end is a change to the tense of the verb. Additionally, the understanding of future tense verb use will also help with reading comprehension as they begin to understand writing that is taking place either in the past, present, or future. This also flows over into their writing as they learn to write narrative pieces.

Conventions are another important area that needs a lot of additional practice for students. Drag and drop activities add a fun and engaging twist to help make this concept more concrete.

Here are some comma activities where students work on adding commas to dates and items in a series.

Teaching about simple and compound sentences is another important area to cover in first grade.  To set a firm foundation with simple sentences, students can complete the sentence by adding the predicate or telling part to the sentence. This particular set also includes some sentences where they have to add the subject instead.

Once students are ready to write more complex sentences, you can show them how they can combine two sentences into one with a conjunction. Since the books students read are becoming more divergent with the sentence structures, it is important they learn to understand how compound sentences are two complete thoughts. Recognizing various sentence structures as we read is all part of improving reading comprehension.

Students can become more familiar with conjunctions with this fun red light activity.

Having students find errors in sentences and fix them involves higher-order thinking, so it is a good way to get them thinking about things like the use of capital letters, punctuation, verb agreements, and more.

Other grammar concepts to teach in first grade include different types of pronouns, adjectives, and more. Here are two adjective activities. The first gets students use to the idea of how some adjectives can describe one of the five senses. The other one has students describing a noun with any adjective they choose.

This pronoun activity has students fish for the pronouns. Then they move onto the other slides and swap out the noun or nouns with a pronoun.

With this activity, students spot the indefinite pronoun in a sentence.

Possessive nouns is another area to cover in first grade. This simple activity has students distinguishing which ones are possessive. The other nouns that are not possessive either are plural or normally end with the letter s. The apostrophe is drag and drop too.

Later on after students understand both pronouns and possessive nouns, they can learn about possessive pronouns with this drag and drop activity.

The proper use of articles is another area that is commonly taught in first grade. These sentences are easy to decode and students decide which article to place in the sentence.

Spelling is another area of grammar, so I created some different spelling activities. This one has students focusing on spelling patterns.

This other activity has students using inventive spelling. The final one is a sight word activity that focuses on the spelling of commonly used sight words. You might not always think grammar activity when you first see the sight word activity, but the Common Core standards actually mention students use conventional spelling with frequently irregular words. The standards also mention that students use phonemic awareness and spelling patterns to spell untaught words too.

With these digital grammar activities for first grade, your students will be engaged as they develop their writing and even reading skills. You can find these all individually or sold as a bundle in The Candy Class store on Teachers Pay Teachers.

Find the first grade digital grammar activities bundle by clicking here .

Looking for individual resources instead of the bundle? Find the first grade individual grammar resources here . Looking for kindergarten digital grammar activities ? Click here . You can also find second grade digital grammar activities here .

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Using Google and Google Classrooms for Teachers

Teachers can sign in, sync classes, and roster students using Google and Google Classrooms. Use this Getting Started Guide to walk you through the steps and FAQs of using Newsela with Google Classroom.

Syncing your Google Classroom

Sharing Assignments

Student video: Google Classroom

Go to newsela.com . 

Click Sign In . 

Click Google.

Enter your School/District Google credentials.

If you’ve accessed Newsela before with this email, you will be taken right to the Newsela homepage.

Signing in for the first time

Newsela will ask you a few questions about your role and your school:

If you are a teacher or administrator please select I’m an Educator for full access to your subscription. (Selecting “I’m a student”’ will restrict access to features and content . If you are an educator who signed up as a student in error, please contact us .)

Click Google . 

Make sure to use your school email address. This helps us connect you to the correct school.

Once you respond to the questions, you’ll receive a verification email from Newsela. If you don’t receive a verification email, contact us .  

Syncing Classes and Rosters from Google Classroom

If you have classes and students set up in Google Classroom, you can import those classes and rosters into Newsela.

Go to your Class Directory by clicking your name in the upper right-hand corner, selecting Settings, then clicking the Class Directory tab from the settings menu.  

Click Sync with Google .

Select the classes you want to import, choose a grade level and subject for each, then click Sync Selected Classes .

You may need to wait for the sync to complete.

To confirm that your students are in your class, go to your Students page . Under each class name, you’ll see a list of students in the class. The student roster in Newsela should correspond to the student roster in Google Classroom.

Imported students will see your class on their settings page. 

Assigning in Google Classroom

Teachers have the ability to attach Newsela articles to assignments, materials, and discussion board posts in Google Classroom. 

Find the article that you would like to assign. 

Create an assignment in Newsela , by clicking the assign button and following the prompts.

Once your assignment has been created, click Share on the left side of the page.  

Choose Google Classroom from the drop-down menu.

This will open Google Classroom in a new tab. On this page, choose the class to which you would like to assign the article.

Once the class is selected, you can create an assignment, ask your students a question about the article, make an announcement, or create other material.

Click Go in the bottom right corner of the page.

This will take you to the assignment creation page where you can create an assignment. You can select one or more classes from the Classes dropdown menu at the top-left.

After the assignment is created, a message that the assignment has been posted to your class will appear. Click the View button to view your class stream where you will see the assignment posted to your classroom.

Click the Classwork tab at the top of the page to see the created assignment including the embedded Newsela article.

Assignments created in Google or in Newsela only exist on that platform. We recommend creating an assignment in Newsela that corresponds to the assignment created in Google classroom to simplify grading and reporting. You can learn more about creating assignments here .

When students click on the article in Google classroom, they will be taken to Newsela. Students must be signed into both Newsela and Google Classroom to be directed to the article you share.

Adding a Newsela content link directly within Google Classroom

Newsela content can be searched and added into Google Classroom Instructional Activities directly from Google Classroom if you use Google Chrome. When you select Newsela content from within Google Classroom, no Newsela assignment is created. Students will be linked to the article, and complete the work as independent reading, unless you also assign the article in Newsela.  

The Google extension can also be added to students’ browsers to allow them to search and add content links directly into discussion board post or anywhere the “Add Link” option is available in Google Classroom.

Enabling the Newsela Search and Assign Extension for Google Classroom

To enable this feature, 

Open or Download the Google Chrome browser

Navigate to https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/newsela-google-classroom/mhpdeoicbejhlhbljpaadliigmifdajh?hl=en&authuser=0

Locate the Newsela Google Classroom Extension and select “Add to Chrome.” 

If installed properly, you should see a Newsela icon listed as an installed browser extension in your Chrome Extensions page (chrome://extensions/ in your url bar).

To ensure that the Newsela icon is easily accessible, click on the puzzle icon to show the list of installed extensions and select the pin next to the Newsela icon.

Searching and Adding an article

Create a Google Classroom instructional object.

Select “Add,” then “Link” to include a link.

Select the Newsela icon to launch the content search experience.

Enter a search term to Search for content.

Click any filter option to Filter search results.

Click a card to Preview article content and activities.

Click “Close” to return to the search results.

Click “Add” to add a link to Newsela content into the Google assignment from the browse or search results page. 

Add this content as a Newsela Assignment to be able to view and grade it in Assignments .

7+ Interactive Language Arts Games for Digital Classrooms

Whether you are back to school or teaching your students online, it’s a perfect time to provide extension and fun with ELA games to play with your students online . No matter what your students’ ages or skill levels, when you make something a game or competition, they are engaged! Start your lessons with these fun games or use them as a review. Try these interactive language arts games the next time you log on with your students.

ELA Games to Play with Your Students Online

By now, you’ve probably got a whole arsenal of web tools for your digital classroom . You’ve also likely got a huge list of passwords to go with it. Today I wanted to share some fun interactive language arts games that you can use with students, and most of them won’t require memorizing yet another password.

1. Vocabulary Pictionary

Pictionary can be a fun way to review vocabulary. Just because you’re not all in the same room, doesn’t mean you still can’t enjoy the fun.

Interactive language arts games, like Pictionary, are a great way to keep students engaged during your digital instruction.

If you’re already doing Zoom meetings with your learners, you’ve got everything you need to get started with this super fun game. Just utilize Zoom’s whiteboard mode and use it as your drawing space.

If you’re not familiar with Zoom or where to find the whiteboard feature, check out this article to learn more: A Teacher’s Guide to Getting Started with Zoom

Try some virtual learning games and quiz sites with your learners. Kahoot! is a free site where students can play quiz games and compete with one another.

