POA

"If you don't know where you're going, you might wind up somewhere else.". That's what Toby Keith says in his hit song "Somewhere Else" and I think he says it right for those of us who are working with children.  The title of this post is called POA, which stands for "plan of action".  Coming into  a new year of tutoring, whether you have been tutoring for many years or not, it is still a brand be year. A new grade level, new material, and new year older, and perhaps a new student.  That's the thing about new years, it brings something new no matter how well you might know a person.  With this being said, a plan of action is necessary when coming into any situation, you always want to feel prepared and ready to work with your student from the minute you see them on your night of tutoring.

Your plan should be one that is:
-consistent:  Don't say you are doing one thing and then do something else, that is confusing and your student might. It take you seriously.
-challenging:  unfortunately, students get into the misguided habit of just doing enough to get by rather than pushing themselves to exceed.  We want to give our students the most rich experience that we can with the short time we see them.  Move away from memorization and ask your student high-level thinking questions that promote them to be problem solvers.
-promoting success:  every thing you do should end in a positive outcome.  Whether it is a high five, an extra ten minutes in the computer lab, or a game of their choice, praise your student for doing a great job and you will see successful learning happening more often.
-visible:  Write down your POA so you and your student can see what is coming up next, and you both are ready and prepared for a successful tutoring experience.

Here is an example of what your tutoring POA might look like:

6:00pm Arrive to tutoring, greet your student and head to your classroom.  Catch up on the past week, weekend activities, and then discuss your plan for the evening.  Involve your student in the plan, they might have certain projects or activities that they really need to do.
6:15pm  Work on homework, project, or practice a reading or math skill
7:00pm  Spend 15 min in the computer lab or playing an educational game
7:15pm  Choose a book from our library in the resource room, and read the first few pages or chapter together.  Save the book for next time.
7:30pm head back to the room to grab your personal items and head downstairs for departure.

Summer Reading

As you begin to say goodbye to your students this week, think about leaving them with a positive message about reading over the summer.  I cannot stress enough how important summer reading is for everyone, but especially for kids.  If you plan on returning to tutoring next year, make a goal with your student to read a certain number of books over the summer and you do the same.  You could even meet up for a mid-summer book club and discuss what you have read so far.  When you come back in the fall, check to see if you both accomplished your reading goals.  Just a fun little something to think about while you are taking a break for the summer.

I hope to see everyone at the picnic this Saturday and I promise, next year, there will be a lot more to this blog.....more updates and information to come in the fall!!  Enjoy your last weekend together and have a wonderful summer!!!

SMILE

Doesn't that just make you smile too?  A smile makes everyone feel good, especially when the weather is nice, and all we want to do is be outside, after school and work on days like these.  We have been seeing a low attendance rate over the last few weeks, and I have a feeling that is partially due to the weather changing.  We want our students to continue coming to tutoring each week until our year is through.  How do we do this?  Well I've been thinking about that and other than bribing them (which we should not be doing at all), I think a good ole' smile and positive attitude is sure to bring our students back to us each week.

Sometimes I catch myself throughout the day frowning.  I don't know why, not because I am unhappy or sad, but maybe because I am focused or thinking about what I have to do after work, or checking over the weekly spelling tests.  I realize that frowning not only puts more wrinkles on my forhead, but it doesn't make me or my students feel good.  The week before Spring Break I tested a little smile theory on my first graders.  I tried to smile as much as possible for a whole hour.  Now I know that sounds easy when you are working with sweet, darling six year olds, but a teacher's day can be much more than just sweet and darling, it is hard work people!  But while I was smiling, I made it a point to notice my student's reactions.  WOW!!  Not only did I get tons of sweet smiles back from them, but I promise, they sat quieter, responded better, and seemed to be happier by just receiving a nice gesture from their teacher.  After that hour, I made it a point to try and remind myself to smile more, appear happier, and eventually I felt happier for longer periods throughout my work day.  I also feel like I can stay more positive and have a clearer mind during the day if I just smile more often.

I'm only telling you this from experience.  It is hard to work all day and then come and tutor in the evening, trust me, I know!  But maybe we all just need a  little reminder here and there to turn our smiles on for those around us.  There is that old saying "smile and the whole world smiles with you".  From the moment you step off the elevator, smile.  When you greet your student, smile.  When you see their beautiful homework completed, smile, and as they are walking to the bus or to their parent, leave them with a smile too.

I think we don't realize what big impression a little smile can make, but towards the end of the year, when excuses become plentiful, and homework starts to dwindle, give your student a reason to want to come back to tutoring next week, even if it is just to see you smile.

If you need more convincing on why smiling is so important, click here

Beat Procrastination

Most kids are pretty good at procrastinating, I myself am a pro at it, but kids learn at a young age how to sneak around those tasks that they just aren't in the mood to do.  This can make your time with your student inefficient.  So ask yourself these questions and see if you are dodging the procastination cloud that might be hanging over you and your student.

Are you using a planner?  We hand out free planners to each of our students here at CGTP at the beginning of the year and most schools hand them out as well.  Get your student writing down due dates, assignments, and projects in their planners.  Show them how to do this neatly and orderly so that they can read and understand everything they put in their planners, otherwise a planner is useless.  If your student needs a planner come find me, asap!

