Yes, courses are self-paced. There is a suggested timeframe for each course, and the work is organized into weekly assignments. However, you have flexibility to implement this according to your schedule. 

Parents respond to first drafts and grade final essays. Reviewer guides and a selection of grade rubrics are provided in each course.

Writing courses are patterned after the modules I created in my college teaching. Each one is designed to take 3-4 weeks focused on producing a particular kind of essay and averaging 2-3 hours of work per week. The work includes watching short videos, readings, drafting activities, and other writing practice. Optional discussion groups are included as well.

Literature courses vary in length based on the length of the book.  Coursework should take 2-3 hours weekly and includes reading, short video lessons, keeping a reading journal, participating in an online written discussion group, and writing a concluding essay. 

Across the Page Course offerings aren’t a complete writing program, but a series of separate modules. It’s possible to build a year’s instruction by using multiple courses and interspersing other learning materials in writing or literature study.

How they would count toward high school credit depends on your state’s homeschool regulations.

Courses are not downloadable. When you purchase a course, you gain access to the online course for a specified length of time. Though most courses are designed to take 3-8 weeks to complete, purchase grants access for a longer period to give families maximum flexibility in implementing them.

Courses are designed for students in high school who already have a basis in writing short papers such as book reports, journal entries and lab reports. Each course description specifies the most suitable grade levels. 

For writing courses, students are asked to purchase the online version of Norton’s Little Seagull Handbook for Writers. The courses incorporate several components of this inexpensive resource including handbook entries, model essays and an interactive practice tool called InQuizitive. 

I go into more detail about why I use LSH in this blog post.

The courses are offered as individual modules rather than one long experience to give parents a level of choice and flexibility about which ones their students take. However, there is a big picture to keep in mind in choosing courses.

The overall movement of the writing courses is based on students starting with personal writing in the first essay, then moving gradually outward in focus and learning how to incorporate research. If a student were to take all the courses, the best sequence would be:

1. Literacy Narrative
2. Evaluation
3. Observation
4. Position Argument
5. Working with Biased Sources
6. Summary & Response

Essays 1-3 are included in the first writing bundle, and in the evaluation and observation essays students begin incorporating informal research. Essays 4-6 are in the advanced essay bundle, where students begin to learn about more formal research, plagiarism, and documentation of sources.

Keeping this big picture in mind should help parents select and order the courses that will be the best fit for their students. 

Yes, it’s possible for a group of students to work through the material in a live setting such as a homeschool co-op. For example, in a writing class, students could do the work at home, then use the class meeting as more of a workshop, discussion or conference time where the teacher (rather than the parent) offers feedback on drafts and perhaps grades essays.

However, because the courses are designed and priced for individual use, we ask that each student purchase a course individually. If you’re interested in using a writing course in a co-op, please reach out through the contact form to provide details, and ask for a discount.

Literature courses at Across the Page are not well adapted for a live setting. The instruction, writing and online discussions all work together to create a complete course experience.

As noted in our Terms of Use, multiple students must not use the same course. Courses are designed and priced for single-student use, and only one student login is granted with purchase. 

Discussion can foster engagement, resulting in deeper learning. My blog post “5 Ways Discussion Improves Learning” explains this in greater detail.