Frequently Asked Questions – For Members

How does the new "credit based" membership work?
When you join SimplySkilledTeaching.com you will receive one credit for each “bucket” on the Member Dashboard.  When you go into that “bucket” you will see ALL the resources associated with that category… as well as a notation of how many “credits” you have available.

If you do not already own a resource there will a “Buy now for 1 credit” button available.  If you choose to “buy” a particular resource by clicking the Buy Now button, one credit will be deducted from the available credits for that bucket and the Buy button will change to a green Download button.

If you already own that resource the button will say “Download”.  This may be a resource that you purchased several months ago.  This means you can come back to your Member Dashboard and download resources over and over again, as long as you remain an active member of SimplySkilledTeaching.

On the first day of the month, your personal account will be credited with an additional credit that may be used that month, or saved for use in later months.  You will not lose accumulated credits as long as you remain an active member.

Please note that some resources, and indeed, some buckets, offer resources for 0 credits… this means they are FREE and can be downloaded at any time.

So what this credit based system is actually a content library and we want to let you pick and choose what you want, when you want it using your credits

I already have many of your TPT resources. Will the Membership be worth it for me?
Thank you so much for your support!

YES, the membership will definitely be worth it for you.  The Guided Reading lessons and activities are brand-new.

The Close Reading Read-Its might have some overlap, however, I have added fully-developed lesson plans on how to implement your close reading lessons for the Read-Its that have been added to the site.

The Language Arts lesson plans are brand new.  A few of the independent activities might have some overlap, but the guided practice whole group activities are brand new.

The Holiday Happenings materials will be some resources that I already have in my TPT store and some will be brand new.

You will also gain access to my Backstage Pass where you will be able to view videos of me teaching guided reading and guided math in my classroom! These videos are not available to the public.

Can I share my membership with other teachers or colleagues on my grade level team?
No. Each membership is for individual teachers. We believe that the monthly pricing is quite affordable given the amount of quality lesson plans and resources that you will receive each month. However, if you would like an even bigger discount, consider purchasing the yearly membership.
How do I cancel my membership?
We understand that sometimes situations change and you may need to cancel your membership.  We hate to see you go, but understand.

To cancel your membership please complete our cancelation form.  We’ll need your name, and email address that you used to join.

BEFORE CANCELING PLEASE READ BELOW:

We understand that sometimes situations change and you may need to cancel your membership.  We hate to see you go, but understand.

All memberships renew automatically based on your subscription plan and the date you joined. So if you wish to cancel your membership please submit this form at least 7 days before your subscription renews, or membership withdrawal date. Cancellation requests received less than 7 days prior to the end of the month will be honored for the next billing cycle.

Please note: Once a cancellation request is processed it takes place immediately.  This means you will no longer have access to the Members Dashboard nor any content on SimplySkilledTeaching.

Be sure to download ALL of your resources on your dashboard and use ALL of your credits prior to filling out this form. As once you complete this form, you will no longer be able to log in to your dashboard to retrieve your member resources or use any leftover credits.

If you cancel your membership, you will not be eligible to join Simply Skilled Teaching as this membership is no longer being sold.

How can I leave feedback?

Your feedback is important to us.  Just email our support team by clicking here and we’ll respond to comments.

How Do I Update My Credit Card Information?
We take client confidentiality and security seriously.  Just complete the Manage Your Membership form by clicking here.  When completed the form will transmit your information via our Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connection to our PCI-compliant card processing system.
If I cancel on the first of the month, why am I being charged on the 2nd or 3rd for that month?
All memberships renew automatically based on your subscription plan and the date you joined. So if you wish to cancel your membership please submit this cancellation request form at least 7 days before your subscription renews. Cancellation requests received less than 7 days prior to your subscription renewal, will be honored for the next cycle.

Once a cancellation request is processed it takes place immediately.  This means you will no longer have access to the Members Dashboard nor any content on SimplySkilledTeaching.

 

BEFORE CANCELING PLEASE READ BELOW:

We understand that sometimes situations change and you may need to cancel your membership.  We hate to see you go, but understand.