As an added bonus, the premium version is free for schools during the closure for distance learning.

Start a game while you are on Zoom or Google Meet with your class, or implement the easy-to-use student-paced option.

Topics vary from non-academic to all content areas, but the ELA ones are my favorite!

You can create your own quizzes or search for ones that go with the content you are teaching or reviewing. Find or create Kahoots related to your digital novel studies with your learners!

Learn more about Kahoot: Getting Started with Kahoot!

3. Balderdash

Balderdash literally means “nonsense”. This interactive language arts game doesn’t require much prep or even a dedicated website.

There is an old board game of the same name where players get an unfamiliar word and each player comes up with a nonsense definition that they try to convince other players is the correct definition. One of the players secretly has the actual definition of the word.

This game incites laughter and helps students develop a strong vocabulary. Try it online with a Google Doc or live during a class meeting. It’s also a fantastic game to play with small groups!

4. Interactive Story-Telling

Interactive stories are so much fun!

Start by sharing a Google Doc with a silly prompt with your students and have them take turns writing line by line stories.

Alternatively, you can do this orally during a Google Meet or Zoom session by timing each storyteller for 30 seconds to a minute. The next storyteller picks up where the last left off and must continue the plotline based on what they’ve already heard.

You can make it game-like by having a competition for the funniest, best-written, and most creative group stories.

Like Kahoot, Gimkit is an online gaming/quiz platform.

This one was created by a high school student, and students earn rewards for playing games!

These interactive games can be presented to the whole class or students can play on their own. Students “invest” the rewards they use in Gimkit upgrades that play to their strengths.

Create your own Gimkit quizzes or search for ones that align with your teaching. Try using Gimkit to review grammar lessons with your distance learners!

Like Gimkit and Kahoot, Blooket is a platform where you can create your own activities or find premade options to use with your class. There are some great pre-made ELA review games if you search by grade level, but you can also find some specific sets for vocabulary and grammar. In fact, we just used a great second grade game with my own kiddo the other day so I know there are some great 2nd grade games available online.

To learn more about Blooket and all its great features, you can check out this blog post I wrote that gives an overview of the platform, and it’s uses in the classroom: Beginner’s Guide to Blooket

7. Grammar Auction

This fun game is templated for Powerpoint. You can download it free here .

You’ll need to prepare the template in advance. You’ll also likely need to explain the concept of an auction to students.

Then split your class into teams during an online class session. Give them a few minutes in separate chat rooms to determine a team name and signal they’ll use if they want to bid on a sentence. If you use Zoom, you can use breakout rooms to give these groups a few minutes to chat.

Once you’re ready to begin, share your screen with the gameboard pulled up. Students can bid on the sentences they want to buy. They earn points for each correct sentence they buy.

Click the sold hammer on the sentences that have been sold to reveal whether the sentence was correct. The winning team will be the one that has collected the most correct sentences.

Great for practicing complete sentences and other skills, you can learn more about Grammar Auction here .

8. Spaceman

Speaking of great online reading games for elementary and middle school, you should definitely go get Spaceman.

Spaceman is another free Powerpoint game template that you can download here .

This game is an alternative to Hangman, and you can easily play this as an interactive vocabulary or concept review game in your online classroom. Like Grammar Auction listed above, you’ll need to download the file and do a little prep in advance, but this can be a great way to bring some fun to your online meetings.

When you’re ready to play the game with your class, simply share your screen and let the fun begin!

Digital gaming can help keep learners engaged

Playing games with your students will help them review ELA content, keep them engaged, and instill a sense of community during this time of distance learning. When you make something a competition, your students will hardly realize they’re learning!

I hope you found these online literacy games helpful as you’re planning. If you’d like more ideas for remote learning, you can find them by checking out my digital learning articles .

Free tools to make your students better writers and readers .

Quill.org, a non-profit, provides free literacy activities that build reading comprehension, writing, and language skills for elementary, middle, and high school students.

Writing Across the Curriculum: Quill's nonprofit mission is to now build both reading and writing skills through free, OER content across the curriculum. Over the coming years, we will be building a library of free ELA, social studies, and science activities that engage students in deeper thinking through writing prompts that provide immediate feedback.

9 million students have written 2 billion sentences on Quill.

Quill Reading for Evidence

Provide your students with nonfiction texts paired with AI-powered writing prompts, instead of multiple-choice questions, to enable deeper thinking.

Students read a nonfiction text and build their comprehension through writing prompts, supporting a series of claims with evidence sourced from the text. Quill challenges students to write responses that are precise, logical, and based on textual evidence, with Quill coaching the student through custom, targeted feedback on each revision so that students strengthen their reading comprehension and hone their writing skills.

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Culture & Society Topics

"Should Schools Have Grade Requirements for Student Athletes?"

Science Topics

"How Does Eating Meat Impact Global Warming?"

Social Studies Topics

U.S. History

World History

Under Development, Coming 2023

Quill Connect

Help your students advance from fragmented and run-on sentences to complex and well structured ones.

Using the evidence-based strategy of sentence combining, students combine multiple ideas into a single sentence. They then receive instant feedback designed to help them improve their clarity and precision.

Quill Lessons

The Quill Lessons tool enables teachers to lead whole-class and small-group writing instruction.

Teachers control interactive slides that contain writing prompts, and the entire class responds to each prompt. Each Quill Lessons activity provides a lesson plan, writing prompts, discussion topics, and a follow up independent practice activity.

Quill Diagnostic

Quickly determine which skills your students need to work on with our diagnostics.

The diagnostics cover vital sentence construction skills and generate personalized learning plans based on the student’s performance.

Quill Proofreader

Proofreader teaches your students editing skills by having them proofread passages.

Students edit passages and receive personalized exercises based on their results. With over 100 expository passages, Proofreader gives students the practice they need to spot common grammatical errors.

Quill Grammar

Students practice basic grammar skills, from comma placement to parallel structure.

Quill Grammar has over 150 sentence writing activities to help your students. Our activities are designed to be completed in 10 minutes so you have the freedom to use them in the way that works best for your classroom.

How Quill Works

Set up your classroom, without it.

You can quickly and easily set up your classroom in Quill by inputting student names or providing students with a unique code. If you use Google Classroom or Clever, you can automatically set up your classroom with one click.

Choose activities

Decide if you want your students to proofread passages, combine sentences, or complete a diagnostic. Use our ten minute activities as building blocks during your classroom instruction.

Use easy-to-consume reporting

Use our reporting to spot trends and identify growth opportunities. Monitor comprehension on specific writing standards.

Get immediate feedback for your students

Save time grading and watch your students correct their mistakes instantly.

Intervene where students struggle

See exactly where your students need intervention with our comprehensive reports.

Differentiate learning to meet the needs of all students

Assign specific activities for ELLs and students with learning differences.

Engage students with adaptive activities

Challenge students with questions that automatically adapt based on their previous responses.

Align with the Common Core Standards

Easily meet Common Core language standards with our aligned activities.

Easily sign up with Google Classroom

With one click all of your students and classes will be imported.

Over 100 concepts totaling 50 hours of quality curriculum.

Teacher stories

Quill in the classroom.

ROXANNA BUTKUS, RANGEVIEW ELEMENTARY

SARA ANGEL, KIPP LA

COLETTE KANG, EAST BAY INNOVATION ACADEMY

DANIEL SCIBIENSKI, PRINCETON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

3rd Grade ELA

5th Grade ELA

6th Grade ELA

8th Grade ELA & ELL

Join over 2,000 schools using Quill to advance student writing.

Quill Premium

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• BookWidgets Teacher Blog

30+ Ready-to-use lesson activities that will spice up your Google Classroom

You can do so many things to spice up your teaching when you’re a Google Classroom teacher. But, most of the time, we all return to the safe lesson where nothing can go wrong.

Today you’ll learn how to create safe lessons in Google Classroom. And nobody said they can’t be fun too! We’re going to spice things up! And the best is yet to come: you can use these lesson ideas for free and share them with students in your Google Classroom! Cue… confetti! 🎉

I’ll split this post into 3 parts:

Spice up your Google Classroom with the BookWidgets add-on

30+ ready-to-use lessons for in your google classroom, the endgame: live monitoring, auto-grading, and feedback in google classroom.