Are you prepared for "what's next"?  Once your student finishes their homework for the night, you should already be thinking of what your student is going to do next.  Leaving it up to them, usually leads to less educational activities taking place.  Have things planned out ahead of time, so that there is no gap in between work that might lead to less important activities. 

Is time against you?  Teach your student that timeliness matters and is important in every day life.  In order to get work done in a timely manner, set a timer (you could even use a timer on your phone).  Set the timer for fifteen minutes and they must work until the timer goes off.  You would be surprised that students will often continue working after the timer ends, because they want to finish, and once that get started that first initial hurdle of starting work is now over.

Words to Live By....

As we are finding ways to work through these next few weeks before spring break, getting through ISAT testing, and looking forward to warmer weather, we must remember why we are here and how we can reach our students the best that we can. 

March is Read Across America Month, and because I have such a love for children's books, I have compiled a list of books, most of which I have read, that are truly filled with life's little lessons.  Picture books are not just for primary students, they deserve a place in upper grades as well.  Finding time to talk about meaningful topics is important and set a purpose for learning, young and old.

Leo the Late Bloomer, by Robert Kraus

Lesson:  You will shine in your own time, and that is okay.

The Empty Pot, by Demi

Lesson:  Teaches us what true integrity means.

Enemy Pie, by Derek Munson

Lesson:  How to Handle Relationships and Conflict

Horton Hatches the Egg, by Dr. Suess

Lesson:  It's important to keep your promises

Tar Beach, by Faith Ringgold 

Lesson:  Encourages limitless dreams

The Story of Ferdinand, by Munro Leaf

Lesson:  Being who you are is more important than being who others think you are.

Computer Time

There has been a recent rush to play on the computers in the computer lab, which is wonderful!  Unfortunately, I have been noticing a lot of just playing and not learning happening on the screens.  Here at CGTP, we have a portal, which should pop up the minute you click on internet explorer.  This portal page was created so that you and your student did not have to search the internet for educational games, they are right there for you, easily accessible.  I know there are games that student are wanting to play that are not on the portal, but most of what I am seeing is not educational.  Please be mindful of this, we want our guidelines to be known in the computer lab, and students should be aware of this from us and from you.

If for some reason, your student does not want to visit any of the websites on the portal, here are a few other option that might interest your student during their time in the lab:

1.  Computer Skills:  These are like life skills, but for students to learn all about the computer.  See Michael or Adam for more information.

2.  Create a story in Word:  Take turns typing sentences to a story.  Build off of eachothers sentences to see what you come up with.  Each week, you could add a chapter to your story.

3.  Research a famous person each week.  This month we are learning about famous African Americans, but you can continue this research onto people that students are interested in:  Justin Beiber, Miley Cyrus, etc...

4.  Challenge your students to find five new facts about something.  Give them a topic and time them to see how fast they can find out the information you want them to look for. 

5.  Help them find their house on google maps, they will love seeing their neighborhood on the computer screen.

6.  Show your student what you do on a computer all day.  If it is emailing, creating power points, or working on excel.  Giving your students real life experiences will open their eyes to reality.

Remind your students that computers can be fun, and they are most of the time, but we are here to learn and that is what we need to keep in mind when spending time in the computer lab.

The Daily 5

I have recently been introduced to the Daily 5 practice.  "It is a structure that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working independently that will lead to a lifetime of literacy independence." 


Now tutoring isn't a time or place for independent working, you and your student should always be working together, but the choices in the Daily 5 method can be used in other ways than just for a full classroom full of students.  The Daily 5 provides a great management system for a set literacy time.  As students come to you each week, you might face the challenge of finding things to do with them, or maybe you are looking for a new routine to help keep him/her focused.  By utilizing these FIVE practices into a set literacy time for you and your student, you will quickly see a student who is more engaged and excited about reading and writing.  Here are the five components to the Daily 5 method and some what you can expect to accomplish:

Read to Self:  We will become better readers with more practice.  Read quietly, reread parts again if needed, pick a quiet spot to read and stay there.

Read to Someone:  Read quietly to your partner, sit side by side, take turns reading, and build up stamina

Listen to Reading:  Listening to good readers helps us become better readers!  Listen the whole time, keep your voice silent, follow along with your finger or a bookmark.

Work on Writing:  Better Writing = Better Reading...use this time to journal write, practice a writing skill or complete a life skill (most of our life skills include some sort of writing activity).

Word Work:  This is a great time to work on spelling words, study new words, sort words, or play a word game.

How can you fit all of this into an hour and a half of tutoring??  By having a set time alotted for each activity, you will set an expectation for your student and you will also feel more prepared when wanting to help your student become a better reader.  You might need to practice each part of the Daily 5 one at a time until you build up stamina with the routine.  Don't just jump right into it....a routine takes time to learn and get used to for both you and your student.  Here is an example of what a tutoring version of the Daily 5 might look like:

6:15-6:35

Read to Self/ Read to Someone/ Listen to Reading (choose only one)

6:40-7:00

Work on Writing

7:00-7:20

Word Work

Have fun with the Daily 5, let me know if you would like any help getting into a routine like this or something similar.