All memberships renew automatically based on your subscription plan and the date you joined. So if you wish to cancel your membership please submit this form at least 7 days before your subscription renews, or membership withdrawal date. Cancellation requests received less than 7 days prior to your subscription renewal, will be honored for the next cycle.

Please note: Once a cancellation request is processed it takes place immediately.  This means you will no longer have access to the Members Dashboard nor any content on SimplySkilledTeaching.

Be sure to download ALL of your resources on your dashboard and use ALL of your credits prior to filling out this form. As once you complete this form, you will no longer be able to log in to your dashboard to retrieve your member resources or use any leftover credits.

If you cancel your membership, you will not be eligible to join Simply Skilled Teaching as this membership is no longer being sold.

Can I download the videos?
  • You cannot download the videos.  Your access to SimplySkilledTeaching is ongoing so you simply have to log into the site to watch the videos over and over again as long as you remain an active member.
How Do I Change My Email Address?
Need to change your email address?  No problem.  Just let our Support Team  know your old email address and the new one and we’ll make sure your records are changed so you’ll never miss important and timely updates from SimplySkilledTeaching.com.
How do I change my password?
No worries, we forget things too (where we placed our car keys, to close the garage door, and to put money in the meter).  We cannot help you with those things … but we can help you change your password.

At the Login page you will see “Lost your password?”.  Simply click on the link and enter either your Username or Email address (the one you used to purchase simplyskilledteaching.com) and follow the instruction(s) in the email you will receive.

Questions … contact our wonderful support team will help you out!

How do I access the private Facebook Group?
Head over to private Facebook Group – simplyskilledteaching.com Members, and request to join.  (https://www.facebook.com/SimplySkilledTeaching/)

We are also on Instagram!

Did we mention that we are very social?

Your videos seem to be constantly buffering. What can I do?
For the most part, slow video or audio buffering problems can be fixed with just a few simple steps.  Rarely are these problems hardware related.  So these issues can be resolved.

They suggest two things: Turning off any other program that might be using bandwidth and after clicking play, allow some time for it to download before trying to watch from the beginning.

The only other things I can think of:

  1. Turn off HD by clicking on it at the bottom right of the player. This will be a much less detailed version of the video and harder to see the charts.
  2. Or try a different browser. Maybe Chrome, Firefox or Opera will work better for you if you are on Internet Explorer.
  3. And in regard to my last suggestion, please check your speeds. Here is a site for speed test: http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/ Just click on the city that is closes to you and it will run. I’d say to run smoothly, you would need 10mbs download or better (ISPs say 5mbs for HD if nothing else is using bandwidth).  I am on a superspeed line and getting over the top. 90 mbs download and 12 mbs upload.
  4. And last, it might be worth it to see if your ISP has a “data cap” on your service that might be slowing it down.

Also, trying to watch videos on a cell phone data connection usually results in poor speed (as well as a lot of your data plan usage).  So if you want to watch on your phone, wait until you’re at a location where you can change over to access the program via wifi.

The videos won’t play on my computer or mobile device. Please help.

We’ll be glad to provide technical assistance whenever possible.  We have tested our videos on the current browsers and devices, but you may have one we haven’t tested.

Just send an email to Technical Support telling us:

  1. which video you were trying to play
  2. the device you were trying to play it on. (PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, etc.)
    1. Please provide the Make, Model, and Browser you were using and we’ll check out the problem.
Who Do I Contact If I Have Questions Or Problems?
If you should have any questions or experience any problems just email our support team by clicking here.  Provide us with the details and we’ll be back in touch shortly.
When I joined I was under the impression that there would be a new book each week. I’ve noticed that there is just one fiction and one nonfiction a month- is this correct?
Beginning in January, 2019 you now have immediate access to our entire library of books.  This means you as of the first day of the month, you can “buy” the book(s) you are interested in using the credits you have available.
I teach third grade and the levels seem a little low for my students. Are these the same levels every time a book is released?
The guided reading levels with range from H/I through P/Q (which is the end of third grade expectations.  However, when available I am also including  an R/S level book as well.
My students are reading at a lower level than most. What can I do?
Check out the Lower Level Guided Reading options.  These books are for levels D, E, F and G.