If you want to skip a part, just click the title you want to check out, but remember: I’m explaining everything for a reason. 😉

Every digital lesson idea you’ll find in this post is created in Google Classroom with BookWidgets . There’s more. You can also monitor the activities live when students are working on them, review the work and give comprehensive feedback.

There are two ways to get started:

1. With the BookWidgets add-on

⚠️ Only for schools with a Teaching and Learning upgrade or Google for Education Plus account.

You can attach BookWidgets content to your assignments using this newest addition in Google Classroom. Go to Google Classroom, create a new assignment, choose the BookWidgets add-on, and you can start creating digital exercises and evaluations right there!

Learn everything about the add-on in this free 1-hour webinar . Register now and take your chance to win BookWidgets for your entire school!

Check out this tutorial or this short video on getting started with the BookWidgets add-on in Google Classroom. Then, reach out to [email protected] so we can enable it for your entire school.

2. With the BookWidgets Chrome extension

⚠️ If you’re using the free Google Classroom version, the BookWidgets Google Classroom extension is the right way to go.

Download the Chrome extension , open your Google Classroom and go to Classwork. Now, hit the “ Create ” button and choose BookWidgets.

Here’s a step-by-step tutorial and webinar for beginners to get you started.

I’ve divided these free Google Classroom lessons or activities into 10 categories so you can find what you need in one click. Remember, you can use them for free make a duplicate. I explained how you can do this here .

• Ready-to-use ice breaker activities and classroom energizers

Ready-to-use lessons to explain and introduce classroom rules

Ready-to-use lessons to start a lesson in a creative way, ready-to-use lessons to end a lesson in a creative way, ready-to-use lessons for students to ask for help, ready-to-use lessons for student self-assessments, ready-to-use lessons for creative book reports, ready-to-use lessons about special days in the year, ready-to-use lessons with rich media: tiktok, short films, and podcasts, ready-to-use lessons featuring emojis.

Here we go!

Ready-to-use icebreaker activities and energizers

Use the following free lesson plans in Google Classroom to spice up a dull moment or to get to know each other better. If you can create a good team spirit and classroom where all students know each other on a deeper level, they will be more motivated to learn.

1. The Icebreaker Bingo

When you share this digital back-to-school bingo activity OR fun energizer with your students in Google Classroom, every student will get their own scrambled bingo sheet. Then, you only have to stand in front of the classroom and shout, “I’m looking for students who…have brown hair”.

All students who, for example, have brown hair can stand up and immediately tick off that box on their bingo sheet. Pro tip: ask those students standing up to tell a bit more. That way, everyone gets to know each other better.

Another way to use this digital bingo sheet is to have your students walk around and look for another student that fits the box. When they find that student, they introduce each other and have a small chat. Then, the student returns to his place to tick off the box.

2. Icebreaker questions

If you’re out of creative questions to ask your students, this icebreaker activity for high school students is the solution. It was created and brought to our attention by Guido Merry , a teacher in the Netherlands.

There are two ways to play this question icebreaker game:

Project the question wheels on a large screen in your classroom and ask a student to come forward and spin the wheels. The first question is always for the teacher. The second question is for the student in front of the classroom and the last question is for another student. The student in front of the classroom, can name a fellow student. In turn, that student must answer the question and come forward to spin the wheel. Just continue like this. The game ends when every student has answered 2 questions.

Divide your students into groups of 5. Let them take turns spinning the wheels. Each student has to answer all three questions in their spin-turn.

3. The Facebook profile

The good thing about social media channels is that you have to make a profile and fill it out with information about yourself. It triggers students to think about who they are and how they want to present themselves.

So… it’s a perfect first day of school activity. Below, you’ll find a digital (fake) Facebook profile form your students have to fill out. When they’ve submitted all the forms to you, you pick out a few profiles anonymously and read their likes, intro, or interests out loud. Then, other students have to guess to which student the Facebook profile belongs.

Pro Tip: You can also use this as an ESL lesson and let students practice writing.

4. Two Truths, One lie

A fun classic. This will get your students to know each other on a deeper level. It’s a lesson activity you can use on the first day of school and when a dull moment hits as a classroom energizer.

All your students submit 2 truths and 1 lie to you, and you turn it into a fun game! You can read the truths and lie out loud in front of your class, without telling who it’s from AND without revealing what the lie is. Your students will have to guess the name of the student, and they will have to guess the lie. Then, that student may tell them if they guessed correctly and elaborate on his or her story.

5. The M&M game

When there’s candy involved, students are suddenly all ears.

This free activity will help your students get to know each other in a group, playing a fun game. They have to pick an m&m and complete a challenge or answer a question in order to be allowed to eat the m&m.

Just share the game with your students in Google Classroom. Each group just needs 1 computer or tablet for the game board. Make sure to go over the rules before they get started.

When you want to introduce your classroom rules, or maybe re-introduce them if needed, you can do this in a fun way or in a way where students have a say about your rules too. Go check out a few ready-to-use lesson ideas on explaining classroom rules. There are more free lessons in this blog post about classroom rules .

6. Emoji rules

This pair-matching game about your classroom rules is perfect for younger learners. Using emojis will help mediate meaning. Students have to find the classroom rule and pair it with the right symbol, or in this case, emoji.

7. Collaborate on classroom rules

Ask your students to fill in this form to get a clear view of the rules that students find important. Giving them a choice means that they will be more willing to obey your classroom rules. In Google Classroom, you can always attach the final version of your rules to this assignment afterward. A final version can be something like this digital classroom poster explaining the rules .

8. Classroom rules checklist

Here’s another way to give students a voice when it comes to introducing your classroom rules. List your classroom rules in a checklist and let students check the boxes. You can review their answers and discuss the rules that students indicated they didn’t understand or they didn’t agree with. Go check out the lesson plan below, adapt it with your rules, and share it on Google Classroom. 👇

9. Classroom rules memes

This is the one I’m using every year again, and my students love it! I teach older students, so I need to keep my cool when introducing my classroom rules. As my students are basically adults, they should know what is allowed and what is not, but they also need to know what I find respectful behavior without distancing me from them too much.

Go check out this fun carousel with memes. Click on the dots on the images to get a better explanation.

Use the next lesson plans to start a lesson in a fun way or to introduce a new concept. Ask your students to go to Google Classroom at the start of the lesson, fill it out, and submit the lesson. The activities below vary from digital whiteboard lessons to interactive worksheets.

10. (Fore)knowledge hashtags

When you start a new lesson or teach a new concept, ask your students about the topic before explaining it. This way, they activate possible foreknowledge and you can see what your students already know.

11. Change the world

Ready for a fun writing exercise at the start of your lesson? You can also use the next lesson to start a conversation. Or use it as a good lesson starter to make the jump to your next big topic: SDGs! Pick out a few of your students’ answers that fit the transition to your lesson topic.

Share this digital worksheet with your students in Google Classroom, and they can start writing. When finished, they hit the “submit” button so you can gather their responses.

12. Sunshine & sunbeams

Share this digital whiteboard lesson in your Google Classroom when you’re introducing a new topic. On your blackboard, draw a big sun, with the new subject in the middle of the sun. Ask your students to write down what they already know about the new topic on their digital whiteboard. When finished, ask some students to come to the whiteboard in the front of your classroom and note one word that they have on their whiteboard.

Go check it out. Students can use different tools in the bar below to complete their whiteboard.

Go out with a BANG 💥 … or a fun exit ticket or exit slip. Exit tickets are quick activities at the end of your lesson. Most of the time, you check your students’ understanding of the lesson they just got. It also helps them summarize and remember better. Here’s a post with 60 digital exit tickets . I’ve listed a few of them below.

13. Popcorn exit ticket

Share this digital exit ticket worksheet with your students in Google Classroom at the end of your lesson. Ask your student to write down words that they learned today or that connect to today’s lesson topic. When they submit their work, you have everything together in the reporting dashboard and can check if some students didn’t write down much. Make sure to give extra instructions to those students. Remember: it’s a formative lesson activity - no grades!

14. Exit in 3, 2, 1

Trigger your students to think about the lesson they just got. Let them name 3 things they just learned, 2 things they want to learn more about and 1 question for the teacher about the lesson. It’s a good way to rehearse and see if there are more questions.

