Google Classroom Edition · Teacher tutorial

Using Digital Citizenship Breakouts with Google Classroom

Post any breakout as a Classroom assignment in about two minutes. Students play in their browser, earn a completion code when they open all four locks, and turn the code in on Classroom. You check the codes and return grades. Nobody needs a new account, and no student data leaves the student's device.

🔎 Pick an activity ✅ Check completion codes
🧭 On this page: What's different · Post an assignment · What students do · Check codes & grade · Grades K–2 · Multilingual students · Privacy · Troubleshooting

1 · What's different in the Classroom Edition

The activities, clues, locks, and teacher materials are the same as the original suite. The Classroom Edition adds three things:

  • A completion code on the win screen. After the last lock opens, students type their name and get a code like DC3F-Q1AG-R2HH. The code is tied to that student's name and that activity, so a code copied from a friend won't check out.
  • An "Assign in Google Classroom" box on every teacher launch page. It has the student link, ready to copy, in any of the seven languages.
  • A code checker, where you paste the codes students turned in and see right away which ones are valid.

2 · Post an assignment in Google Classroom

  1. Pick the activity. Open the library or a grade-band hub and click an activity to reach its teacher launch page. Skim the premise and the CLEAR mapping so you know where students are headed.
  2. Copy the student link. On the launch page, find the 🎓 Assign in Google Classroom box. Choose the language your students will start in, then click Copy student link. (Students can still switch languages with the 🌐 menu.)
  3. Create the assignment. In Google Classroom open your class → Classwork → + Create. Choose one of these:
    • Question → Short answer (recommended). Students paste their code as the answer, and Classroom lists every student's answer next to their name, so checking is fast. Type the question as "Paste your completion code."
    • Assignment. Students paste the code in the Private comments box (or attach a screenshot of the win screen) and click Turn in.
  4. Attach the link. Click Add (the link icon 🔗) and paste the student link. Classroom shows it as a link card that opens in a new tab, which works on Chromebooks, iPads, and laptops.
  5. Paste the instructions. Copy the text below into the instructions box and adjust it if you like.
    1. Click the link to open the breakout. 2. Read all six clues. One clue is a decoy, so think about which clues really help! 3. Use the clues to open all four locks. After each lock, read the reason why the answer is right. 4. When you win, type your first and last name the way it shows in Google Classroom, and click "Show my code." 5. Copy your completion code, paste it here, and click Turn in.
  6. Set points and a due date. Completion work is often worth 10 points or marked complete/incomplete. Then click Assign, or Schedule it for the day you'll teach it.
Tip: a breakout works best as the engage or collaborative-practice part of a lesson. Assign it to pairs or trios (one device, one shared code), then debrief the CLEAR steps together. See the lesson-plan guide.

3 · What students do

  1. Open the assignment in Google Classroom and click the activity link.
  2. Read the clues and open the four locks. Wrong answers are fine: they get a hint and try again, and nothing is graded inside the activity.
  3. On the win screen, under Get your completion code, type their first and last name and click Show my code.
  4. Click Copy code, return to the Classroom tab, paste the code, and click Turn in.

Capital letters, accents, extra spaces, hyphens, and name order don't matter: "José García-Ruiz", "jose garcia ruiz", and "Garcia Ruiz, Jose" all give the same code. Spelling does matter, so a nickname gives a different code. That's why students should type their name the way it appears in Classroom.

4 · Check codes and return grades

  1. Open the Classroom assignment → Student answers (for a Question) or Student work (for an Assignment).
  2. Open the code checker. There are two ways to use it:
    • Check what came in. Paste one student per line, with the name and the code (for example Maria Lopez DC3F-Q1AG-R2HH). Each line is marked ✅ valid, ❌ doesn't match that name, or ⚠️ no code found.
    • Make a list of expected codes. Choose the activity and paste your class roster, one name per line. You'll get each student's expected code, so you can compare it with Classroom at a glance or paste the list into a gradebook spreadsheet.
  3. In Classroom, enter the points (or mark complete) and click Return.
🔁 Re-teaching? Students can click Play Again and get the same code for the same name, so they never lose credit by replaying.

5 · Grades K–2

  • Play the breakout whole-class on the board, or in a small group with an adult. Typing a name is the hardest part for young students, so let a grown-up or older buddy type it.
  • If students don't use Classroom on their own yet, skip the code. Post the link as Material (Classwork → + Create → Material) so families can replay it at home.
  • For a quick check, have students show you the win screen, or take a photo of it with the Classroom app.

6 · Multilingual students

Every activity runs in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic, Hindi, Urdu, and Chinese, and the completion-code box is translated too. You can either:

  • Post one link and show students the 🌐 menu, so each student picks a language, or
  • Post a language-specific link from the launch page's language menu (it adds ?lang=es and similar) to a Classroom topic or to specific students. (When you create the assignment, choose All students → select students.)

The code is the same whichever language a student plays in. Translations are AI-seeded and awaiting native-speaker review.

7 · Privacy

  • There's no login, no account, no tracking, and no server. The activity runs entirely in the student's browser.
  • The student's name is used only in their own browser to calculate the code. It is not saved and not sent anywhere. Closing the tab or clicking Play Again clears it.
  • The code checker works the same way: the names you paste stay on your computer.
  • The student's name and code reach you only through Google Classroom, which your district already manages under its own Google Workspace for Education agreement.

8 · Troubleshooting

A code shows ❌, but the student really finished. Their name is spelled differently from the one you checked, for example a nickname or a missing second last name. Check it again with the name the student typed, or have them replay. (The activity remembers nothing, but the locks go fast the second time.)

The student closed the win screen before copying the code. Have them open all four locks again. Same name, same code.

Can students cheat? Copying a friend's code doesn't work, because the code depends on the name. This is a light-touch completion check, though, not secure testing: the code is calculated in the browser, so a determined, tech-savvy student could work it out. For graded evidence of thinking, add a short reflection question to the assignment (for example, "Which clue was the decoy, and how did you know?").

The link is blocked at school. Ask your tech team to allow this site. It's a static website with no logins, ads, or third-party trackers.

What about the 🕹️ Arcade games? They don't issue codes. Use them as ungraded warm-ups or early-finisher choices, and post them as Classroom Material.

🚧 Coming later: a Google Classroom add-on that opens activities inside Classroom and sends grades back automatically, with no codes to check.