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Preschoolers & Kindergarteners
In addition to becoming acquainted with books, my youngest students are learning about letter shapes and sounds, building their sight vocabularies, and decoding new words. My double-focus involves 1) getting these kids excited about reading and 2) helping them to feel comfortable with letters and words. I encourage active reading: I read the text and rely on pictures, discussions, and dramatizations to help young readers build good comprehension. In some more advanced cases, we practice decoding words, assisted reading, and even independent reading. Together we practice recognizing and making letter shapes.
The confidence and enthusiasm that these young readers and writers bring with them on the first day of school will greatly impact their success over the years to come.
1st, 2nd, & 3rd-graders
First, second, and third-graders are becoming “glued to print”; in other words, they are exerting a lot of energy remembering letter sounds and harnessing that knowledge to read new, more difficult words. They are also expending substantial energy trying to understand, remember, and engage the stories that they are reading. I focus on 1) helping them to enjoy books and 2) easing the mechanics of reading. I encourage active reading, which uses pictures, discussions, and dramatizations for comprehension. I work with students to remember and, in some cases, analyze what they have read. Together we practice phonics, assisted, and independent reading.
At this age, students are also learning how to write words, sentences, short paragraphs, and brief personal essays. I use workbook handouts and insist on lots of notebook practice to hone these elementary composition skills. In more advanced cases, we practice prewriting, drafting, and fixing mistakes. Usually, we spend time writing in response to the reading that we are doing together.
First, second, and third-graders will rely on their reading and writing basics again and again, especially as they begin reading and writing to learn new information.
4th, 5th, & 6th-graders
Starting in fourth grade, students begin the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. This transition means that students must harness the skills that they have been practicing for years -- decoding, learning new vocabulary, comprehending, concentrating, and remembering -- to pick up new information. This is tough! I work with students to hone those early skills so that they can concentrate on their new challenges. When working with fiction, we thoroughly discuss plot, characters, themes, and personal reactions. With non-fiction, we practice good strategies for finding, absorbing, and using information. Because fourth, fifth, and sixth graders are exposed to lots of new words and books with less controlled vocabulary, we also practice dictionary skills.
Students at this age are spending a lot more time writing letters, stories, paragraphs, reports, and essays. If students are struggling with grammar or clunky, drab writing, we work on sentence-level improvements by completing worksheets and revising the student’s own sentences. Otherwise, I focus on five holistic composition steps: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The first step emphasizes taking notes, organizing thoughts, sorting through main ideas and details, and preparing for composition. I emphasize the fact that the second step, drafting, is not the end of the writing process but the beginning; that revising for richer, more complex, interesting, clear, and concise sentences is a necessary part of every writer’s process; and that self-editing and preparing work for others (publishing) complete the process.
A solid reading and writing foundation prepares students for high school’s challenges.
7th, 8th, 9th, & 10th-graders
At this age, students have trouble with schoolwork because they are having difficulty staying focused, understanding what they are reading, or remembering what they have finished. Additionally, students may experience some confusion about how to respond to a particular subject, whether it be social studies, history, literature, or an elective. I focus on reading faster; reading for the most important and useful information; concentrating; and organizing material into good, useful notes. My techniques can help students grasp textbooks and non-fiction, respond to fiction, and analyze literature.
Like younger readers, middle-schoolers and high-schoolers may need help with sentence level-writing. We can work on grammar, writing for concision and clarity, or livening up drab sentences. Or we can work on holistic composition issues that include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. The first step emphasizes taking notes, organizing thoughts, sorting through main ideas and details, and preparing for composition. I emphasize the fact that the second step, drafting, is not the end of the writing process but the beginning; that revising for richer, more complex, interesting, clear, and concise sentences is a necessary part of every writer’s process; and that self-editing and preparing work for others (publishing) complete the process. I can help with reports and essays, or I can help with everyday homework.
Students use these reading and writing skills to prepare for the even more rigorous work that awaits them as they finish high school and prepare for college.
I tutor readers and writers, ages 4 through adult, of varying abilities. Some of my students come to me because they struggle, receive sub-par grades or professional criticism, and feel frustrated in English Language Arts classes or at work. Others simply need a little extra help and encouragement to understand homework, to prepare for tests, to write papers, or to feel excited about books.
I recognize that each reader and writer is unique, with his or
her own strengths and challenges. My new students take a 40-50 minute assessment at our first session. For school-age students, these assessments are adapted from past ELA Tests and Regents Exams; for adults, they are adapted from my own diverse portfolio. Together we develop a tutoring plan based on the assessment and your concerns and goals.
11th & 12th-graders
Whether they are preparing for a standardized test like the AP test or the SAT English Subject Test, writing application essays, or finishing homework, eleventh and twelfth-graders are preparing to read and write at the college level. I focus on reading for speed, retaining the most important information from textbooks and literature, concentrating on material that students may find boring, comprehending the toughest passages, and better remembering the material on which students have already invested precious time.
Students who are preparing for college want to write clearly and concisely so that they can communicate their best ideas to their readers. As they write personal essays, essays in response to literature, presentations, or reports, these students want to write dexterously. We can focus on sentence-level concerns or we can focus on holistic issues: effective prewriting, painless drafting, substantial and cosmetic revising, and rigorous editing. The first of these steps emphasizes taking notes, organizing thoughts, sorting through main ideas and details, and preparing for composition. I emphasize the fact that the second step, drafting, is not the end of the writing process but the beginning; that revising for more complex, clear, and concise sentences is a necessary part of every writer’s process; and that self-editing and preparing work for others (publishing) complete the process.
Students take these writing skills beyond high school, into college, and into successful careers beyond formal schooling.
College Students, Continuing Studies Students, & Adults
Older students usually have trouble concentrating, understanding, or remembering what they have read. Moreover, many older students would like to read faster. I usually focus on those four reading elements. We can use school or work-related material, or we can use extracurricular, supplementary material that I can recommend based on our conversations. We can develop different strategies for approaching a variety of texts -- technical, non-fiction, literary, or some combination.
Adults think of writing in a variety of ways. On the one hand, misunderstanding or lack of understanding about grammar and style can be a particularly nagging limitation for adult writers who often have no teachers on which to rely for help. I can help students learn, incorporate, and manipulate grammar not only to fix mistakes but to make their writing more clear and precise. On the other hand, adults have overarching concerns. I can provide feedback or practice on the organization and effectiveness of essays, reports, or other, work-related documents.
I meet with students weekly, biweekly, or as often as they need. We meet at their home, at their local library, or at a nearby coffee shop that is conducive to productive and rigorous work. At these meetings, I can help students with homework, studying, or work-related projects. Or we can focus on extracurricular, supplementary work that I (or the students themselves) provide.
I have listed below my general approach to readers and writers of different ages (to jump to a particular age group, click on the links above). I believe that reading and writing skills are inextricably linked, and so I focus on developing both skill sets in tandem. I am guided by the NYS ELA Learning Standards and Curriculum and past ELA Tests and Regents Exams; by the US Department of Education recommendations for teachers and tutors; and by my own professional and pedagogical training. Have a look. But please remember that I am always willing to adapt tutoring sessions to individual students’ (or parents’) needs and concerns.
