Since virtual learning took off during COVID-19, Google Classroom has proven to be a practical platform for managing classrooms and captivating students. With technology advancing globally, adopting up-to-date digital tools is imperative for your students’ success. With the 22 Google Classroom activities below, you can use your middle schoolers’ technological talents to enhance learning, foster tech skills, and organize your classes! Whether you use a single activity or incorporate them all to run your classroom, these activities, add-ons, and apps are sure to please!
1. American Museum of Natural History
Bring your teaching to life using the resources that are available from the American Museum of Natural History. With a simple click of the “Share to Classroom” button, your classes will be instantly connected to a variety of articles and other resources like online tours, and stimulating visual aides.
Learn More: American Museum Of Natural History
2. Classcraft
Classcraft approaches motivation creatively by gamifying behavior management to promote positive habits for your middle schoolers! The program integrates seamlessly with rosters in Google Classroom to help you manage your students’ behavior.
Learn More: Classcraft
3. CodeHS
Introducing computer science and coding to your middle school students has never been easier! CodeHS merges seamlessly with Google Classroom to provide a variety of age-appropriate, rigorous, and fun programming activities for your kiddos.
Learn More: CodeHS
4. Data Classroom
Have a unit on data coming up soon? Data Classroom can link up with your Google Classroom to make plotting and analyzing data digestible and engaging for your students who are new to statistics! They’ll love all of the fun ways that they can display and interpret their data sets.
Learn More: Data Classroom
5. Duolingo
Are your students learning a second language? Using Duolingo in combination with Google Classroom is an organized and easy-to-track way of bringing a digital element to language learning. The simple and entertaining structure of lessons makes it perfect for your polyglots!
Learn More: Duolingo
6. Google Forms
Google Forms is great whether you’re a teacher or a student! You can use these as a fun way to deliver a class quiz or gather information from your kiddos for a lesson or at the end of a lesson. Your learners can also use them in a project or just for fun! Either way, they’ll be having fun and growing their digital skills
Learn More: Google Forms
7. Google Slides
Google Slides is another versatile tool from the Google Suite. Perfect for completing homework assignments, reviewing notes, and doing collaborative activities, your students can access Slides through their Google Classroom profile. What’s even better is that you can review and keep track of their work remotely!
Learn More: Google Slides
8. Jamboard
If your board space is taken up by lists, calendars, and anchor charts or you’re responsible for a program of remote learning then Jamboard is the perfect collaboration tool! It will help get your learners engaged and working together to create a display of ideas and thoughts.
Learn More: Jamboard
9. Flipgrid
Flipgrid is another amazing digital collaboration resource that connects with Google Classroom for interactive lessons. Your middle school kiddos will absolutely adore creating unique Flipgrid videos and sharing them with their peers!
Learn More: Flipgrid
10. Fluency Tutor
While most of your middle school students should be able to read fluently on grade level, the reality is that this is not always the case. When your kiddos need remediation, Fluency Tutor is incredibly helpful because it allows them to record their practice and hear themselves reading.
Learn More: Fluency Tutor
11. Padlet
This app works with Google Classroom to help your students collaborate and learn interactively through beautifully designed lessons! You or your kiddos can create Padlets to provoke discussions, introduce new content, or make presentations!
Learn More: Padlet
12. Take Attendance
Make attendance a breeze by creating a morning quiz in Google Classroom to get your middle schoolers thinking and responding while attendance takes itself! These questions could be personal to help you bond with your kiddos or academic to help them recall past material.
Learn More: Attendme Attendance Quiz
13. Google Classroom App for Evidence
Google works well within schools and is also incredibly accessible to students and their families outside of the classroom. Using the classroom app to submit homework and to take photos as evidence of work or understanding is another exceptional way to utilize Google Classroom’s many resources in a practical way.
Learn More: Google Classroom App
14. Communication
Above all else, Google Classroom is a fantastic tool for communicating with your middle school students and their parents. This platform offers the perfect way to get the word out about important information like schedules and forms by sending announcements to your class.
