Chapter 13 discussed the topic of tutoring that is required by state and federal legislation to the meet goals required by educators. Paraprofessionals, reading specialists, certified teachers, and computer assisted and web-based tutors are listed in the book as different categories of tutoring types. This chapter was informative in giving specific methods in creating lesson plans and constructing the tutoring session. It was interesting reading because it directly relates to what we will be doing in a couple of weeks! The book stated that, “ it is estimated that 70 percent of adolescents students in grades 4-12 have difficulty reading in some manner and require direct, explicit instructional interventions to expand their word recognition, decoding, reading fluency and comprehension skills.” This statistic was really eye-opening to me, as I did not understand how many students are in need of reading interventions. In conclusion, tutoring will be a great learning experience and a great way to connect all of what we are learning to real struggling readers and observe their progression.
I was amazed by this statistic as well. I didn’t realize it, but it does make sense with all of the ELs, LDs, and other issues that can affect reading. I found the methods and such provided by the book interesting and helpful. I also think that the tutoring experience starting on the 14th will be a great experience.
1. Analysis of reading/issue. Chapter 13 is about tutoring and give ideas about how the first few sessions should be like. It also discusses the different types of tutors: Reading Specialists, Certified Teachers, Paraprofessional, and Computer-Assisted Tutoring. It also includes the qualifications and what to expect with each different type of tutor. This chapter also discusses the reading recovery program and why it’s successful. This chapter discusses how a tutoring session should be planned like a normal class and how to get it planned for ELs and non-English Learners. 2. Questions/contradictions about the reading issues. I don’t have any questions at this time. 3. How did the reading reflect you or allow you to look at an issue differently. I’ve been through some tutoring sessions, but they were never planned like an actual class. This allowed me to look at tutoring as an actual class. When I went through these sessions I felt like I was a dumb kid because there wasn’t a plan. These sessions were based on what I had for homework and how the person could help me get through it. I’m glad the sessions I’ll be involved in are like a class and are so structured. 4. Connecting the reading to you. Examples of your own experience. I’ve never had tutoring in reading; however, I remember my mom having tutoring sessions when I was in elementary with some of her students. I don’t know what they did because she sent me out of the room so she could work, but I’m sure it helped the student.
I like the idea of having a plan or structured time for tutoring. I don't think it's very effective if someone just sits there and helps a student get through their homework. Then, they aren't acquiring the extra practice and skills they need to complete their homework on their own!
This chapter was relevant to my current need for understanding the tutoring sessions I will soon encounter. Figure 13.4 shows a lesson plan with reading objectives. Our lesson plans will look very different from this one but it gave me an understanding of how important the time requirments for each activity. Outlined on pages 350 and 351 are suggestions for tutoring sessions 1,2, and 3. This chapter places importance on keeping records of each tutoring session. Log sheets for strategies used and books read are good to keep while tutoring. The last section of this chapter talks about technology. In the school that I will be tutoring I will have access to countless pieces of technology. A goal of mine is to train the students how to use the technology available to them. Basic technology such as spell check all the way to using the recording device on the new ipads are all pieces of technology that could be useful to the students I will be tutoring. The regular classroom teachers have limited time to spend on training students to use the technology. I hope to fill in the gap with the three students I will tutor.
Jena, I really liked the examples of the lesson plans the book provided. Even though ours is structured differently we have many of the same components. It will be very important to have time requirements for each activity. I think it will also be important to over plan and always have read aloud books on hand!
I’m very glad that we read this chapter before we went out for our first session. I feel more comfortable about tutoring after reading this chapter. Chapter 13 laid out all the information needed to know about tutoring students very nicely. First, it began discussing the different people that should be tutoring students and the qualifications. It stated more then once that certified teachers are the best to use for tutoring students but this is unrealistic. It would be too expensive and the number of children needing tutoring out numbers the available teachers. That is where we, future teaches, come in. A lot of the information presented in this chapter has already been discussed in class with Ms. Stoppel. For instance, the book discusses what to do the first couple of tutoring sessions. For the first session the book suggests getting to know our students just like we have been told. Also, it states that we should have many read aloud books available that way the student can have options to choose from. Chapter 13 also says that most struggling readers do not enjoy reading. I hope by the end of the tutoring sessions my students can be more excited about reading. I suppose I never thought a computer-assisted tutoring or web-based tutoring program would be good. Put it seems like both of these benefit the teacher and the student. You get results back almost instantly and they seem to move along at their own pace. I really liked the last part of this chapter because it gave many great ideas of what to do at our first couple of tutoring sessions. It will be exciting to have a small group experience and actually get to know my students rather then just going to my internships.