15. Three times different

In this exit slip, students have to explain the lesson in three different ways. They have to write a summary, draw the lesson, and give an example. Students can use the whiteboard tools in the bar below. They can use the types tool, drawing tool, and they can even add an image by clicking on the photo icon. This tool is perfect for when your students want to make a drawing on paper and upload it to your digital whiteboard.

Go check out this free lesson plan below 👇

“ Are there any questions? ” If you’re a teacher for a long time already, you know that no student will ever answer this question. 🤦‍♀️ Check out the next ideas that will prompt your students to ask questions or ask for help.

16. 3 stars and 1 wish

This is the perfect example of an exit ticket and a way for students to ask for help combined in one lesson activity. Students indicate what they understand perfectley after your lesson, and they also get the chance to ask for help in their “wish”.

Click the example below to take a look. As it’s a digital worksheet, students can add their answers using their keyboard.

17. Mood meter

This mood meter activity for primary school students is the perfect lesson starter. It’s a subtle way to know what is happening in your student’s minds. As you know, it’s not always easy to have an understanding of what is going on. So use this lesson once in a while. Students can talk about their fun weekend, holiday, and evening. And sometimes, the meter will alert you to open up a conversation with students that are not feeling well. There are also students that will indicate that they don’t understand your lesson and need help.

18. Traffic light

This interactive whiteboard activity offers students a creative way to ask for help. They color the traffic light and explain their choice. Students send their answers to you in Google Classroom, and you can check immediately which students need help. In the next lesson, you gather all students that indicated a red traffic light and give them instructions again.

You don’t always have time to give personalized feedback. One way to go around this is by letting your students assess themselves. You’ll also see that students are often more critical about their work than you are…

19. Self-assessment rubric

One of my favorite question types in the BookWidgets quiz or (split) worksheet widget is the rubric question type. I know you can create rubrics in Google Classroom too, but these rubrics can be part of your students’ assignments, and they can be used as a self-assessment tool.

In the lesson example below, students have to assess themselves on the task or project they just completed. You can see all the results in your reporting dashboard in Google Classroom. Here, you can indicate whether you agree with the students or not, by filling out the rubric too. Return your feedback without grades (or with grades - that’s possible too).

Click here to learn more about creating digital rubrics .

20. Emoji self-assessment

A fun and quick way to check metacognition is by letting them complete a self-assessment form… with emojis! And you can immediately see which students need more help on which learning goals. Ask your students to fill it out after a task, project, or homework about the topic.

Ask your students to go back to the worksheet in Google Classroom just before a test about the topic. Their answers will still be there. It will help them focus on the parts that are a bit challenging.

This is a resource students can use anytime before they submit their homework or a task. It will help them elevate their work to a higher level. And it’s fun!

Go check out how this SELFIE assessment works 👇

22. Tops and Tips

This is a very interesting self-evaluation for students and can also be used as a peer evaluation. After a presentation or task, students need to think about 3 tops - things that went great - and 2 tips - things they could do better next time -. Students can submit their self-assessments to the teacher, or they can download what they’ve filled out. They can also just leave their answer like that and come to Google Classroom again. Their answers will still be there.

The peer assessment goes like this. All your students open the assignmnet in Google Classroom and fill it out for the student that is presenting. Using the share button, students can send their tops and tips to the student (e-mail address). When that’s done, they delete their answers (dustbin button) and fill them out for the next student.

There are so many fun assignments to do when students have read a book. Think out of the box and get creative. Here are 15 digital book report activities . I listed my 3 favorite activities below. 👇

23. Letter to the author

Here, students have to write a friendly letter to the author. When shared in Google Classroom, they can easily submit their work to the teacher and share it by e-mail with the author (if they can find the fanmail address). So much fun!

24. Story timeline

In this creative book report lesson idea, students have to create a timeline of the story. When did what happen, chronologically? They have to add the biggest events in the story to the timeline.

25. Comic story

This fun whiteboard activity has the grid of a comic. Students can create a comic story out of their book and add drawings and text balloons.

There’s a special day in the year for about everything that exists on this planet! Go check out this awareness days folder in BookWidgets with fun, ready-to-use activities. Share them with your students to introduce the fun days in a creative way. It’s a work in progress! We’ll keep sharing new lesson activities about the awareness days every week!

26. April fools’ day around the world

Here’s a fun lesson about culture and traditions around the world. How can one fun day be so different? Let your students go through this frame sequence widget or project this lesson on the big screen and start a conversation.

27. World Honey Bee Day

Don’t worry, 🐝 happy! In this lesson activity about honey bees, your students will become excellent bee experts. They even get a certificate in the end! They will learn everything about the bee from scratch. Share this interactive worksheet with your students in Google Classroom, so they can open it and get started! Now, it’s your turn! 👇

28. Summer Solstice

How much do your students know about summer solstice? This ready-to-use lesson explains the concept very well. Students can go through this lesson that you’ve shared in Google Classroom step-by-step, and they will learn about summer solstice in an interactive way.

Integrating rich media like TikTok , film , and podcasts in your lesson will engage your students even more. Click on the links to find even more lesson plans and inspiration!

Use rich media in your lessons to introduce a new lesson topic, start a discussion or conversation, evaluate language skills, and much more!

29. Learning English with TikTok

I wanted to include this lesson that integrates the very popular TikTok app within a lesson about pronunciation. I hope it inspires you to broaden your mindset and think out of the box. Share this lesson in your Google Classroom, and students can start recording their voices. They can easily submit the answers to you so you can listen to their pronunciation and return feedback. Go check it out! 👇

30. Short film - Coin Operated

This amazing short film lesson - Coin operated - lets your students see “through” a film. They have to discover the meaning of the story and write it down. As it’s a short film without speech, you can still edit this lesson for another language. Just make sure to find the BookWidgets group folder here, duplicate the activity, edit the language and share it in your Google Classroom.

31. Learning science with a podcast

The poop collector episode of the “ Tumble Science Podcast ” is a fun episode you can use as a lesson starter for your science lesson. You can even start your first lesson with it, so students understand the word “ science ” better. Go check out the lesson activity below!

Emojis are basically a new way of communication. Everyone uses them to express feelings, to emphasize written words better, and even as a replacement for written words. As emoticons really tickle your students’ interests, it might be a fun idea to incorporate them into your lessons. Here are some of my favorite lesson plans using emoticons or emojis for all kinds of subject areas. 💪

32. Emoji introduction

This is a fun lesson starter for the first day of school. Ask your students to indicate their interests and other aspects of their life using the given emojis. Students can just drag and drop the emojis and send their answers to the teacher in Google Classroom. Later on, you can ask your students to explain the emojis they have chosen and tell a little bit more about themselves. Access the lesson plan preview below and try it out!

33. Emoji artwork

You’re absolutely going to love this ready-to-use lesson plan! Students have to spin the wheels and use the three emojis that come up to make a creative painting. They spin the wheels a second time as well. Now, they have to write a story! This lesson is all about inspiring students’ creativity and dreams. Bonus: you can immediately check their writing skills too. Go check it out! Which 3 emojis did you spin? 👇

34. Emoji sight words crossword

Just when you thought you’d seen it all, there’s another fun lesson plan. Use this digital crossword puzzle for teaching languages to young learners. When you duplicate this widget from the BookWidgets Blog group here and edit the activity in your account if you want to change the language. Now, it’s an English lesson. Can you complete it? 💡

35. Emoji exit ticket

Always go out with a bang! Last but not least: the exit ticket or exit slip widget. This activity takes you only 3 minutes to create, and it has so much value! At the end of a lesson, your students have to indicate whether they understood your lesson or how they are feeling. They have to do so by indicating an emoji. As a second part, you can ask your students another open-ended question. This can be a content question about the lesson, or you can ask students to write down any questions they still have.

How to share these activities on Google Classroom?

We’ve gathered all the free lesson plans in this BookWidgets Group . Click on the link. If you don’t have a BookWidgets account yet, it’s now time to create one for free. The best way is to sign up using your Google Single Sign-On - The Google Account you’re using in your Google Classroom .

You might get redirected to your BookWidgets account’s homepage once you’ve signed up. If so, just click on this group link again when you are signed into your account.

You will see a list with all the widgets ( a.k.a. activities created in BookWidgets ) in this post.