Learn More: Alice Keeler
15. Celebrate Great Digital Work
Putting stickers on kids’ work seems to always excite them. Whether they are in 2nd grade or 7th grade, stickering work is definitely still a thing! They LOVE it and they will love it even more after they’ve submitted a digital assignment in Google Classroom and you slap a digital sticker on that too!
Learn More: A Love of Teaching
16. Google Slides Turned Interactive Notebooks
Spiral notebooks are becoming a thing of the past now that the digital age is steadily taking over. Whether students have blended learning, in-person learning, or completely virtual, this idea helps keep kids organized! Plus, it helps save trees!
Learn More: Student Savvy
17. Flash Cards
Google Classroom is the perfect place for flashcards created in Slides! You can make test reviews and vocabulary flashcards and upload them to your Google Classroom to give your students access to resources in and out of school! There’s no excuse for them not to know their times tables now!
Learn More: The Techie Teacher
18. Google Draw
Instead of your kiddos relying on uninspired images from the internet, have them use Google Draw within Google Classroom! Whether they are making a slideshow or adding to a report, Google Draw will help them solidify their knowledge with a visual representation of their very own, all whilst learning a whole new skill too!
Learn More: Two Boys And A Dad
19. Kahoot!
Ask any kid about Kahoot and they’ll rave for hours. Teens and tweens love a good challenge, and adding Kahoot to your Google Classroom will offer that perfect amount of competition to keep them engaged in whatever topic you’re teaching. You can even use it outside of the classroom, maybe over a break as a check-in or relationship-building activity!
Learn More: Ditch That Textbook
20. Digital Escape Rooms
Another game-style activity is an escape room. Your middle school students will enjoy working through digital escape rooms that you can assign to them in Google Classroom. These would work well to turn the focus of learning from a “lesson” to more of a “game,” or for a class party!
Learn More: Karly’s PD Resources
21. Roll Some Dice
Have you ever found yourself, five minutes before class starts, searching high and low for that tub of dice that you swear was there yesterday!? You’ll be wishing that you had downloaded this Google Slides template for your Google Classroom! It’s perfect to use with your students for silent, focused dice-rolling during math games or other activities, and you’ll never lose them!
Learn More: Alice Keeler
22. Virtual Guest Speakers
Infuse your Google Classroom with the expertise of guest speakers! Combine Q&A discussions with the speaker and pertinent assignments for your students on Google Classroom to help them get the most out of the experience. Google Meet is fully integrated with Google Classroom for seamless interviews!
Learn More: Emerging EdTech
23. Ed Puzzle Integration
Putting together interactive video lessons doesn’t have to be complicated! Ed Puzzle lets you embed questions for your students into videos and share them seamlessly through Google Classroom. Your kiddos will love this fun, interactive way of learning!
Learn More: Ed Puzzle
24. Newsela For Current Events
Keep your pupils informed using Newsela. The platform provides perfectly pitched articles at varied reading levels, making it accessible to everyone in your classroom. You can share these directly through Google Classroom, picking topics that align with your current topics or class interests.
Learn More: Newsela
25. Screencastify For Demonstrations
Screencastify records your screen to make instructional videos for Google Classroom. Showing your work with Screencastify can help your kiddies learn by example to navigate new technological tools or other concepts that are difficult to grasp with a verbal explanation alone. This is a great idea if you’re setting some tricky homework that your learners might need some additional instruction on.
Learn More: Screencastify
26. Discovery Education Streaming
Discovery Education Streaming brings enthralling videos, virtual tours, and other educational resources appropriate for your middle schoolers directly to your Google Classroom! With resources across thirteen different topics, there’s sure to be something for everyone in your class.
Learn More: Discovery Education
27. Interactive Google Maps
Add an unexpectedly exciting element to geography lessons using Google Maps! Google Maps integrates with Google Classroom to allow your students to explore new locations independently without even leaving their seats! Using street or overhead view allows them to have an almost first-hand experience of what life looks like in other parts of the world!
