Using Google Classroom for Band and Chorus

I started using Google Classroom in my teaching about 5 years ago and I love it. It has several different uses: giving students a common starting point for in class activities that involve links, opening up activities for students to do at home, allowing space for organization and communication that can be accessed anywhere, allowing students to have discussions outside of class, and sharing files like recordings and videos of performances. Every student enrolled in 3-8 Band and 6-8 Chorus should have already received an invitation to join their respective class in their school Gmail account. Students in Middle School Band will have access to both 3-8 Band (for general instrument information) and Middle School Band (for more specific information). The nice thing about Google Classroom is that it is connected with all other Google apps like Gmail, Drive, Docs, etc. If your child is unable to access their class through Gmail, they can also go directly to classroom.google.com and enter the Class Code when prompted.

The Class Code for Chorus is msu4e7t

The Class Code for 3-8 Band is 5gbhimg

The Class Code for Middle School Band is iz98k0

Your child should find the Google Classroom interface easy to navigate. The main page is called the Stream. It resembles the Facebook Newsfeed. Most recent posts appear at the top, with older posts further down the page. On the Stream, I will be sharing schedule reminders, tips and techniques, and links to listening and viewing examples. Through this page, students will also be able to access PDF copies of music that we are studying in class and sample recordings of these pieces. On the Stream, students can also send me questions, which is helpful if they are home practicing and get stuck with something.

The other important tab is called Classwork. This is where I could post a question for students to respond to.

Do not worry about the Grades tab. Google Classroom is designed so that it can interface with grading systems like Web2School, but anything called an “Assignment” on Google Classroom for Band or Chorus will not be graded; they will simply be an extra opportunity for students to learn. There will never be anything on Classroom that has to be completed by a certain date, it’s just default for “Assignments” to have a due date.

If you have specific Google Classroom questions, Google has a support page for it: support.google.com/edu/classroom/ Also, you can ask me whenever you have questions.

Your child should already be able to sign into Classroom and begin to check out the resources I have shared. I would recommend that students check into Classroom every couple of days to help stay organized. Have fun exploring it!