These long winter days can make coming to tutoring after a long days work feel long and boring, especially when it is dark and cold outside. But really, by the time you arrive to tutoring, find your student, get to the classroom, put your coats and bags down and get settled in your chairs, there might be only an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes left to get some work accomplished. That is not a lot of time, especially when you only see your student once a week. That hour is so very important and you should be utilizing your time together to the fullest.
Always begin your session by focusing on the most valuable activity first. Maybe your student needs practice on their multiplication facts. Take five to ten minutes and work on that math area, then begin on something else. There is always SOMETHING that you could be working on together that focuses on a goal or skill that your child is working towards. Their homework should reflect what they are learning in school as well as skills that they should be focusing on. Practicing those skills before beginning homework together, can make doing the homework a bit easier and less stressful.
Maximize your time to the fullest. Use each minute productively but allow time for brief mental and physical breaks, like getting some water, playing a game, or using the computer lab. This can restore energy and help make the rest of your time together working more efficient. We all need that extra burst of energy at this time in the evening. By using your time wisely, you will also be teaching your student responsibility. We all have to maintain balance in our lives with work, family, friends, etc. Show your student how to do the same, even if it is only for an hour.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Helping a Struggling Writer
During the first week of March, I will be presenting a writing workshop each night. The workshop will be a fun and interactive time to discuss and practice creative writing. But before we can get to the creative stuff, we need to get our students writing. YUCK!!! That is usually what comes to my mind when I have to teach writing....I really don't like it. I don't know why, but teaching kids how to write is not an easy task, especially when they don't like to write. So how do you get them to want to write??? Well, you can't make anyone do something they don't want to do, but take these ideas into consideration when your student just feels like giving up:
1. Share other writers' struggles. Show how real authors have had their own hard times when it comes to getting words down on paper. You could check out an author's webpage online and read about their journeys as authors.
2. Have students read eachother's work and comment on it. Peer feedback can be a lot of fun and also comforting for students at the same age level to help one another.
3. Find something positive within their writing. Maybe it's great sentence structure, or a fine use of adjectives. Find the good and highlight their strengths.
4. Partner younger students with older ones. As older students help their younger partner, they might see ways to improve their own writing. And of course the younger students love to learn from their older peers.
5. Publish. Get on the computers and type up their writing! Publishing is a satisfying conclusion to the end of the writing process.
1. Share other writers' struggles. Show how real authors have had their own hard times when it comes to getting words down on paper. You could check out an author's webpage online and read about their journeys as authors.
2. Have students read eachother's work and comment on it. Peer feedback can be a lot of fun and also comforting for students at the same age level to help one another.
3. Find something positive within their writing. Maybe it's great sentence structure, or a fine use of adjectives. Find the good and highlight their strengths.
4. Partner younger students with older ones. As older students help their younger partner, they might see ways to improve their own writing. And of course the younger students love to learn from their older peers.
5. Publish. Get on the computers and type up their writing! Publishing is a satisfying conclusion to the end of the writing process.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Just Right
Hopefully you and your student are on the path to a happy learning session when you come to tutoring. I also hope that you have been reading together. Not just reading homework assignments or math problems, but actual books that you can discuss together. Whether it is choosing a book from our library or even if your student brings in their own story, there are a few ways to identify if the story your child chooses is fitting for them. We all like to choose things to read that interest us (hence our genre labeled library) and that should certainly be a part of the reading process, but sometimes these choices don't always fit the child the best when it comes to independent reading. It is great to read together and who doesn't like to be read to, but as teachers and leaders we want to guide our students to become the best independent reader that they can be and choose books that are "just right" for them.
If a book is too hard for the student read, the student will give up and abandon the book. If a book is too easy, they are not being challenged. If a book is "just right", a student will feel confident as a reader and enjoy what they are reading. I like to use the five finger rule:
1. Pick a book and turn to any page of the text and have your student begin reading
2. Each time they come to a word that he or she cannot prounounce or understand, put up one finger.
3. When you reach the end of the page, how many fingers are you holding up? If you are holding up five or more fingers, the text is too difficult for them to read at this time. Choose another one.
We want to hear our students read fluently, and of course we want to challenge them, but better have them be comfortable and excited to read rather than stumbling over every word. Think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. "Just Right" fits us the best as it did for Goldilocks. Help your student be choosy about what they are reading for fun. If you would like further information on this to keep in your student's folder, come see me, I have a great packet just for you! Go for a goal of trying to read together each time you see each other. Even just for ten minutes, a little reading goes a long way!
If a book is too hard for the student read, the student will give up and abandon the book. If a book is too easy, they are not being challenged. If a book is "just right", a student will feel confident as a reader and enjoy what they are reading. I like to use the five finger rule:
1. Pick a book and turn to any page of the text and have your student begin reading
2. Each time they come to a word that he or she cannot prounounce or understand, put up one finger.
3. When you reach the end of the page, how many fingers are you holding up? If you are holding up five or more fingers, the text is too difficult for them to read at this time. Choose another one.