Now, follow the next steps:

• Click on the cogwheel icon,
• Choose “ Select all widgets ” (or just indicate the widgets or activities you want).
• Click on the cogwheel icon for a second time,
• Choose “ Duplicate selected widgets ”.
• A pop-up window opens. Click on the black arrow ⬅️ next to the title - two times - until you don’t see the arrow anymore. Now click on “My widgets” in the pop-up.
• Finally, choose “ Duplicate here ”.

All these widgets are now yours to adapt and share in Google Classroom with your students. Now is the time to go to your Google Classroom and open BookWidgets from there as I’ve described above - using the add-on or Chrome extension.

Once you’ve opened BookWidgets in Google Classroom, adapting and sharing these exercises or widgets is easy. Go to the “My widgets” folder. You’ve just duplicated everything here. Next to the activity - on the right - you will find a tiny arrow pointing down ⬇️. Click on it and choose “ Edit ”. The widget’s configuration screen opens. When you’re done editing, you can click “share” and choose a Google Classroom course.

When you’ve shared these lessons with your students in your Google Classroom, BookWidgets allows you to follow up on them. Reviewing a lesson activity created with BookWidgets can be done in two ways: via “Live Widgets” or/and within the reporting dashboard . Both possibilities are available from your Google Classroom account.

Live widgets

Monitor students, live, in Google Classroom when they are still working on your activity. You can immediately discover struggling students and give them a helping hand. You can also find students that need bigger challenges. And… when your students forget to submit, you can still push the button and submit for your students.

Even when it’s a fun practice exercise that students don’t have to submit, like flashcards, you can see if they did some practicing at home or in class. You can see Live Widgets activity for up to 30 days.

The reporting dashboard

When your students have submitted their work, you can start reviewing it. Most of the activities and question types within a quiz or (split) worksheet get auto-graded. This will save you so much time!

There are some important teacher features that will make reviewing student work much easier:

• You can grade student by student or question by question,
• You can still change the grade in auto-graded questions,
• You can add comments below questions and in your students’ answers,
• You can use a filter to already hide correct answers and focus on the ones that need your attention,
• You can use a filter that groups all student answers on one question that are precisely the same. Your feedback will go to all those students;
• You can configure the feedback that your group of students (or individual) students will see. With or without grades, with or without the correct answers, and more.

As you can see, there are lots of handy ways to review student work more efficiently in Google Classroom with the BookWidgets reporting dashboard.

That’s it! I can understand that your head is exploding 🤯 with new ideas right now!

Remember, you can duplicate all these Google Classroom lesson plans created with BookWidgets in this group . I explain how you can do this here . Duplicate them to your account so you can start editing and sharing them with your students in your Google Classroom. It’s very important that you do this and don’t use the link to the lesson . That way, your students’ answers can’t find their way to you.

Help us inspire many more teachers by sharing this post with them. Hooked on BookWidgets? Join our Teaching with BookWidgets Facebook community and follow us on Twitter .

And me? My name is Lucie. Let’s connect on Twitter !

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BookWidgets enables teachers to create fun and interactive lessons for tablets, smartphones, and computers.

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32 Amazing Free Sites and Apps To Use With Google Classroom

Share, collaborate, communicate, and so much more.

Google Classroom is a handy and free way to keep your students on track and organize learning and lessons plans. Even better, there are lots of programs and apps designed to work with Google Classroom, making it easier to assign work, track progress, and communicate with students and parents online. Check out our favorite Google Classroom apps and programs. A few offer paid options too, but their free versions have plenty of fantastic included features worth exploring!

1. ASSISTments

ASSISTments is a free site that works with many existing math curriculum programs. Assign practice problems using Google Classroom apps, and students receive on-the-spot feedback. Plus, teachers get analytic reports to help them identify those students who are struggling and which problems are causing the most trouble. It makes homework more meaningful for students and teachers alike.

Try it: ASSISTments

2. BookWidgets

BookWidgets is a content creation tool. It allows teachers to create 40 different types of interactive activities and assessments and assign them to their Google Classes. What sets BookWidgets apart is that you can do all of that without ever having to visit another site. BookWidgets is a Google Chrome Extension that works right in your Google Classroom. Every feature (including an extensive image library) is already included. Plus check out these four ways to use BookWidgets in the classroom .

Try it: BookWidgets

3. Adobe Express for Google Classroom

Adobe Express is now available in Google Classroom, which makes it easier than ever to incorporate more opportunities for creative thinking and communication into your assignments. It’s an easy-to-use tool that allows students of all ages to create posters, infographics, slideshows, webpages, and videos. We love it because it saves teachers prep time with its library of thousands of templates organized by grade level and subject area.

IT admins from schools or districts that have the Teaching and Learning Upgrade and/or Education Plus editions of Google Workspace for Education can now install Adobe Express directly into Google Classroom from the Google Workspace Marketplace . This new feature allows teachers to create, customize, assign, view, and grade Adobe Express projects from their existing Google Classroom workflow.

Try it: Adobe Express for Google Classroom

You won’t believe the incredible amount of free resources available on CK-12. Every subject, every grade—it’s all covered in videos, exercises, lessons, and even complete textbooks. It’s a cinch to assign any of these items in Google Classroom using this app, and completion and grades are recorded in your online Gradebook.

Try it: CK-12

5. Classcraft

Motivate even the most reluctant learners when you gamify your lessons with Classcraft. Turn your Google Classroom assignments into learning quests, and provide rewards for academic and behavioral achievements. The free basic program gives you lots of fun options; upgrade for even more features.

Try it: Classcraft

6. ClassTag

Google Classroom apps make it incredibly easy for students and teachers to collaborate. They don’t really have any built-in tools to make parent communication easier, though. That’s where ClassTag comes in. This completely free app lets you send notes to one parent or a whole class. You can send home documents, schedule meetings, and more, all without giving parents your personal contact info. Oh, and did we mention you can earn real-life rewards like classroom supplies just for doing what you need to do anyway?

Try it: ClassTag

7. DOGOnews

The kid-friendly news articles on DOGOnews make it easy to assign reading for current events discussions. Each article is marked with reading/interest-level guidelines and offers lesson plan ideas for use with Common Core and National Curriculum Standards. It’s free to assign articles for reading; paid plans provide discussion questions and quizzes too .

Try it: DOGOnews

8. Dreamscape

Here’s another fun (and free!) learning game, focused specifically on reading skills for grades 2-8. Assign learning quests through Google Classroom, and kids will clamor to do their homework! In addition to all the learning, students get cool rewards that build their digital profile and world.

Try it: Dreamscape

9. Edpuzzle

Turn any video anywhere into an interactive lesson, or even upload your own. Add questions, audio, or notes, so students can watch and learn at their own pace. The tracking features allow you to monitor their progress and comprehension and integrate easily with Google Classroom. The robust free plan includes storage for up to 20 videos at a time.

Try it: Edpuzzle

10. Explain Everything

Explain Everything is a whiteboard app, and you can use it just as you would an  interactive whiteboard in the classroom . Even better, it allows you to record your interactions and share them via Google Classroom for students to view later. The free version has some limitations but provides plenty of cool features. Premium education plans are available .

Try it: Explain Everything

11. Flip (formerly Flipgrid)

With Flip, students record short videos to respond to topics you assign. This is an especially cool app for students who are hesitant to speak up in front of a group—it gives everyone a chance to be heard. It’s easy to share your grids and assignments with Google Classroom.

Try it: Flip

12. GeoGebra

The tools on GeoGebra may not look fancy, but they provide the functionality to bring math concepts alive for students. From basic arithmetic to high-level calculus, this site has hundreds of resources math teachers will love, including an online graphing calculator. It’s a snap to share lessons, exercises, quizzes, and more with students.

Try it: GeoGebra

13. Kahoot!

We’re willing to bet you’re already using Kahoot! Students and teachers everywhere love it, and it’s easy to use alongside Google Classroom. Learn how to get the most from Kahoot! here.

Try it: Kahoot!

14. Khan Academy

Many teachers are already familiar with Khan Academy’s incredibly wide range of free online learning resources. They cover every subject and grade level and give students the extra practice they need to master important concepts. Create and integrate classes using your rosters from Google Classroom, and you’re all set to assign content.

Try it: Khan Academy

15. Listenwise

Listenwise regularly posts new  free current events podcasts  you can share with your students. These short audio lessons are great for morning meetings or starting general current events discussions.  Listenwise Premium  offers a large podcast library with lessons, quizzes, and interactive transcripts, currently free to try for 90 days.

