How do I prepare my manually created classes for a new semester?

The beginning of a new school year or semester can mean a whole new set of classes and students or some basic updates to existing classes. This might seem overwhelming, but CommonLit has several tools to seamlessly transition to a new semester. Read below for the two steps to start a new semester in CommonLit.

If all of your students and classes have changed:

Step 1: Archive Old Classes

To archive a class, go to your Manage Classes page. Click on the Options drop down for the class you wish to archive and select Archive class. Your class and all of its assignments will then be removed from your active classes and saved on the your Archived Classes page.

If you change your mind, you can always undo this archive. To do so, click on the Undo archive button on the Archived Classes page. 

Please note, only primary teachers can perform actions that can archive or delete a class. Secondary teachers cannot archive or delete a class.

Step 2: Create New Classes

CommonLit does not recommend reusing old classes for a new set of students semester to semester or year to year, as this can lead to data issues. Below are instructions on how to manually create new classes.

To create a new manual class, click on My Classes and select Manage Classes, and then click on the Create a class button. There, you will see the option to manually create a class or import a class from Google Classroom. Select Manually.

You will then be asked to fill out the information about your new class, including a personalized class name, grade level, and subject area.

If you have a Google Classroom account and want to import your classes from Google Classroom this semester, you can read more on how to do so here: How can I import classes and students from Google Classroom?

If your classes and students are mostly the same, but you have a few roster changes:

Step 1: Remove students who are no longer in the class

Primary teachers can delete old students from their classes. To remove a student that is no longer in the class, go to your Manage Classes > Options > Manage Students for the class the student you wish to delete is enrolled in.

Scroll down the list to find the name of the student you wish to delete, then click the remove user icon on the far right for that student.

Please note: This action will not delete students' CommonLit accounts. You will still be able to view their data from their former class by clicking the View data button in the Removed students table.

If you are unable to edit your classes, this might be because you are the secondary teacher. Only primary teachers can perform actions that can lead to data deletion. Secondary teachers cannot remove a student from a class or change a student's class.

Step 2: Add new students to the class

If you are adding new students for the semester, go to your Manage Classes page and click on Options > Add students for the desired class. You will be provided with the class code. You can then instruct students to join in one of two ways:

• For students without a CommonLit account: Provide them with the designated class code and direct them to go to www.commonlit.org/en/enroll. There, they will enter the class code and fill out their profile information to sign up.
• For students with an existing CommonLit account: They should log in and go to their My Account & Classes page. Then, students should select "Add another class code" and enter your class code.