This chapter made me feel more comfortable too. Ms. Stoppel has covered a lot of the information in this chapter, but the other information was good too. I wonder if computer-assisted tutoring or web-based tutoring would be hard to keep focus with. I could see myself drifting off pretty easily in that sort of setting. Immediate feedback is always good though! Hopefully we can provide that for our students. I am excited to meet my students too!
I am glad that we were required to read this chapter just before going into the field next week. It gave me a better understanding of what we need to know and do as the tutor. I am not even going to try to hide the fact that I have been a little nervous about the what, when, where, whys, and hows of getting our tutoring groups going. Reading chapter 13 helped me gain a little confidence as well as filled me in on important details of becoming a tutor. This chapter offered a lot of tips and advice for the tutor, that was very helpful as well. I really enjoyed looking through the examples of lesson plans the text offered. It gave me a lot of great ideas!
Much like you I am feeling the nerves of beginning tutoring next week! This chapter defiantly provided me with the much needed information I was lacking on tutoring! Good Luck with your group of readers!
I'm glad we had to read this chapter now too. It is extremely informative for what we'll be experiencing next week. I'm also nervous but once we get a few sessions under our belt we'll be good I'm sure! My favorite part of this chapter were all of the examples and figures in it. Especially the lesson plan figure. That will be very helpful for writing the first couple.
I'm nervous about this whole experience too, however I'm glad that we read this chapter before going out into the field. I think that it will be a great experience to see the children grow and know that as teachers we need to do everything in our power to help EACH child.
-Chapter 13 discusses the topic of tutoring. There are multiple benefits that result from tutoring: the readers receive instant feedback because the instruction is based on the individual needs of the student, and it is tailored to the individual needs of the student. There are five different types of tutors: reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. Lesson plans for each tutoring session should include written objectives, the sequence of the lesson, needed materials, and a reflection on each area of the lesson. I liked how the author wrote a summary of what should be done in the first three sessions for both English speakers and English Learners. -I do not have any questions at this time. - I have not taken part in tutoring sessions, nor have I lead any. Before becoming involved in the Teacher Ed program I never really thought of making and using actual lesson plans for tutoring. Although, looking at the idea now I do not understand how it could be successful without some kind of lesson plan to follow. I really liked the idea of computer-assisted tutoring. I know that we are being encouraged to keep kids active while they are studying, but there are some good programs and websites out there that can be a lot of fun for students. At the afterschool program I work at, we take a grade or two every day to the computer lab. A lot of the time, the kids plays just fun, entertaining games, but today some of the older kids were having so much fun with a new math website they had just been introduced to. I thought it was encouraging that the students were enjoying themselves instead of being turned off to the website because it was math related. -I thought this chapter was very helpful as we get closer to starting our own tutoring sessions. The author mentioned doing a collage activity as a good icebreaker; I know that is something I will keep in mind! I liked that there were multiple categories of tutors listed. It is nice to have different ideas of ways to assist students, especially as we think about the students we will soon have in our own classrooms. Being a tutor may even be something to consider instead of teaching full time.
I also never really thought about a lesson plan for a tutoring session, but it is necessary. It is always good to have a plan and a structured outline to follow.
I agree with you both! I guess I never realized that so much planning went into tutoring. But now that we have looked at just the first two sessions, I see that if we didn't think through the sequence, list our needed materials, think about our essential questions, and plan engaging activities, we would spend our entire time trying to gather information and materials. I feel like, because we did put thought and preparation into our lessons that they will be more engaging and fun for our students.
I found it useful that this chapter provided a schedule of how specific tutoring strategies are implemented. For example, Reading Recovery, this is a new strategy for me, I think that it is interesting that Reading Recovery is not used across a classroom curriculum since statistics show it to be highly effective. Another benefit of this chapter is the outline and ideas for conducting a tutoring session. Considering this semester will be my first time tutoring a group of students, it has helped me to identify how a tutoring session can be implemented effectively. From a previous semester I was allowed to work one-on-one with a special education student for reading, and from observing the student’s learning gains through one semester the student went from not knowing her alphabet to reading at a first grade level, it was just so amazing to watch this transformation. I am super pumped to begin tutoring next week, I find learning gains to be very motivating as an educator!