We want to hear our students read fluently, and of course we want to challenge them, but better have them be comfortable and excited to read rather than stumbling over every word. Think about Goldilocks and the Three Bears. "Just Right" fits us the best as it did for Goldilocks. Help your student be choosy about what they are reading for fun. If you would like further information on this to keep in your student's folder, come see me, I have a great packet just for you! Go for a goal of trying to read together each time you see each other. Even just for ten minutes, a little reading goes a long way!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Simplify Dividing
I get lots of questions throughout the year regarding multiplying and dividing. Knowing multiplication and division facts are crucial in understanding word problems, fractions, and multi-step problems. Many students find division more challenging than any other math concept. Here are some tips that can help your student feel more confident when dividing:
-Practice with objects. Use anything from pencils, to dice, to snacks, and decide how many each person in their family would get if you were to divide them equally.
-It is important to keep the columns of numbers straight when working on long division. Use graph paper to stay organized when working with lots of numbers. Once the problem is solved, have your student transfer it to their homework paper. Staple the graph paper to the homework and I bet their teacher would love to see that extra hard work!
-Create a sentence for the steps to doing long division. Like, "Does Mary Sing Bad?" (divide, multiply, subtract, bring down). This will help in remembering the steps when computing those long problems.
-Play games using decks of cards. Old School games like WAR, can be turned into math games by simply multpilying or dividing the cards when turning thme over.
Make sure your student's practice time is being used to the best of its ability. Make it fun and simple and you will soon see progress towards those right answers!
-Practice with objects. Use anything from pencils, to dice, to snacks, and decide how many each person in their family would get if you were to divide them equally.
-It is important to keep the columns of numbers straight when working on long division. Use graph paper to stay organized when working with lots of numbers. Once the problem is solved, have your student transfer it to their homework paper. Staple the graph paper to the homework and I bet their teacher would love to see that extra hard work!
-Create a sentence for the steps to doing long division. Like, "Does Mary Sing Bad?" (divide, multiply, subtract, bring down). This will help in remembering the steps when computing those long problems.
-Play games using decks of cards. Old School games like WAR, can be turned into math games by simply multpilying or dividing the cards when turning thme over.
Make sure your student's practice time is being used to the best of its ability. Make it fun and simple and you will soon see progress towards those right answers!
Monday, February 7, 2011
Give me an "R"!
When I was a tutor at CGTP, I had a sixth grader who came to tutoring with a very messy binder that housed all her classwork and homework. Not only did this disastrous notebook bother me (maybe because I am a bit of a neat nut) but my student could never find her work or notes. It usually took ten minutes just to get her assignment out for the night because she had no idea where it was. So, I decided to get my student organized. We cleaned out her folders, threw away the papers that she no longer needed, assigned her folders for different subjects, and made sure her assignment notebook was in plain sight for her to write down her homework and projects. I asked her to try and keep her binder as organized as it was that day for the next time we were to meet. Well, it took a few times, but she finally came to tutoring with an organized binder, and when she did, we celebrated! She was so excited to show me her clean and organized binder after numerous times of me checking and still seeing a mess, that this time was different, and we were both very proud.
At the beginning of the school year, when you first met your student, you both set goals together. Goals that you could strive for achieving throughout the year. Maybe it was to bring up a reading grade or study harder on spelling tests. Those long-range goals are important, but so are short-term goals. Short-term goals can help build responsibility and lead to those longer-term goals. My short-term goal for my student was to come to tutoring with an organized binder, simple for me, but it wasn't an easy task for her. When she finally came with a great looking binder, I knew that she had achieved her goal and taken on the responsibility of keeping herself organized.
Consider asking your student to set a goal just for today. By choosing one small goal to achieve in that short period of time will set your student up for success. A small goal might be remembering to put their name on their paper or keeping track of their pencils. Focusing hard on one task for one day may help him or her remember it again for tomorrow and put a strong focus on taking charge of their own learning.
At the beginning of the school year, when you first met your student, you both set goals together. Goals that you could strive for achieving throughout the year. Maybe it was to bring up a reading grade or study harder on spelling tests. Those long-range goals are important, but so are short-term goals. Short-term goals can help build responsibility and lead to those longer-term goals. My short-term goal for my student was to come to tutoring with an organized binder, simple for me, but it wasn't an easy task for her. When she finally came with a great looking binder, I knew that she had achieved her goal and taken on the responsibility of keeping herself organized.
Consider asking your student to set a goal just for today. By choosing one small goal to achieve in that short period of time will set your student up for success. A small goal might be remembering to put their name on their paper or keeping track of their pencils. Focusing hard on one task for one day may help him or her remember it again for tomorrow and put a strong focus on taking charge of their own learning.
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