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Co-op Class FAQ | WriteShop I & II

Teach WriteShop I and II in a Class

  1. Can I teach WriteShop I & II in a co-op class?
  2. Am I qualified to teach a class?
  3. What’s involved in teaching a co-op class?
  4. I’d like to teach a writing class. Where can I find students?
  5. What grade levels should I teach for WriteShop I or II classes?
  6. How many students should I teach?
  7. Should I accept 4th and 5th graders?
  8. If I use the Classroom Handbook, do I still need a Teacher’s Manual?
  9. Will parents also need a Teacher’s Manual?
  10. How do I deal with details such as setting a fee or structuring my class time?

1. Can I teach WriteShop I & II in a co-op class?

WriteShop I & II Bundle

WriteShop I and II were developed for a homeschool co-op, making them a natural curriculum choice when teaching writing to a small group of students. Whether you do all the teaching, editing, and grading or share these responsibilities with others, WriteShop helps you with lesson planning, classroom management, and teaching suggestions. 

2. Am I qualified to teach a class?

If you are a fairly confident writer with a good eye for grammar, spelling, and punctuation, you can teach a WriteShop class! You don’t need an English degree or teaching credential to successfully guide a group of students through the basics of writing simple compositions. Through its step-by-step approach, the WriteShop Teacher’s Manual walks you through the process and provides helpful teaching and evaluating tools.

Many others have taught WriteShop with success—and you can too!

3. What’s involved in teaching a co-op class?

Generally, classes are held weekly. You’ll need a minimum of 1 hour per week. Classes can meet in a home, church classroom, or other venue. Time permitting, you can cover any or all of the following.

  • Teach new lesson and skill-builder concepts.
  • Review previous material.
  • Do pre-writing activities as a group.
  • Work on a class paragraph together on the white board.
  • Involve students in peer editing.

Most teachers do all the teaching, editing, and grading. Others teach with an assistant or with regular or rotating parent help. Find out what the parents need or expect from you. Do they want you to do it all? Or do they want you to teach the class but leave the editing and evaluating to the them?

Something else to consider: If you plan to charge a fee for teaching a class, you’ll probably want to charge more if you do all the work and less if the parents take on the time-consuming tasks of editing and/or grading.

4. I’d like to teach a writing class. Where can I find students?

It’s possible to have a class drop in your lap when group of parents seek you out to teach their teens. But if you’re the one searching for students, look for opportunities to offer writing classes to homeschooling families through local independent study programs, support groups, and co-ops. Advertise in your area’s homeschool discussion boards, newsletters, and Facebook groups.

5. What grade levels should I teach for WriteShop I or II classes?

For best results, we recommend teaching WriteShop I classes of 7th- to 10th-graders and WriteShop II classes of 8th- to 12th-graders. Some 11th- and 12th-graders may not be ready for WriteShop II at first, never having learned the basics. Consider forming a WriteShop I class to help bring these older students up to speed. The program is flexible and adaptable for most teens.

6. How many students should I teach?

Your class can have as few as three students and as many as 20. When the class number goes above ten, it’s a good idea to find an assistant, a parent helper, or a team teacher. First-time teachers might want to start smaller, especially if you are teaching the class alone, perhaps beginning with the manageable number of four to eight students.

In addition to class time, think about how many hours you can devote each week to grading papers. (Be honest with yourself. If you’re homeschooling your own children, or your kids are involved in extracurricular activities, you’ll have less free time than if your children are grown.) For each composition you edit or grade, plan to set aside up to one hour. If you’re teaching six students, for example, you’ll need about six hours a week to edit and grade.

Finally, how quickly do you plan to move through the program? Covering one WriteShop level in a semester instead of a year will obviously require more editing hours per week.

7. Should I accept 4th and 5th graders?

WriteShop I is junior-high and high-school level material and would overwhelm most younger children. They would struggle to keep up the pace and demand of the curriculum, mostly because of their cognitive immaturity—and might end up hating writing. It’s better either to wait till they’re older or to open up a fun-focused WriteShop Junior class for the younger kids.

8. If I use the Classroom Handbook, do I still need a Teacher’s Manual?

Classroom Handbook for WriteShop I & II

Yes! These two teacher resources go hand in hand. The Teacher’s Manual contains the majority of lesson plans you need to teach your class successfully. It also has answer keys and editing/grading helps. The Classroom Handbook focuses specifically on organizing a WriteShop class and putting the lessons to work in a group setting. It comes with schedules, parent handouts, classroom management ideas, in-class teaching tips, and more.

9. Will parents also need a Teacher’s Manual?

If the teacher does ALL the teaching, editing, and grading, parents won’t need a Teacher’s Manual. However, if they will be involved with editing and/or grading their students’ compositions and Skill Builders, the Teacher’s Manual will be an important resource—especially if they feel the least bit insecure about taking on those tasks.

10. How do I deal with details such as setting a fee or structuring my class time?

The Classroom Handbook: Teach WriteShop I or II in a Class or Co-op answers these questions—and more! It’s an invaluable resource for sorting out the nuts and bolts of teaching a class.


If you have questions or to purchase for a classroom, please contact our School Sales Team.

Phone: (866) 440-9706
Email: schools@demmelearning.com