Try it: Listenwise

16. MathGames

Elementary math teachers, this one is for you! Follow up your math lessons with these fun and free practice games. Assign them as an alternative to boring old homework worksheets or for kids who need extra practice.

Try it: MathGames

17. Nearpod

Nearpod is an easy-to-use collaboration tool that has so many applications for education. Teachers start a board and post a question or comment, then students add their own answers or thoughts. You can share pictures too. Nearpod is a cool way to introduce writing prompts, review for a test, collect virtual exit tickets, and a lot more, and it works seamlessly with Google Classroom. The free version has all the basic features and a decent amount of storage. Upgrades are available .

Try it: Nearpod

18. PBS Learning Resources

PBS has a huge variety of video resources on every imaginable subject, all of which are easy to share in your virtual classroom. Each standards-aligned video includes suggested grade levels and support materials to help you make the most of it with your students.

Try it: PBS Learning Resources

19. Quizizz

Quizizz is a nifty tool for helping students review what they’re learning in class. Use one of the thousands of quizzes already available, or create your own. Host live online quiz games in class or assign them as homework using Google Classroom. Customize each assignment to indicate how many times a student may attempt each question and whether they see the correct answers when they’re done—instant feedback that makes learning more meaningful.

Try it: Quizizz

20. Quizlet

This is one of the most popular online flash-card apps for use with Google Classroom, and it’s entirely free. Find the flash cards you need in their extensive library, or create your own to support any kind of lesson. Share the flash cards to Google Classroom to give students instant access to these practice tools in school or at home.

Try it: Quizlet

21. Science Buddies

This site is every science teacher’s best friend. It’s packed with free videos, lesson plans, and experiments, all searchable by grade level and subject. This is also a terrific go-to during science fair season, with scientific method resources galore, science fair planning tools, and an enormous repository of project ideas. When you use Science Buddies with Google Classroom, you get access to extra quizzes and assessments too.

Try it: Science Buddies

22. Wakelet

Think of Wakelet as a collaborative tool for organizing and sharing information. Use it to create and share lessons with your students by collecting media all in one place, with your own notes and explanations. Even better, have students use it to create presentations, book reports, newsletters, and more right in Google Classroom.

Try it: Wakelet

23. Boddle Learning

Boddle is a super-engaging math platform for K-6 (they recently launched ELA content!) that allows students to customize their learning through fun game play that’s fully aligned to state standards. Teachers can create customized assignments and assign them right into their Google Classrooms. Boddle’s resources are free, though a Premium version is also available.

Try it: Boddle

24. Flocabulary

With Flocabulary, your students (and probably your teacher neighbors) will think they’re attending a concert rather than engaging with high-quality educational content. With resources for a plethora of subjects and suited for grades K-12, you can try a free 30-day trial now. Teachers can create and assign whole-group or individual assignments using Google Classroom integration.

Try it: Flocabulary

25. Legends of Learning

K-8 teachers, you’ll feel like superheroes when you assign math and science content through Legends of Learning. Students can practice the skills they’re learning in class through interactive and fun games and simulations. Looking for more engaging ways for your students to master their math facts? Legends of Learning recently launched a fact-mastery practice game called Math Basecamp.

Try it: Legends of Learning

26. BrainPOP

Who doesn’t love Tim and Moby? BrainPOP has video lessons on all sorts of topics for grades K-8, including accompanying vocabulary, quizzes, and games. BrainPOP is a great resource to use to launch a new unit of study or to prepare for an upcoming assessment. Teachers can sign up for a 30-day trial and then explore a paid version from there. Seamless integration into Google Classroom? Check!

Try it: BrainPOP

27. WeVideo

WeVideo is a creative and unique way for your students to demonstrate their understanding of a unit of study. Plus, it introduces them to the multimedia world of video creation and editing. WeVideo is currently available as a Google Classroom add-on, and students can record a video and submit it alongside any assignment. Check out these WeVideo project ideas your students will love .

Try it: WeVideo

Calling all middle school math teachers! Desmos has free and completely customizable question sets that align with your standards and integrate seamlessly into your Google Classroom stream. Your students will be thinking deeply and practicing rigorous math concepts with interactive tools and virtual manipulatives.

Try it: Desmos

29. Duolingo

This 100% free app that helps students learn a new language is ACTFL- and CEFR-aligned and comes with fun and personalized assignments that can be pushed right to your Google Classroom. Students forget that they are actually learning because the gamification aspect is just so fun!

Try it: Duolingo

30. Newsela

With Newsela, teachers can choose from hundreds of thousands of articles to accompany their lessons. Teachers can assign a single text or a text set to their students through Google Classroom. With content ranging from SEL and science to current events and social studies, Newsela is a great classroom accompaniment. Here are some tips for using Newsela in any classroom.

Try it: Newsela

31. Pear Deck

Pear Deck uses proven formative assessment strategies to adapt instruction to meet student needs. Through its expansive catalog of interactive lessons, teachers can instruct whole classes or allow students to move at their own pace, which is perfect for virtual learning. Pear Deck Premium users can seamlessly integrate their Pear Deck lessons through the Google Classroom add-on.

Try it: Pear Deck

Tynker is an interactive coding program that teaches students the basic building blocks of coding and even transitions them to learning about JavaScript and Python. The program offers over 70 courses and thousands of lessons and is fully integrated with Google Classroom.

Try it: Tynker

What are your favorite Google Classroom apps? Come share on the  WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out google slides 101: tips and tricks every teacher needs to know ..

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ELA Games: 15 Fun Language Arts Activities for Middle School

Games are exciting, and when incorporated into learning activities, learning becomes fun. Language art games help introduce, reinforce concepts and keep middle school students engaged for hours.

Students learn English and develop their grammar skills and vocabulary through the games. But which ELA activities are ideal for middle school?

This guide explores 15 ELA games. Read on.

1. Reading Bingo

Reading Bingo cards are language art games that promote reading. These cards include 9-15 reading activities where learners win a prize after accomplishing their task. Winning prizes helps learners maintain their reading enthusiasm.

The main rule of Reading Bingo is to have the class read one row on the card, either vertically, horizontally, or diagonally. You could have each student read individually, with a partner, or in a book club.

When learners accomplish their reading tasks, offer prizes that encourage reading. For instance, you could arrange a visit to the public library or the book fair. These activities will facilitate the study of language arts.

2. Parts of Speech Bingo

Unlike Reading Bingo, this interactive ELA teaches parts of speech. It helps learners perfect their knowledge in identifying the eight parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions.

To play, provide Parts of Speech cards to your middle-grade class. Readout words with different parts of speech. The students will put a marker on a part of the speech, and you will state the correct answer. The winner is often one who gets five correct answers in a row, but you can change the rules to suit your middle-grade learners.

Charades are among the fun ELA activities for middle school kids. This fun game involves using gestures to guess the correct secret word or phrase.

To play, divide your class into two teams. Have each member from each team write down one familiar but secret word. Place these secret words in a box and hand them to the opposite team.

Have a member from the first-team pick a random word written by the other team and act it out. The teammates then guess the correct answer. Time the act for 30 seconds to a minute for more fun, then switch to the next team.

Since charade uses gestures to correctly name the secret word, it is an effective way for middle graders to learn English excitingly.

4. Discussion Questions

ELA games for middle school should include discussion questions. These discussions promote critical thinking , where a learner not only reads and analyzes context but also tries to incorporate what they learn in the real world.

To drive these Language Art discussions, start with simple questions such as, ‘What do you think happens next? What did you like or dislike? What did you learn from this chapter?’ With time, you can discuss aspects such as imagery, themes, symbolism, allusion, allegory, and more.

Discussions help learners understand there is more to just reading a book. Reading stops feeling like a chore but a platform to understand different concepts.

5. Vocabulary Pictionary

Another fun language arts game is the vocabulary Pictionary. This game involves the use of pictures to teach vocabulary.

First, prepare a list of vocabulary for your middle-grade learners. Divide them into teams and provide a scribbling book. Show one word to a player from the first team secretly. Have the player draw a picture that guides the teammates to guess the secret word correctly. Award points and repeat the same with the other team.

Vocabulary Pictionary helps a learner visualize a vocabulary rather than memorize, copy, or recite it. The visual representation enables a middle grader to relate the image to its definition, thus promoting learning. The game also boosts creativity since the expression is in the form of pictures, not words.

