PENSTONE WRITING

Penstone for Teachers

Use Penstone Writing with your own class: make a class, give your students a code, and follow every student's lessons, papers, and messages from your teacher page. Watch the two short videos, or follow the written steps below.

Now playingChoose a part, or press Play all.
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STEP BY STEP

Setting up your class

You do steps 1 to 5 once. Your students follow the Getting Started guide to join.

  1. Get class seats

    Buy class seats from the Cornerstone store, one seat for each student, using the account you will teach from. Your teacher page opens as soon as the order goes through.

    Seats are shared across all your classes. When a student leaves, their seat is free for someone new.

  1. Open your teacher page

    Sign in, open My Apps, and tap Penstone Writing. At the bottom of the screen, tap Teacher? Sign in. You can also go straight to your teacher page.

  2. Make your teacher PIN

    The first time, choose a PIN of 4 to 8 digits that your students don't know. Students can use the tutor on your computer, but they can't open the teacher page without it. Tap Lock teacher page when you step away.

  3. Make a class

    Tap New class and fill in:

    • Class name, for example Tuesday Evening Writing.
    • What it covers: All grades (3–12 + Adult Ed) opens every grade, so each student works at their own level. You can also choose one grade, one band (3–5, 6–8, 9–12), or Adult Ed (GED / HiSET).
    • Seat limit for this class.

    Then tap Make the class.

  4. Give your students the class code

    Your class code appears at the top of Class settings (for example ALL-7KQ4M). Send it to your students with the message below.

    If the code gets shared too widely, tap Make a new code. The old code stops working, and students already in the class stay in it. Close joining stops new students from joining.

Message for your students

You're invited to my Penstone Writing class.

1. Go to cornerstoneacademic.co/pages/penstone-writing
2. Sign in, or tap Create a free account (use your own email).
3. When it asks "Who is writing today?", type your first name and tap Add.
4. Tap Join a class and type our class code: PUT YOUR CODE HERE
5. Tap Join. You only do this once.

Next time, just sign in and tap your name.
Step-by-step help with videos: cornerstoneacademic.co/pages/penstone-start

  1. Follow your students

    • Students appear on the left as they join, with their grade and when they last worked. A red number means a new message.
    • Tap Refresh to see the newest work.
    • Progress shows the whole class: lessons completed, papers waiting for you, and unread messages. CSV downloads it as a spreadsheet.
    • Tap a student to see their papers, tutor feedback, and messages. Under Modules, tap one to see each lesson: completed, skipped, or not started. Extra practice is optional and never needed to complete a module.
    • Print progress report makes a report for one student.

  2. When a student finishes or leaves

    Open the student and tap Remove from class. Their saved work is kept, and the seat is freed. They can join again later with the class code.

    Archive student keeps them in the class but moves them out of your list.

Good to know

  • Each student needs their own free Cornerstone account and email. A student can be in one class at a time.
  • Writing opens for every student in your class right away. Want other Cornerstone apps (reading, grammar, editing, vocabulary) for your class? Email us the class name and the apps, and we'll set them up.
  • Questions? Email Cornerstone Academics. We're glad to help.
Open your teacher page