Learn More: YouTube
28. Mathletics For Mathematics
Are you struggling to get your kiddos to engage with your current math activities? Mathletics is a brilliant digital resource on which you can create individualized math exercises and challenges to engage each of your learners at their level. It also syncs with Google Classroom which makes tracking learning progress super efficient for teachers!
Learn More: Mathletics
29. Google Arts & Culture
Google Arts & Culture gives your students the ability to virtually tour a whole bunch of global museums, art galleries, and landmarks on their own through Google Classroom. From the Musèe d’Orsay in Paris to the Nagoya City Art Museum of Japan, they really can explore culture from all corners of the globe!
Learn More: Google Arts & Culture
30. Nearpod For Interactive Lessons
Nearpod facilitates interactive lessons and allows your kids to answer questions privately from their own phones or laptops. You can select answers anonymously that you’d like the entire class to look at, allowing your learners to participate in this group learning activity free of the usual anxieties that come with sharing their answers with the class! Share these lessons on Google Classroom to promote active learning!
Learn More: Nearpod
31. Time Management Tools
Help your learners develop vital life skills using time management tools with Google Classroom. Assigning tasks and deadlines encourages them to practice their organizational skills. This tutorial shows you how to smoothly integrate some simple time management tools with your Google Classroom for effective teaching.
Learn More: YouTube
32. Virtual Science Labs
Scientific curiosity can be difficult to ignite in middle schoolers without hands-on activities! With virtual science labs through Google Classroom, you can challenge them to perform safe, interactive experiments and learn how to record their observations.
Learn More: Praxi Labs
33. Bitmoji Classroom
Kids love to personalize their online presence so why not join in on the fun and create a virtual classroom using Bitmoji? Build your own cartoon classroom and fill this digital landscape with resource links, making it interactive for your class. All that’s left is to create your own Bitmoji avatar!
Learn More: YouTube
34. Storybird For Creative Writing
Get your kiddies excited to weave narratives, illustrate pictures, and publish their unique stories through Storybird! Their finished stories can be shared in your Google Classroom for analytical literary discussions with classmates. What a perfect way to combine a writing lesson with a task to improve your learners’ digital literacy!
Learn More: Storybird
35. Quizziz for Fun Assessments
Revamp the mundane with Quizziz, turning evaluations into exciting quests! Turn your Google Classroom into a fun, game-filled arena by sharing timed quizzes with your kiddies; it could be anything from a revision session to gauging their knowledge on a brand-new topic! This is a surefire way to park their competitive spirit all while enriching their learning.
Learn More: Quizziz
36. Zearn Math
Target your middle schoolers’ learning with Zearn Math’s personalized mathematical sessions. This fantastic online tool allows you to cater to each learner’s pace by assigning lessons via Google Classroom in a way that accommodates different learning curves and promotes effective mathematical understanding.
Learn More: Zearn
37. Collaborative Writing with Google Docs
Google Docs is a classic and super simple tool for creating collaborative narratives and nurturing teamwork in your students! Co-authorship can also help your kiddos bond and hone their communication skills–plus, Google Docs works seamlessly with Google Classroom! You can even hop on from your own device and give them feedback in real-time as they work.
Learn More: YouTube
38. Desmos For Interactive Graphing
Simplify mathematics with Desmos’s interactive graphing tool. Instruct students via Google Classroom to explore complex concepts through hands-on activities. Visual learning sparks curiosity, making math more relatable.
Desmos is an interactive graphing tool that allows your learners to explore complex mathematical concepts with superb visuals. Each of your kids can input their own data and see it made into a graph. You can give your middle schoolers instructions to use Desmos and share their graphs through Google Classroom!
