Those of you with tutoring experience

[johnandtinagilbert]

In what ways do you approach tutoring, twice weekly, than you do home schooling your own children.

 

I will starting reading and math tutoring with a first grader who is not blending well and no real skills in phonics. He has no understanding of spelling rules. I think I will be using either PR or Webster's with her.

 

She has no real math understanding beyond counting aloud and number recognition. No application of mathematical conceptions at all.

 

What are your recommendations so far as approach and recs or parent participation.

[Mama Lynx]

I use whatever I've used in my homeschooling that works well, as long as it seems to be a match for the student. Right now I am tutoring remedial reading and spelling, and I am using Phonics Pathways and All About Spelling. I also sometimes use Writing With Ease.

 

(I also tutor for Kaplan, but when I tutor for them I use their curriculum.)

 

I approach it like an intensive homeschooling lesson.

 

As far as parental involvement, I have found that this varies wildly from family to family. I started out requiring homework of each student, that had to be guided by parental involvement. I quickly learned that some families will do this, and be very involved. Some parents *will not.* Some students give their parents such a hard time about it that the parents choose not to enforce the homework. I had one parent complain to me because I wanted her to sit with her child and listen to her read. :001_huh:

 

Parental participation will always make the learning better, of course! You can try to assign some practice for home, and see how it goes, see what the parents' attitude is, etc. But if it doesn't go well, I drop it.

[ElizabethB]

The one thing that has been successful with my parents who do want to help is my phonics game. I print an extra copy for them and send the letters home as we learn them to add to their game. It works best if you spend 5 to 10 minutes showing them how to play the game and what kind of comments and hints to make for mistakes. It's also easiest to wait until the student has played the game 2 or 3 times first so that the student is familiar with the game.

 

It is a fun way to get in practice, and hard to mess up--there is no context to guess from and the nonsense words must be sounded out. So, you can be sure they are not undoing your work by doing something that is encouraging guessing.

 

For my older students, I have them watch my online movies at home. Several went through them several times, watching them in the evening or in the morning before school while they were eating cereal. They are a bit much for most 1st graders, though. After you have made some progress with her, you could suggest watching them 1/2 of a lesson at a time.

Edited January 29, 2011 by ElizabethB

[johnandtinagilbert]

Thank you both.

 

Elizabeth, thank you so much for your site. I rec. to public school parents all the time. I thought of you yesterday when the teacher showed me the "high frequency list that needs to be memorized." UGH! Nearly all phonetic if someone would take the time to actually teach real phonics. Blended shlended.

 

Thanks for the vent :) I'll be soaking in more of your site this weekend for sure.