Advice on tutoring afterschool students-- ElizabethB? (or anyone else)

[Renai]

I've tutored phonics for 16 years. The lessons I use are linked in my signature, they are free online.

 

I realize most are afterschooling their own children, but to some extent, I consider my tutees an extension of my homeschool.

 

I also currently tutor students after school (SES/Title IV). I'm trying to figure out what would be the best thing to use in the shortest amount of time. I only have, on average, 14 sessions with the students. I'm currently using Blend Phonics with a 2nd and 3rd grader (twin brothers) and hoping to get to long vowels with them. That's where I see most of the trouble with my mostly ESL/bilingual students.

 

I'm also tutoring a 6th grade special ed ESL student, and introduced her to open and closed syllables last week. She asked me, "so you're saying if I can learn about these syllables, I can learn to read?" I hit on something there. She started taking notes! This girl struggles in reading in both languages. I feel so bad I didn't start with this earlier with her (as it is, I only have 3 more sessions left with her). I worked on her specific "goals," but mostly orally. But no one in that school (or anywhere else) is going to sit and read to her. She knows her stuff, she just can't read it herself.

 

So, should I start printing out the different syllable tables from Webster's Speller to get her learning to read those types of words? I'll also be working on consonant digraphs and vowel teams as those are weaknesses as well.

 

I do not have internet access when tutoring, so listening to phonics lessons is not an option. Oh, and all these children are being taught via sight words, so as I'm going through BP, I introduce all sight words that follow that rule using the "sight words by sound" page on ElizabethB's website (hoping some connection is being made).

[ElizabethB]

Yes, teach the syllabary, quickly, then start applying it. When time is limited, I like to teach just 3 or 4 sets of long and short vowels so they get the pattern and then move to these words:

 

on-set, be-set, de-fend, in-vest, in-fect, ro-bust, un-lock, re-fit;

(explain mushing of last syllable when accented, al as ul)

de-ni-al, il-le-gal, re-vi-val, re-pub-lish, an-ec-dote, an-im-mate, ac-cu-rate-ly, e-lec-tric-al, in-tel-lect-u-al, di-a-bol-ic-al

 

After these easy words to build up confidence, I cycle back and fourth between 2 and 3 syllable tables and sometimes 4 and 5 syllable word tables, depending on the student, doing at least 15 or 20 words from each table to build up the pattern and cadence.

 

If they can't figure out de in the word de-fend, go back to the syllabary, have them say "da, de, di, do, du, dy," then point at de and have them sound out and say de, then point at de in the word de-fend. For things like dote in an-ec-dote, show them the silent e and help with any letters they need help sounding out. For ec in an-ec-dote, go back to the syllabary "ac, ec, ic, oc, uc," the ec in the syllabary, then ec in the word.

 

You could also compare it with a portion of the Spanish syllabary, I used "La Pata Pita" with my daughter to teach her Spanish syllables, here's a sample:

 

"Mm: ma me mi mo mu

 

Mamá mami mima me mía mi mime mío

 

Mi mamá. Mami. Mamá mía. Amo a mamá.

 

Pp: pa pe pi po pu

 

Papá pipa popa papi Pepe Pepa papa Popi pía pie pío púa

 

Mi papá. Papi. Papá mío. Mi papá. Mi mamá. Amo a mi

papá. Amo a mi mamá."

 

"Jj: ja je ji jo ju

 

Jota moja faja ojo José teja deja abajo jirafa jefe lujo ajo

ají Jirafita, el que se queja a todo aleja. No, te quejes, no

des lata, ríe y ríe: así, jirafita, te verán bonita. Jirafita rió,

río, no dio más lata ni se quejó

 

La jirafita se miró en el río y se quejó. –¡Qué fea soy!

La vio un jabalí y le dijo: –¡Fea!"

 

My two native Spanish speaking ESL students in my last class didn't even have an accent any more, they had been speaking English since preschool while at school, but they didn't hear 3+ syllable words often, so they didn't get the cadence of them or how to divide them up and pronounce them. While all my students did extremely well with Webster's Speller and found it helpful, its effect was most striking with my ESL students. After reading through twenty to thirty 3-syllable words grouped by accent pattern, the younger student caught on and could read them all rapidly--she caught the pattern of accent and schwa. The older student actually took a while longer to catch on, but it was also powerful when she did.

 

I would also quickly run through some sounds made by letter teams, you could print out my charts so they could have them for letter reference, here are the most important ones to teach:

 

silent e words (bat/bate bet/beet bit/bite bot/bote but/bute); ai/ay; oi/oy; ou/ow; ee and ea; ar, or, er, ur, ir; ph, ch, sh, th, wh. It would be better to teach them all if you had time, but do what you can! The vowels and vowel teams are the most important thing, consonants are often covered, as are short vowels. Consonants are also very constant, and are easier to figure out without instruction than vowels. (ph is an exception for all students, and ch, sh, th, ng, wh and sh for some ESL students.) Interestingly enough, most of my students have no trouble with oo, even though it has 2 different sounds and few rules or patterns about when to use each sound, maybe it's so strange it stands out and they figure it out?

 

If they can get to a public library computer, they should be able to use a computer with headphones to watch my lessons online, especially for educational use, everywhere we've lived has had them available so far at the public libraries.

 

Edit: I would also print out my syllable division and spelling rules and syllable division exercises, do a few from each exercise and let them take the rest home to think about for homework, they can then run quickly through them the next lesson. (Bring an extra copy in case they forget!)

 

Oh, I just noticed you have La Pata Pita already! I'll leave that part in there for others that might not know about it, I just love being able to teach by syllables in 2 languages! Now that I've started to figure out Latin, I should be up to 3 syllabaries soon.

Edited January 20, 2010 by ElizabethB

[Renai]

Thanks so much Elizabeth! I started out with Phonics Pathways, but then *I* learned about open and closed syllables (doing All About Spelling with my dd) and realized it could be confusing. The syllabary makes so much more sense. I have a plan now for my older students to cover more ground quicker, and will be working digraphs and other consonant blends in while doing vowel sounds.

[TAKlinda]

I realize most are afterschooling their own children, but to some extent, I consider my tutees an extension of my homeschool.

 

I also currently tutor students after school (SES/Title IV). I'm trying to figure out what would be the best thing to use in the shortest amount of time. I only have, on average, 14 sessions with the students. I'm currently using Blend Phonics with a 2nd and 3rd grader (twin brothers) and hoping to get to long vowels with them. That's where I see most of the trouble with my mostly ESL/bilingual students.

.

 

I have worked with both ESL and students with learning difficulties and find the best way to teach reading is to use decoding word lists rather than using phonetics. I use special ESL word lists, as well.

 

Linda.

[Renai]

I have worked with both ESL and students with learning difficulties and find the best way to teach reading is to use decoding word lists rather than using phonetics. I use special ESL word lists, as well.

 

Linda.

 

 

What's a decoding word list, and how is it different from phonics? All of my students have improved dramatically in their reading when taught phonics, as they are not picking up the patterns in English on their own.