Below is a list of our most common issues and how to solve them. These are also covered in our Getting Started Guide. If your issue is not listed here, please contact us so we can help find a solution to your issue.

I got an email from Brenda stating that I should have received my username and password, but I have not received it.

In most cases, the generated email is directed to the spam folder. Depending on your email client, this folder may be called “Junk,” the “Junk Folder,” or simply “Spam.” Please check there first to see if the email got directed there. Sometimes, though, it REALLY isn’t there… maybe the junk folder was emptied before you had a chance to check it. Or, perhaps the settings in your email client automatically delete spam without ever putting it in the spam folder. It’s ok, all hope isn’t lost! The email from Monica contains everything you need to to do a “password recovery” using your email address. Before you click that link, make sure to “whitelist” or “allow” emails from playwith.education@gmail.com. If you can’t find the place in your email client’s settings to do this, adding our email address to your contact list will usually ensure that emails from our site will be directed to your inbox instead of to your spam folder.

I forgot my password!

No worries! You can use the password recovery function from here or from the Log In page any time. Again, make sure your email client accepts email from playwith.education@gmail.com. When you reset your password, our website will send you an automatic email with a link to reset your password. If you don’t find it, check your junk or spam folders.

I lost the link to log in to my course.

This one’s easy, too! If you remember your username, you can log in from the Student Portal. Click the course you’re enrolled in and enter your username and password. If you don’t remember your username, you can use your email address to sign in. Follow the directions for lost password recovery from here or from the Log In page. Again, make sure your email client accepts email from playwith.education@gmail.com. When you reset your password, our website will send you an automatic email with a link. If you don’t find it, check your junk or spam folders.

How does the video course differ from the Teacher Manual?

Since the video course was created after the Teacher’s Manual was published, the videos are not mentioned in your TM. Instead of following the schedule there, it’s vital that you examine and use our Video Course Schedule. The good news is that our movies do all the work for you; you do not have to add anything (not even the pre-writing activities mentioned in your TM). 

Do the videos teach the pre-writing activities and practice paragraphs for me?YES!!! You’re off the hook. Students watch the video and get all the content that you would add if you were using the Teacher’s Manual. In the movies, the engaging pre-writing activities show up on Day Two with the brainstorming material. To replace the practice paragraph, we present students with a sample paper and demonstrate by example how to edit it to achieve the lesson’s objectives (just as teachers do when they model a practice paragraph with a group, or as you would do if you were not using the video course). Consequently, our own schedule for Day Two doesn’t require that you do a separate practice paragraph with your students, but you can if you’d like to. It’s up to you.

My WriteShop Student Workbook looks different than the one in the video.

WriteShop recently changed the layout of their Student Handbooks. Our video was recorded with the previous edition came in the blue binder. This new edition replaces the binders with colorful booklets. Please read the section in the first several units of Lesson One about the edition change with WriteShop. This was a purely cosmetic change. The page numbers for the binder version of the workbook referenced in the videos are the same as the updated booklet version.

When I click the link to my course, I get an error saying I’m not a student.“]If you’ve clicked the link from the email sent by Monica and are getting an error saying that you’re not in that class, please contact me immediately so I can apologize for the error and make it right as quickly as possible. Either I mistakenly put your child in the wrong class or I’ve sent you the wrong link… Though I strive to put each student in the correct course, sometimes I get distracted or goof.

My child already completed up to Lesson ## before I bought the video course, how can I catch up?

For parents who chose the Video Only option, it’s possible that you’ve worked through several lessons already before purchasing our program. There is no instant way to advance a student’s progress from our end, unfortunately. The solution is for that PARENT or TEACHER to go through each unit to “Mark as Complete” up to the required lesson or unit (the green button at the bottom of each course unit, as shown in the image below).

Please don’t allow the student press ahead like this, as we want to avoid the students getting in the habit of pressing ahead in the lessons before they get permission. We still do highly recommend that you and your child watch the videos for at least Lesson One (preferably up to Lesson Three), as several key concepts that the students need in later lessons are fully explained.

If you are in the Grading or Grading+ courses, it is not really possible to press ahead in the lessons, due to the quizzing process. Please contact us so we can work out a solution that works for you and your child.

I accidentally submitted the wrong paper in my quiz.

Oops! Don’t worry, this happens sometimes. In most cases, Ms. Lane probably already contacted you to find out what happened. However, please contact Ms. Lane as soon as you realize the error. This saves lots of time, as she will be able to reset the quiz to submit the correct paper or email you with further instructions.

The quiz won’t accept my paper because it says it’s the incorrect format.

Our site will only accept doc and docx file types. If you’re getting this error, please ensure that you’ve saved the document correctly in either Word Format or in Word 97-2003 Format (we prefer Word Format). You can do that in your Word Processor’s “save as” function, as shown below.

Please note: very rarely this error can come up despite saving the document correctly. If you have assured that it’s saved properly and you’re still getting this error, please contact us so we can fix it as quickly as possible.