The quickest way to link a class's families is a letter for each child carrying that child's own family code. A grown-up who scans the square or types the code is linked to that child straight away, with nothing for you to match or approve.
Print the letters
- Open the class and go to the Roster.
- Under "Families", choose "Print a letter for each child".
- Choose who needs a letter. "Only children with no grown-up linked" is picked for you.
- Choose "Make letters", then print them. Each letter goes on its own page.
The codes are shown once, on the letters. Printing a new letter for a child ends the code on their old one, and anyone already linked stays linked.
What stops the wrong person linking
- The letter goes home in the child's bag, and says to keep it private.
- A code links at most four grown-ups to one child.
- Every grown-up already linked gets an email when another one uses the code.
- You can see who is linked on the child's page, under "Linked grown-ups". Each shows a masked email address and how they linked.
- A code works for a school year at most, and stops when the child leaves the class.
End a code, or a link
On the child's page, under "Linked grown-ups":
- "Stop the code" ends the code on their letter. Grown-ups already linked stay linked.
- "Remove" beside a grown-up ends their link, and we tell them by email.
- "Print a new letter" gives the child a new code and ends the old one.
What families see
A linked grown-up sees that one child's school reading and nothing about other children. From the class page you can also:
- write a short note under "News for families", once your school has accepted the updated agreement. It shows on each linked family's page for their child and is emailed to them, unless they turned class news off. Please don't name other children. Notes are kept 60 days.
- give families a date for something you set, under "A date for families" on the assignment. Students are never shown a date.
Under Settings, "Students can make and share books at home too" decides whether making new books and offering books to the class also work when a child reads at home. It is off unless you turn it on.
If a family chooses to share it, the child's page also shows their reading at home: minutes, days and books finished, from the day the family said yes.