6. Balderdash

Balderdash is another interactive ELA activity for middle school. The game is simple, fun, creative, and silly. It involves guessing the definitions of new vocabulary.

Make teams of four and have each student write down a word from the dictionary. Place these words in each team’s box. A player(dasher) then dashes a word from the box and reads it out.

Other players write down their definitions and place them in a bowl. The dasher reads out the player’s definition along with the true definition. Players guess the correct answer, and the dasher scores them.

Balderdash improves creativity as well as writing skills. Young learners have to write down the first impression they derive from a new word and thereby develop their vocabulary .

7. Board Games

Board games are indeed fun ELA activities for middle school. These art games are fun, educational, and interactive. They help learners improve their vocabulary and their spelling without much hassle.

There are numerous ELA board games for middle graders. Scattergories , for instance, promote creativity since all answers should start with the selected letter on the dice. Scrabble , a crossword game, also helps learners improve their spelling. Taboo , is another game where players guess a word without mentioning the forbidden word. This game boosts speaking and listening skills.

8. Story Telling

Stories are fun for middle school kids. Divide the class into groups and ask them to narrate creative stories amongst themselves to improve their speaking skills. Also, encourage the listeners to ask questions.

Alternatively, ask the class to write a creative story. Come up with an introductory line and have each student write it down in their notebook. Each student should write the next line and then pass their book to the next person. Ensure all students contribute a single line to everyone’s story.

9. Write Haiku

A haiku is a poem with just three lines. However, these three lines should be structured with just 17 syllables: five in the first and last line and seven in the middle.

Writing haiku poems can be fun for middle graders as they learn how to count syllables. In addition, they will not have a difficult time writing just three lines.

10. Hink Pink

Hinky Pinky is a language arts game that uses rhyming pairs of words to teach about adjectives and synonyms. The rhyming words can have one syllable (Hink Pink), two syllables (Hinky Pinky), or three syllables (Hinkity Pinkity).

To play, develop non-rhyming clues for the students to guess the correct pair of rhyming words. For example, you could ask, ‘What do lawyers feel after they lose?’ The answer: Brief Grief.

11. Hangman

Hangman is another interactive ELA game that will keep middle-class learners hooked. It requires one player (host) to come up with a secret word that the other player will guess correctly.

The host draws blank dashes that match the number of letters in the secret word. The player then tries to guess the letters. You can customize the game to have the host draw a hangman for every wrong guess the player makes. Too many wrong guesses will mean a complete picture of a hanging man, which is a loss.

By playing hangman, your students will learn new words from their friends.

12. Who Am I?

This learning activity helps learners better understand the characters from their literature texts. When reading literature , type out the characters’ names on cards and ask your students to say what traits they remember about them.

Alternatively, tape the card on a student’s forehead or back, so they have no clue about their secret word. Then, ask the other students to help list the said character’s qualities for the student to identify them correctly.

Kahoot is an online site to get some fun interactive language arts games. This free website features question games in Classic and Team Mode. Classic mode involves player versus player, while Team mode allows competition among teams with shared devices.

To access Kahoot, you need to create an account . Once you do, check the Kahoots Quiz page and choose the ELA that suits a middle-grade class. Alternatively, you can create content that fits the topic you are teaching. Then customize the page by keying in the game pin, randomized questions and answers, and point bonuses.

ELA activities should be memorable, and Gimkit facilitates this. It keeps students engaged, making it perfect for teaching or reviewing a concept.

The site offers question sets that work more or less like flashcards. You can create your questions, copy some from other users on the site, or ask your students to chip in their individual questions.

Gimkit also features engaging live gameplay that requires knowledge, teamwork, and strategies for a team to win. Thanks to the constant updates, there is something new for a classroom to do, making language art games fun.

15. Mr. Nussbaum Learning + Fun

Mr. Nussbaum Learning + Fun also provides online ELA games for middle school students. There are over 50 language arts that teach spelling, phonics, punctuation, grammar, sentence puzzles, and more. The activities are perfect for practice and reinforcement of the topics covered in class.

Final Thoughts

The above ELA games will keep middle school students engaged while learning. All the activities are fun, interactive, and easy to incorporate into your curriculum. They are helpful when introducing a new concept or reviewing one. Either way, your learners get to improve their reading, speaking, listening, and writing skills.

Last Updated on July 25, 2022 by Emily

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Emily is an active mother of two and a dedicated elementary school teacher. She believes the latest technology has made a huge impact on the quality of early learning and has worked hard to upgrade her classroom and her own children’s learning experience through technology.

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Fun Last-Day-of-School Activities to Wrap Up the Year

Hooray, you’ve made it to the end of the school year! With all testing and grading out of the way, it’s time to think about planning some fun last-day-of-school activities. The final days of school are a time to reflect on the year’s accomplishments, celebrate, and say goodbyes. Make your last day together extra special with one of these fun activities that are sure to send your students off to summer vacation with a smile on their faces.

Fun Last-Day-of-School Activities to Kick off Summer Break

Here are some engaging last-day-of-school activities you can consider adding to your repertoire.

Write letters to next year’s students

Are you looking for a last-day-of-school activity that will engage students in a productive writing task and meaningful reflections? Try having them write a letter to next year’s class! In these letters, current students can share their memories from the past year, give a sneak peek of what next year’s class will learn, and give them advice for the school year ahead. Your students will love being able to share their thoughts and advice from their own experiences in your class.

Words of Wisdom – Letters to Future Students by Life with Mrs Wasik Grades: 1-6

End of Year Activity – Letter to A Future Student – End of Year Writing Project by The Creative Classroom Grades 5-9

Create a memory book

End-of-year memory books are a great activity for students of all ages to reflect on their progress and memories from the past school year. Plus, they make for a great keepsake to take home on the last day of school. Check out one of these fun, no-prep memory book activities to get you started. 

End of the Year Memory Book {Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade } by Haley O’Connor Grades: K-2

End of the Year Memory Book {Not Grade Specific} by Michael Friermood – The Thinker Builder Grades: 2-6

END OF YEAR ESL Memory Book Activities PRINT and EASEL by Diana Bailey Grades: 5-8

End of the Year Writing Activities and Memory Book EDITABLE Distance Learning by Tracee Orman Grades: 7-12

Set goals for the summer

With summer vacation (literally) right around the corner, you can use the final day of school to get students thinking about some of the goals and activities they’d like to accomplish this summer.

Summer Bucket List: Last Day of School & End of the Year Fun Activity by Enhance SEL Grades: 1-8

Summer Bucket List End of the Year Activities by The Scholar’s Source Grade: 3-11

End of School Year Reflection Pages and Goal Setting for Summer and Next Year by Success in Special Ed Grades: 7-10

When the tests are all taken, and the assignments all handed in, it’s time to get crafty! These end-of-school year craftivities are a great way to engage students and to sneak a little more writing and fine motor skill practice into the last day of the year.

End of the Year Sunglasses Bulletin Board Craft and Writing Activity | Last Day by Sweet for Kindergarten- Kristina Harrill Grades: PreK-5

Last Day of School Activities | Last Day of School Crown Craft | End of Year by Second Grade Smiles Grades: K-3

Activities for the Last Week of School

Need activities to cover the entire last week of school? We’ve got you covered. To make your life a little easier as the school year comes to a close, check out these low-prep activities to help you get through the last week!

Last Week of School Activities for Second Grade (2nd) by Cara’s Creative Playground Grades: 2

End of The Year Activities – Last Week of School Resource by Addie Williams Grades: 6-8

End of the Year Activities – Last Week of School Fun for Middle and High School by Cara McLeod Grades: 5-10

End of the Year Activities for Seniors High School Playlist Last Week of School by The Supported Teacher Grades: 11-12

Other Ideas for End of the Year

For more ways to end the school year on a high note, browse end-of-year resources on TPT or check out these posts for more ideas:

• End-of-Year Review Activities for Elementary and High School Students
• Celebrating Student Success: End of the Year Awards for Students
• Escape Room Ideas and Templates for Every Classroom

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How an edla interactive panel can transform the classroom.

School districts recognize the benefits of interactive whiteboards — and demand for the devices is rising. According to Futuresource Consulting, more than 4.6 million interactive whiteboards and 10.4 million interactive flat panel displays are installed in K-12 schools worldwide.