I liked the schedule for specific strategies as well and Reading Recovery sounds like a great program to me. You made a good point about Reading Recovery not being more widely used with is high success rates. I'm curious to why that is. I'm also curious as to why there are not many tutoring programs being implemented in places I'm familiar with. I've never experiences one like what we're doing in class. I'm also ready to start tutoring and get feel more relaxed with a couple sessions under my belt! Good post.
This has been the most interesting chapter for me so far. Mostly because I’m anxious and nervous about starting tutoring myself. One of the first sentences that caught my eye was the one that said “good teachers need to seize the “teachable moment” by selecting instructional strategies that hold the tutee’s interest and that are tailored to his needs and learning style”. I think that is the goal in our tutoring in this class. We’re going to use assessment to target the skills and drive the instruction. This chapter listed so many useful tools that will help me do this throughout the tutoring program. Some of the most interesting information in this chapter was learning about the different successful tutoring programs out there like Howard street tutoring and reading recovery. I plan on doing tutoring this summer as well so these programs are ones I really want to research an learn more about. I also thought the reading CAT computer assisted tutoring program was awesome. I’m wording about doing the miscue analysis and this tool would be a great technology aid for it. Another interesting bit was the section that discussed paraprofessionals. I learned a lot but my absolute favorite part of the chapter was the end section that discussed intervening with the tutee during reading. During internships, subbing, and working with children in general I’ve always wondered exactly what to do when students were struggling during reading. Especially when in a group setting. I know that I should never just give a child a word but I always struggle with what exactly to do when they cannot figure out a word when reading. Figure 13.7 was a huge help for me with this. I did have a question on one part of the information in that figure. It says that when readers read incorrect words one thing you can do is read the sentence to the student as they have just read it and ask them if it makes sense. It also says that when readers self-correct you can ask them how they knew that the first response was incorrect and that when readers do not pause for periods you can read the passage back to the student and ask them if it sounds correct. My question is when these situations occur during group reading do I just stop the students right then an there and ask them these questions? If I do this for one student won’t it possibly make them feel on the spot and uncomfortable in front of their peers? Also, if I do this in the middle of them reading a story might it interfere with their comprehension if I have to keep interrupting? Other than those questions I feel very informed with the information given in this chapter. I also feel a bit more prepared for tutoring!
I believe we are all there with you. Ready to start but still a little nervous. I also felt this chapter helped to prepare us and give us some needed information. In answer to your questions I believe yes you would stop the student and read it back to them the way they read it. Because if you let them continue on they probably wouldn't remember how they read incorrectly the first time. Also for comprehension, them reading the passage wrong may already hinder that, it may be something that is important and if they read it wrong it may impede their comprehension to begin with.
In chapter 13 the text discusses tutoring. The book talks about the different type of people you can have tutor, from community members, college students, to parents, I did not realize that college students were the most effective torturers other than a certified teacher. The text stated that many districts seek tutors other than certified teachers because of the cost. The book says how important it is to have a structured lesson and have all your materials at hand since the tutoring session is so fast paced. You do not want to waste time looking for materials instead of helping the child. Also, the text says how beneficial tutoring for ESOL students is. The students have a chance to interact with English speaking tutors, and the tutors can help the students with their English.
Steph - I too was surprised by our book statement about college students being the most effective tutors over certified teachers. In a way it make sense to do the fact that we don't have a lot of free time but we have that same understanding being in school our selves we also have that thrive to succeed.
I also learned something new about college students being the most effective tutors. It does make sense, but it also seems like tutoring would be the last thing on a college students mind.
Chapter 13 talks about the importance of tutoring; not only the tutoring that is requesting by parents but also the tutoring that is required by the state as well as tutoring required by federal. My favorite section of this chapter is on page 343 titled “Benefits of Tutoring.” It states that proven from research that tutoring is beneficial in preventing reading failure when five conditions take place. 1. Tutoring is based off of classroom instruction. 2. Tutors are well trained. 3. Students are tutored at least 3 times a week. 4. Tutors develop a rapport with tutees. Lastly, 5. Program is well implemented. After reading and understanding these 5 conditions I have decided to set my own personal goals or rather conditions for my tutoring session. I want not only my students to receive the best tutoring but I want to give the best tutoring I can offer. This will be my first experience in tutoring and I want to be able to offer them a great deal of successes. Throughout this chapter I was also amazed by the several different kinds of tutoring, as well as tutoring based on the internet. In class on Tuesday we started to go over the standards for our lesson plans. I am eager to continue the lesson plan process this week and begin tutoring next week!
