Using Google Classroom to Save Time with Elementary Library Classes

or, a New Approach to Hybrid / Blended Teaching

Hybrid teaching or blended teaching seems like a curse word lately.

I’ve talked to several educators who have had enough of it, and see it as the “worst of both worlds” between 100% in-person instruction and 100% online instruction. There’s a significant shift away from online or digital-based learning and “back” to using printable activities with or without devices.

And let’s face it: The way the whole world of K-12 education in the U.S. “did” online and hybrid education since 2020 was terrible. No one got what they needed from public schools.

• Students didn’t get their learning needs or social-emotional needs met.
• Teachers were pushed to our breaking points (often past them) and into burnout.
• Parents couldn’t realistically work and supervise their children.

In many schools, the implementation of online instruction and later hybrid or blended instruction was one of the worst possible models.

Let me be clear: Expecting teachers to teach students in-person and online simultaneously is untenable, especially without compensation for the extra work it requires.

But pandemic teaching is not the only way to “do” online teaching. And teaching a class with half of your students physically present and half in a Zoom window is not the only way to “do” hybrid teaching either. There’s a much better way to do blended teaching without losing your mind.

In 2017, I earned a teaching endorsement in Online Teaching while on maternity/sabbatical leave. (Lucky timing, right?) The most valuable thing I learned in that program was that I could reduce my workload using an online learning platform, while still delivering my instruction in-person.

The result was better student engagement without extra prep or planning time. A win for everyone!

This is Part 1 of a 2-part series on how to use a blended or hybrid approach to teaching elementary library classes. This first post will focus on using Google Classroom for kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade library classes. Check out Part 2 to discover how it works for using library centers with 3rd, 4th and, 5th grade classes.

Here’s how blended learning looks in an elementary library class:

1. Pick a platform if your school doesn’t recommend a specific one.

I like Google Classroom best, but SeeSaw and many others are just as good.

Don’t think too hard about this either. If your school subscribes to a specific learning platform or “suite” of tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft Teams, use their platform. If they don’t, try out 2 of them and pick your favorite.

2. Choose a management or organization style:

For this example I’ll mention Google Classroom, but every learning platform has an equivalent “area” that’s just for 1 group of students.

• Create a Google Classroom for each grade level you teach – i.e. every 1st grader is in the same online “class”, OR
• Create a Google Classroom for each individual class you teach.

There’s no right or wrong answer here, and I’ve done it both ways.

Grade-level Google Classrooms are faster to post things to every class you teach, but the drawback is that reviewing student work can be more cumbersome. Also, students can look ahead when something is posted before their class has library as their “special” class, so there isn’t as much surprise to what you’re reading aloud or what the lesson will be.

For younger grades, however, like kindergarten and 1st grade where I didn’t need to grade their research skills or assess students individually, this way could save a lot of time. (I never had to assign grades on the students’ report cards for library…see #4 below if you do.)

One Google Classroom per class is my preference for older students (3rd grade and up), because I could review student work for just that day’s classes, without scrolling through all 4-5 classes in that grade level. Plus, Google Classroom lets you post the same item to multiple Classrooms, which saves some time.

COMING SOON: Check out Part 2 of this series for how to use Google Classroom with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade library classes.

2. Teach your lessons in person, but students do their independent work in the online learning platform.

Each time you have an assignment or activity for students to do, post it in their Google Classroom using one of these options:

• Select “Make a copy” for each student if it’s something you want students to complete or interact with, such as moving items on a slide around to show they understand a concept.
• Select “Students can view” if you are just sharing the activity and students will only click on a link or picture in the post to do the activity.

For example, when I post the Google Slides of a Digital Read-aloud activity, I use the “make a copy” setting when students rate a book by filling in star shapes, or move text boxes around to label the parts of a book.

If the activity slides are just giving directions to draw their response with art supplies or providing a link to listen to the book on EPIC, then I share it with the “students can view file” setting.

3. Post and schedule your activities in seconds instead of making copies.

The style and delivery of my direct instruction mini-lessons and read-alouds didn’t change much, to be honest.

What changed was that previously I would use printable booklets of reading response activities, or a printed worksheet for students to practice the skill. Printing/copying and stapling the booklets took FOREVER, not to mention the wasted paper when we finished the unit. Students took their booklets home to show their parents what we were reading and learning in library class, but I know they eventually ended up in the trash (hopefully recycled).

Now when students did their skill practice or a reading response activity, they did it within Google Classroom. Even kindergarten students could do this later in the school year (though not for library orientation…trust me, you’ll be glad you stuck to the printable booklets for that)!

Plus, my lesson prep work went down to almost zero. After the digital activity was created (or modified from purchased curriculum), it took less than 5 seconds to post it in Google Classroom. I could take an extra 30 seconds to add emojis to the post title, or make it a bit more fancy, but it wasn’t necessary. Students learned the routine of selecting their “library classroom” and clicking the link at the top after checking out books.

When I did have an extra few minutes of planning time, I could schedule out all of the activities for a week in about 15 minutes…which meant less time working after contract hours, and more time enjoying my life outside of school!

4. Review student work (optional).

Because I never used library assignments for report card grades, I rarely created an activity with a point value. (And thank goodness, because it’s awful pedagogy for young students especially.)

However, if students have to earn a “grade” for library class, you can easily post every activity as an assignment. In Google Classroom, if you post an assignment with no point value, students can turn it in and you can “return it” as completed.

If you post something with a point value, you can use a simple rubric for student participation, such as:

• 0 points = did not complete or was absent.
• 1 point = attempted activity and/or incorrect answer
• 2 points = completed activity and/or correct answer

Whatever you use, keep it consistent, and post the rubric as well so parents looking at their child’s work can see how they earned that point value.

Pro Tip: When posting an assignment that you have to review or score, have students do their work on the 1st slide or the top of the Google Doc. It’s a LOT faster to “grade” things in Google Classroom when you only need to see the 1st slide to check it.

Bonus: Instant Advocacy

Using an online learning platform is a simple, no-extra-work way to advocate for your library program and connect with parents. So many parents, myself included, wish they could be more involved in their child’s education. By providing some or all of your learning activities in a central place, you are communicating more regularly with parents in a positive way.

While only a minority of parents might check their child’s Google Classrooms or SeeSaw account, the ones that do will get a glimpse into the amazing things you’re doing in your library class. Parents will see that you’re a tech-savvy teacher-librarian who knows the future of education is using tech tools creatively and thoughtfully along with the best pedagogy.

And when you combine it with other advocacy efforts like a well-designed library website, it makes it easier to ask for the funding, staffing, and other resources you need to make your library program successful.

READ MORE: 6 Essentials Every Library Website Needs and get the free checklist for your library website!