Many teachers also use Google’s education suite (including Google Classroom, Google Docs and Google Sheets) to facilitate student learning and assignments. But until recently, Google Mobile Services (GMS) — which gives Android devices access to Google’s widely used apps and APIs — was not available for interactive panels or whiteboards.

That changed when Google introduced EDLA certification in late 2022. In this article, we’ll look at what it means for a device to be EDLA-certified and how the new compatibility is helpful for educators.

What is EDLA certification?

Google introduced the Enterprise Devices Licensing Agreement (EDLA) in 2022 as a way to allow larger Android devices (with screen sizes greater than 18″) to run Google apps and services natively. These enterprise devices include slot-in PCs, interactive whiteboards and interactive flat-panel displays.

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Interactive displays without EDLA certification can run Google apps only when a user is screen-mirroring from another device. With new EDLA-certified devices, such as Samsung WAD Interactive Display , educators gain direct access to Google tools on the smart board.

To attain EDLA certification, a device must meet stringent Google requirements, including a promise to issue security updates as needed for at least the first two years of the product’s life cycle.

What are the benefits of EDLA-certified devices?

Choosing an EDLA interactive panel for the classroom provides many benefits, including:

• Improved device security. EDLA-certified devices automatically receive firmware and app updates along with antivirus scans. That’s because manufacturers must adhere to both Android’s and Google’s security requirements.
• App integration. When GMS is included as part of the panel’s standard set of tools, you’ll gain access to Google for Education directly from the device. For the many school districts that utilize Google Classroom , Google Sheets, Google Slides and Google Docs regularly, upgrading to an EDLA-certified interactive whiteboard makes it possible to use these tools in new and collaborative ways. The EDLA model also allows those who use Microsoft tools to download Microsoft applications like Office 365 and Teams directly from the Play Store, just as they would from any Android tablet.
• Device flexibility. Instead of being restricted to a few built-in apps, EDLA-certified interactive whiteboards have access to the Google Play Store — and the capacity to run many of the available apps. That means educators can download their favorite learning apps and show students how they work or use them for group work sessions — without having to screen mirror from a separate device.
• Better accessibility. When schools already use Chromebooks and other Android-native devices, adopting an EDLA-certified interactive whiteboard in the classroom makes it even simpler for teachers to add multimedia directly to lesson plans. The compatibility with devices throughout the school’s technology ecosystem makes sharing ideas and resources with other educators easy.

What are some use cases for EDLA-certified devices?

Because they include GMS, EDLA-certified devices have many possible use cases in the classroom that go beyond the capabilities of previous interactive whiteboards. Here are just a few examples:

• Run learning apps for group participation. Add your favorite learning games and apps directly to the interactive whiteboard via the Google Play Store. For example, create interactive quizzes and presentations to engage students in gamified learning on the big screen with popular apps like Mentimeter, Quizlet and Kahoot.
• Edit and annotate directly in Google Docs, Sheets or Slides. Use the whiteboard’s pen or stylus to add highlights and notes to your presentations — or ask a student to come up and share their observations. You can also use the panel for group work. The Samsung WAD Interactive Display supports up to 40 touchpoints simultaneously, allowing multiple students to write and annotate together.
• Access Google Classroom directly. Pull up assignments, resources and grades without needing to take time to connect an external device.

EDLA-certified devices, such as Samsung WAD Interactive Display , offer many advantages for school districts and classrooms, such as access to Google tools and search functions, a familiar user interface and a portal to thousands of possible learning tools through the Google Play Store. Learn more about enhancing learning with Samsung EDLA-certified interactive whiteboards for classrooms. And explore flexible lesson templates tailored for digital learning in remote or classroom environments.

Jessica Leigh Brown

Jessica Leigh Brown is a freelance writer and former high school English teacher who covers the intersection of technology and education. Over the past decade, her work has appeared in EdSurge Higher Ed, Education Dive, EdTech Magazine, University Business, and District Administration.

• Classroom Tech
• Interactive classroom
• interactive displays
• Interactive Whiteboards
• IT Strategy

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How To Stand Out In The Ivy League During Your Freshman Year

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Harvard College

This spring, many students felt the relief and exuberance that comes with an acceptance letter from one’s dream school. Many students attending Ivy League and other top universities are valedictorians and leaders in their high school communities; they excelled throughout their high school careers and graduated with the accolades to prove it. Yet, these students are often in for a rude awakening when they arrive on campus. Though they were exceptional at their high schools, they are a dime a dozen in the Ivy League. This realization can cause many students to feel imposter syndrome and wonder how they can stand out and make an impression on their professors and peers in such a competitive environment.

The more that students prepare themselves for this adjustment, the better. Standing out in college is a different endeavor than standing out in high school—it requires time, intentionality, and a willingness to be uncomfortable and challenge yourself. Most importantly, it takes practice, and if students seek to hone this skill from their first semester on campus, they will set themselves up for success for the next four years.

For students preparing for their first semester in college, here are five strategies to navigate the transition into the Ivy League with confidence, purpose, and distinction:

1. Make your voice heard in the classroom

At Ivy League and many other top schools, faculty-to-student ratios and class sizes tend to be small, allowing greater opportunity for you to establish yourself in the classroom and engage with your professors directly. Many students are weighed down by self-doubt and the desire to avoid making mistakes in their first semester, and as such, they are reluctant to raise their hands or offer their input. But one of the best ways to establish connections with professors is to use your voice in the classroom—college is about learning and growing, so don’t be afraid to get a question wrong or develop your ideas through conversation. Doing so will allow you to connect with others in class, build your intellectual skill set, and demonstrate your curiosity and earnest desire to learn.

2. Engage in activities outside of the classroom

Beyond academics, the Ivy League is known for vibrant opportunities to learn and connect with others outside of the classroom. Whether you're interested in student government, the performing arts, guest lectures, community service, or intramural athletics, there’s an opportunity to explore your passions. Join clubs and organizations that align with your interests and values, and consider taking on leadership roles to showcase your initiative and organizational skills. Engaging in extracurricular activities will not only enrich your college experience but also afford you the opportunity to get to know people outside of your major or residence hall.

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Biden vs. trump 2024 election polls: biden losing support among key voting blocs, japanese fans are puzzled that yasuke is in assassin s creed shadows, 3. cultivate your network.

One of the most valuable assets you'll gain during your time in the Ivy League is your network of peers, professors, and mentors. Take the time to connect with your classmates and professors, attend faculty office hours, and engage in meaningful discussions. One of the best ways to build your network is to simply put yourself out there—a student’s college years are the prime opportunity to connect with even the most distinguished scholars in their field, as they not only likely have connections through their institution, but professors (even at other universities) are more likely to respond to students who reach out for their advice. If one knowledgeable person doesn’t respond or have the bandwidth to advise you on a particular project or query, move on to the next person on your list!

4. Pursue Research, Internship, and Study Abroad Opportunities

The Ivy League offers unparalleled access to research, internship, and study abroad opportunities that can complement your academic studies and expand your horizons. For instance, Harvard offers a multitude of distinguished research positions for undergraduates, ranging from thesis research to research assistantships. The University of Pennsylvania sent students to 48 countries through their study abroad offerings in the 2022-2023 academic year. Meanwhile, Princeton offers more than 400 programs in 140 countries through which students may study abroad. Whether conducting groundbreaking research in your field of study or gaining real-world experience through internships, the plethora of opportunities available to you at an Ivy League university will not only enhance your resume but also deepen your understanding of your chosen field and prepare you for future success.

5. Carve out your niche

Finally, just as high school is a time to hone your passions and demonstrate them in action in your community, college is a more rigorous opportunity to identify and make a name for yourself within a niche industry or discipline. The best way to begin doing so is to have conversations with professors, graduate students, and older students in your field. Ask them questions like: Where do you see the field expanding or moving in the next five years? What are the most significant recent developments in this profession/field? What subjects do you think have been largely unexplored? What advice would you give to emerging scholars in this discipline? While pursuing a subject of true interest to you is indeed important, it is also important to consider how you will contribute uniquely to your subject of interest, and thereby maximize your odds of success in the job market.

Finally, keep in mind that you can (and should) begin practicing these skills in high school. The more you engage in these activities, the more natural they will be when you are on campus at a top university.

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