The benefits of tutoring was a good section. A good tutoring session builds on the classroom instruction. I feel that I have an advantage of working in the same school that I will be tutoring in because I know the teachers and what they are teaching. I plan on incorporating subject matter that is being used in the regular classroom. I feel very prepared to create lesson plans for this class because of the training we received from Dr. Walizer in Reading and Language Arts.
This chapter was really helpful to read prior to the start of tutoring. I found a lot of interesting pieces of information. The first is that amongst volunteers, college students are the most effective. I wonder why that's so. Maybe it's that we're younger and fresh on new teaching strategies or that we relate better with students because of the closer age. The other thing I found surprising what that certified teachers are considered the best tutors for students. I thought that was a little bit strange because they are trained by reading specialists and reading specialists have more education and practice involving reading. The last thing that struck me was that around 70% of students have difficulty reading in some way. That seems so high to me! With all of the reading difficulties, tutoring may be more beneficial than ever. I really liked the layout of tutoring sessions and what needed to be done for them. The most important thing I want to keep in mind is to be over prepared. I would much rather have too many activities or books than not enough. I really liked the idea of making a collage from magazines to get to know students. The section that discussed English Learners will be very helpful for me as well! This will be a great experience, but it will definitely take a lot of work.
I was wondering the same thing about college students being most effective. It's exciting though! I was also shocked that 70% of students between 4th and 12th grade struggle with reading in some way. That's an incredibly high percentage, and makes me wonder about the abilities or strategies some teachers are using when it comes to reading.
This chapter gave a ton of information that I believe I will find to be beneficial when tutoring sessions begin next week. I also couldn’t help but smile when I read on page 343 that, “college students are most effective.” I already knew I’d be making an impact on the students I’ll be working with, but reading that added something to this experience I’ll be beginning shortly!
I was shocked to see that 70% of student between the fourth and twelfth grades struggle with reading in some way, shape, or form. I find that to be an incredibly high percentage, and makes me wonder about the teachers teaching reading.
I found figure 13.7 on page 354 to have a lot of good ideas for helping students when they are having issues with reading, whether it is skipping a word or not pausing at the punctuation. These are definitely things I will drill into my head before tutoring sessions begin. There was some excellent information on tutoring English language learners, and I’m kind of disappointed I don’t have any ELL students in my groups. It would definitely be a good experience, so to anyone that will be working with an ELL student(s) take advantage of that opportunity!
I never would have thought that tutoring via videoconference would be legitimate or effective. Then again, when I was in high school (even if it was only 4 years ago) I never thought I would be getting my degree online, let alone in the education field. Although we may hate technology at times, it really does have its advantages.
I was also shocked to see the amount of students that struggle. However I work in a school that has several students that are below grade level. The teacher at this school make two reading groups and I think this helps the students. That way the group who are not as high can still learn and the group that is high are not getting board. They also move kids up all of the time so it must be working. I love doing my school work online. I am a full time mom with two kids and a husband so online is really the best thing for me too.
The 7 students I am working with are in third grade are all below the grade reading level, and they are all from one class. There are more than 7 that are below the grade level (I interned in this classroom fall semester for reading and math). So I'd say the statistic is true to life, it's just sad. But I'm glad that I get to help them a little bit!
Chapter 13 is about tutoring and tells what the first couple of times will be like when we start our groups. I’m glad I read this chapter before going out into the sessions. I could think of any questions that I had currently at this time. I thought that the 5 different types of tutors was interesting there was, reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. I’m excited and nervous to get started. I have been tutored for reading before; I remember that it was like and actual class. I wasn’t fond of going. It’s going to be my goal for my students to enjoy this learning time, I want them to gain from this experience.
Megan, I agree, I am so glad to have read this chapter before going out to tutor in these sessions. We both have something in common, and that is we both had to get help with reading. I did not mind going because my best friend had to go to. I also want my students to enjoy the reading time and I will do my best to provide an encouraging, helpful environment.