Learn More: Desmos
39. Google Earth Geography Exploration
Google Earth promises a tangible geography experience for your learners. Link your Google Classroom up to this amazing resource and watch as world terrains are revealed to your kiddos through virtual tours. You can assign specific tours that fit with your learning or just let them explore! A comprehensive geographical understanding of the world awaits!
Learn More: YouTube
40. Creating Podcasts
For a creative challenge, why not ask your middle schoolers to produce a podcast? They’ll need to write scripts, record, edit, and share their final podcasts on Google Classroom! This is an excellent project on so many fronts, building their skills in teamwork, research, writing, and evaluating their work, as well as teaching them a whole host of digital skills in recording and editing audio!
Learn More: Class Tech Tips
41. IXL Learning Integration
Bring IXL Learning to your Google Classroom to develop your learners’ skills and confidence across a whole range of subjects! You can assign skills and personalized practice to each of your kiddos via Google Classroom and keep track of their progress over time.
Learn More: IXL
42. Google Calendar For Planning
Introduce your kiddos to the concept of effective scheduling with Google Calendar. Show them how to devise their study plans and keep track of their assignments and deadlines all of which will enhance their time management skills. Google Classroom becomes a planner that helps them to organize their academic life.
Learn More: Chemistry Is My Jam
43. Virtual Book Clubs
Cultivate a love for literature by creating a virtual book club for your school or class! You can use Google Classroom to announce the assigned book and to facilitate discussions! Making this an online or digital task, can encourage your kiddos to make great contributions to the discussion in ways they may not have felt completely confident to do in person!
Learn More: YouTube
44. GeoGebra For Math Visualization
Illuminate mathematical concepts for your learners with GeoGebra’s unique visual tools! You can integrate your Google Classroom with apps from GeoGebra to assign interactive, intuitive activities to your students! Geometry has never been so fun!
Learn More: Geo Gebra
45. Digital Portfolios
Portfolios give your kiddies a chance to see snapshots of their learning over time! Introduce digital portfolios to your students through a variety of attachments and templates for Google Classroom that can automatically collect their work throughout the year into one manageable place! There’s even space for them to reflect on their learning and write their own thoughts!
Learn More: Teach Create Motivate
46. Glogster For Multimedia Projects
With Glogster’s digital studio, your students can create Glogs that include text, video, and clickable interactives to share with the class in Google Classroom! Let their creativity run wild and let them design it however they want.
Learn More: YouTube
47. Pear Deck for Engaging Presentations
Pear Deck is a platform that helps you enhance your virtual presentations to keep your students invested in your lessons! You can give these interactive presentations through Google Classroom to foster active participation in the learning.
Learn More: Pear Deck
48. Tinkercad For 3D Design
Inspire some craftsmanship in your students with Tinkercad for 3D Design! Tinkercad turns Google Classroom into a digital workshop, hosting and sharing the design projects of your middle schoolers. This activity is the perfect blend of digital learning and creativity!
Learn More: Tinkercad
49. Epic For Reading
Foster your kiddos’ passion for reading with Epic!’s vast digital library. You can assign reading tasks via Google Classroom to keep them in the habit of reading, then set a follow-up task to check up on your learners’ comprehension.
Learn More: Epic!
50. Canva for Design Projects
With Canva, your tweens will be able to indulge their imaginations and design polished posters, infographics, and presentations! You won’t believe how professional their creations will look! Plus, Canva lets you and your students publish straight to Google Classroom, making these two a match made in digital learning heaven!
Learn More: Canva
51. Quizlet for Study Tools
Supercharge your study sessions with Quizlet! Turn rote learning into fun with flashcards, entertaining mini-games, and personalized study based on each student’s individual challenges. With Google Classroom, you can quickly add your students to a Quizlet class to receive all the content and keep track of their scores!
Learn More: YouTube
52. Edublogs For Student Blogging
Writing blog posts is an amazing way for your middle school students to harness their unique voices and practice articulation! Assigning Edublogs to your kiddos in Google Classroom keeps writing blogs organized and effective!
Learn More: YouTube
