How to set up and use Google Classroom for teachers and students

Quick start: Sign in to Google Classroom

1. Open a web browser and go to classroom.google.com.

2. Click Sign In and log in with your school Google account (e.g., you@yourschool.edu).

3. After signing in you land on the Home page where you can see any existing classes or create a new one.

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Prerequisites

• A Google Workspace for Education account (free for schools) or a personal Gmail account for students.

• Internet connection and a supported device (desktop Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or the Android/iOS Classroom app).

• Sufficient Google Drive storage – see the guide on how to free space on Google Drive if you hit storage limits.

• Optional: a secondary email for guardian summaries (teachers only).

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For Teachers

1. Create a new class

1. From the Home page, click the + button at the top right and choose Create class.

2. Accept the terms if prompted.

3. Fill in:

   • Class name (required)

   • Section, Subject, and Room (optional)

4. Click Create. The class appears as a card on your Home page.

2. Invite students and co‑teachers

1. Open the class by clicking its card.

2. In the left navigation, select People.

3. Under Students, click Invite students and either:

   • Enter email addresses, or

   • Share the class code displayed at the top of the Stream page.

4. To add a co‑teacher, click Invite teachers and enter their email.

3. Set up class settings (grading, permissions, video meetings)

1. While in the class, click the Menu (three‑line icon) → Settings.

2. Grading: Choose a point system or letter grades and enable guardian email summaries if desired.

3. Student permissions: Toggle whether students can post or comment on the Stream.

4. Video meeting link: Enable the default Google Meet link for the class.

5. Click Save.

4. Post announcements and assignments

Announcements

1. Go to the Stream page.

2. Click Share something with your class…

3. Type your message, attach files if needed, and click Post.

Assignments

1. Open the Classwork page.

2. Click Create → choose Assignment, Quiz assignment, or Question.

3. Fill in the title, instructions, due date, and attach materials from Drive or upload files.

4. Click Assign (or Schedule to set a future release).

5. Grade and return work

1. In Classwork, click an assignment to view student submissions.

2. Use the right‑hand grading pane to add points, comments, and private feedback.

3. Click Return to send the graded work back to the student.

4. Grades automatically appear on the Grades page (your gradebook).

6. Archive or delete a class (when the term ends)

1. From Home, click the three‑dot menu on the class card.

2. Choose Archive to hide it but keep data, or Delete to remove it permanently (cannot be undone).

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For Students

1. Join a class

1. Sign in at classroom.google.com with your school or personal Google account.

2. On the Home page, click the + button and select Join class.

3. Enter the class code provided by your teacher and click Join.

2. Navigate the class

• Stream – view announcements and class discussion.

• Classwork – see assignments, quizzes, and posted materials.

• People – see teachers and classmates (students cannot see other students' email addresses).

• Grades – view returned grades (read‑only for students).

3. Submit an assignment

1. Open Classwork and click the assignment you need to complete.

2. Follow the instructions, attach your work (Google Docs, Slides, PDFs, etc.), and click Turn in.

3. You can Unsubmit to make changes before the due date.

4. Check feedback

• After the teacher returns the work, a Returned label appears on the assignment.

• Open the submission to read comments and see the grade.

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Common troubleshooting

For more detailed help, visit the official Google Classroom Help Center.

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Verifying successful setup

• Teachers: On the Home page you should see your new class card, and the People page lists all invited students and co‑teachers.

• Students: After joining, the class appears on your Home page and the Stream shows the teacher’s welcome announcement.

• Assignments: Post a test assignment and confirm that students can see it in Classwork and that you can view their submissions.

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Limits and free vs. paid

• Google Classroom is free for all schools using Google Workspace for Education; there is no paid tier that adds extra Classroom features.

• Limits include a maximum of 30,000 students per class and 100 classes per teacher (as per Google’s limits page). Exceeding these requires contacting Google support.

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Backup and data retention

• Classroom stores all class materials in the teacher’s Google Drive folder (named Classroom – [Class name]). Deleting a class removes its Drive folder permanently; archive instead of delete to keep data.

• Grades and student submissions are retained for 2 years after class deletion, after which they are unrecoverable.

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End of guide