Finding the Right Format
Find the class format that will work best for your family!
We offer classes in three formats:
- Live: At least part of the class includes live meetings (over Zoom) and student interaction. The class occurs on a set schedule with due dates, and leaners typically receive instructor feedback.
- Guided: The class has no live meetings but does include asynchronous peer interaction and a set schedule with due dates. Learners typically receive instructor feedback.
- Self-Paced: Get materials for self-directed or parent/guardian-led instruction. Work on your own schedule. There are no live meetings, instructor feedback, or set schedules.
Learners who enjoy lots of direct interaction, want to work directly with classmates, and like being able to ask questions in person will probably benefit the most from LIVE classes.
Learners who have unpredictable schedules, find video meetings stressful or tiring, and who prefer to work independently but still want feedback and structured due dates will benefit from GUIDED classes.
Families who want materials for teaching their learners but who want control over the schedule and feedback will find SELF-PACED classes the most useful.
Finding the Right Class
ELA can be really hard to break into neat categories of difficulty and progression. There are multiple skills at play in any given assignment, and many learners develop them unevenly. A very advanced reader can struggle with writing. Someone who can write amazing creative narratives can find it hard to write straightforward informative reports and vice versa.
If you take a look at the Common Core Standards for ELA, you’ll see that the skills repeat over and over again with increasing complexity over the grade levels. It might sound logical to break writing down into chunks and learn to write sentences before you learn to write paragraphs and paragraphs before you learn to write essays, but the truth is that’s not how writing works!
You do it all at once. Some parts you do better than others. Some parts you do worse. You stumble through until you get the pieces working together and then you do it all again with harder questions and more complex texts.
Writing is recursive, not linear. You don’t do steps in a neat order; you make a mess, loop back around, clean up one mess and make another one that you’ll have to clean up later.
All that to say, finding the right class for your learner isn’t an exact science, and my approach to writing is to include choice and flexibility within assignments in every class so that learners can adapt to find the right challenge fit as they go.
Generally speaking, I recommend choosing the reading level that will be accessible and interesting for your learner and letting the writing work out with the built-in variation in assignments.
I’ve also seen learners do very well in a reading level that may be a bit above what they’re used to if the text is about a favorite topic. Interest is a fantastic motivator.
I’ve made the following charts to help give an overview of the different types of classes I offer and what I mean when I label them the way I do.
In general, students in grades 6-8 will do best in Middle School classes and those in 9-12 will do best in High School classes.
Learners who are reading at grade level and have previous writing experience can skip to the “Level 2” choices. Those who are new to writing or who need more reading support would do better in the “Foundations” or “Level 1” classes. Those who read at an advanced level and want some challenge will likely thrive in “Level 3” classes.
I’m always happy to answer questions.