I am so glad that this chapter broke down how tutoring will be like in our groups! I was relieved to find that, and it helped to calm my nerves for this upcoming week.
Also, it is great to know that you have the goal you do for your students! We all strive for a goal like that. Good luck this next week as we get started!
1. Analysis of the reading/issue. Chapter 13 had a lot of helpful information for tutoring. The text explained different ways to set up your tutoring day, ways to break it apart, and how to keep students engaged. Something that was interesting to me was that many schools offer tutoring, but due to cost they try and get Paraprofessionals to tutor instead of teachers because of the cost. The text also listed five conditions to preventing failure in reading. One thing that they mentioned on this list of five was that tutors should be well trained before they begin tutoring and receive continual training throughout the year. I bet by time we are half way through our tutoring we will be a lot better at it than when we first start. Another important thing that I read was that you should set specific and challenging goals for each student, not for the group of students. However you can have group goals as well. 2. Questions and/or contradictions about the reading/issue. In the chapter it says that tutoring should be at least three times a week for 30mins a day. Then later in the chapter is says they should be 30min twice a week. Both say this is the best way to set up a tutoring group. So I guess my question is why do we do it twice a week for an hour? But then I after thinking about it, we probably do it this way because we are enrolled in a class that takes place twice a week and the tutoring part of it is for one hour. I guess I answered my own question. 3. How did the reading reflect you or allow you to look at an issue differently? This chapter was very helpful to me. I like that it gave lots of ideas about how to set up the tutoring. I also liked that it gave helpful places in the book to look. In fact I plan on using the reading and writing attitude survey. I am going to give that to my students on the first and second day. This will give me good input about the students and give them another thing to do while they are waiting to be assessed. 4. Connecting the reading to you. Examples of your own experience. I really connected to this chapter because as a student I was never a good reader. I think tutoring and learning new strategies would have helped me. I am excited to start tutoring and see the difference I will make in these children’s lives. I just hope that they will become more confident in themselves, by the time tutoring is over.
While reading chapter 13 it gave me things to really think about, and ideas to use in order to have a successful tutoring session. Students struggling, during this tutoring session have that one-on-one time, because it gives them immediate feed back. In this chapter it talks about five types of tutors: reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. This chapter gives ways to plan and conduct the tutoring sessions. There needs to be lesson plans that have objectives, make sure to sequence that lesson plan, have appropriate materials, and then also reflect on that lesson plan. It also talks about the first three sessions; one is where you get to know the student, help them get comfortable with you. Session two is where the tutor has books picked out for the tutee so they can begin reading. Session three is where the assessment of the tutee’s reading is taking place. Along with these sessions it gives what the tutor should do for the English learner. It also talks about the tutor needing to make sure to scaffold struggling reader’s material to help them improve. I have not questions at this time about this chapter. Like I said in the very first sentence, this chapter gave me things to think about and ideas to use while I will be tutoring during these sessions. I am very excited to be a tutor, it will be like my own little classroom, but I am also nervous because I have never done anything like this before. I have been in a classroom, observed, and taught a lesson on reading, but nothing like this. The only personal experience I can say is when I was in third grade I went to a reading specialist, and I loved and still love to read.
This tutoring session will be like our little classroom. Great comparison. I too went to a reading specialist. I received tutoring sessions from the first grade and up. It was great, the teacher was amazing.
Even before reading this chapter I could tell it was going to be a useful chapter to read, with us having tutoring sessions starting this coming week. And after having read the chapter, I can confirm my initial thoughts. Here are a few things I found interesting:
- Figure 13.4 on page 349 was an interesting figure to view. Of course it is not the same lesson plan template that we use at FHSU, but some things I found were comparable, and that was helpful in preparation for our coming tutoring sessions.
- I have been a nervous wreck in planning for these sessions, but after reading the authors detailed description of the first three sessions on pages 350-351, I am starting to feel more calm. Sessions for ELL students continue then on 351 and 352. A good read for a nervous student like myself!
One of the last things talked about in the chapter was the role that technology could play in tutoring. Students were researched after taking a tutoring class through teleconferencing, and the study concluded that those students performed better than ones not using teleconferencing.
Overall, this was just what I needed to read before getting the hands-on experience of tutoring!
Cody, I would have to agree with you that I too was a nervous wreck when planning for these first couple tutoring sessions. I think that once we jump in and start completing the assessments we will gain so much information about where our students are that it will all make sense. I am excited to get to know our students, and then start targeting our instruction for them.
I think this chapter did help a lot and I can tell I am a lot more prepared for the tutoring. I am really glad we got to this chapter before we started our tutoring. I think it will help us to be more efficient in tutoring children.
Could the timing be more perfect for this chapter on tutoring? I know that I have a little anxiety about our upcoming sessions. This chapter on tutoring explores the benefits of tutoring, the types of tutors and their qualifications. It also describes tutoring programs and how tutoring sessions should be planned, conducted, and the role technology can play in tutoring. Tutoring is beneficial for several reasons: it involves well qualified tutors, and well implemented instruction. It also builds a strong relationship for the tutee with their tutor due to the individualism and frequency of the sessions. The section of this chapter that was especially informative was in regards to the planning and conducting of the tutoring session. The book stresses written objectives, the sequences of the lesson, using appropriate materials, and reflection on the session. The text also explains that when getting started, establishing rapport, getting to know your students and their interests, strengths, and weaknesses is vital to giving them a successful experience. I will admit that I was a little bit confused and overwhelmed with the assessments we are going to complete this next week or so. But now that I have the forms printed, folders made and have looked over the material in detail, I feel much more prepared and knowledgeable about the process. I am excited to see what information the assessments provide for me about my students. I look forward to creating fun, engaging and beneficial lessons for these children.
This chapter couldn't have came at any better time. I love how the chapter aligns so well with what we have been taught in the class, this validates for me that what we are doing is proven to work. I also was very overwhelmed and confused about the assessments. I spent almost all of yesterday, checking, and rechecking to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing and how to do it. It is very stressful! I do feel better now that I have everything in order, and am becoming excited about next weeks sessions. Finally one on one attention with the teacher is so important to increase a students reading skills, and what better time to do this than in these groups. I love that I will be able to make a connection with the students that I have in my tutoring groups and that by the end of the semester I will see the improvement in their skills. Good luck next week!
Well after reading and writing my blog for chapter 4, I realized that this week’s reading was chapter 13 over tutoring. The first section that caught my attention was the five conditions that must exist, in order for tutoring to be effective in preventing reading failure. Well our groups met almost all of these characteristics. The one condition that I had often thought about was basing tutoring off of classroom instruction. In a perfect world we would collaborate with the teacher and base our lesson plans off hers. This would help make the learning experience more meaningful than just trying to guess the objective that the class is on. The next area is on the 6 different types of tutors. Each one of these types has different benefits and weaknesses, and all of them have different qualifications. I found the reading recovery program very interesting. The programs fundamentals align with what I was taught about teaching reading. The next session covered planning and conducting tutoring sessions. It was startling how closely it aligned with this class and how we are planning to conduct our groups. It’s like a step by step instruction; plan lesson plans, write objectives, create a sequence, have appropriate material, and then reflect over the lesson. The overview of sessions one, two, and three, are similar to what I have already planned. For example, on day two I am administering a fun reading attitude survey with the Garfield one that is located in the course documents. The main difference is that I started administering assessments on the first day and continue into the second day. Finally the last topic is over intervening with the tutee during reading. It’s so important that we remember to scaffold our lessons, all of us have students at various levels and this is the best time to address issues that sometimes the teachers are unable to do during the day. I have a feeling that I will do this often this semester. I only have two students and I can already tell that the instructional levels of the boys are very different, but if there was a better time to address these it would be in my small tutoring group. Good luck to all of you this next week!
Chapter 13 discusses the benefits of tutoring and various types of tutors. Student learning abilities vary in many ways. There are many that may need individual, one on one, or small group work to progress better in learning. Tutors must acknowledge that each session should motivate the student and adapt to the student's understanding, needs, and progress. A tutor session should be planned just as effectively as a classroom session with detailed thought and lesson plans. I acquired many new thoughts and ideas form this reading. Most of which will come in useful in the near future form my tutor sessions and building a strong effective classroom. I am consistently amazed at technology. I am not a technology person either. I use it for the basic needs within my lifestyle. But it intrigues me with all the capabilities it allows for us as individuals. I was impressed to hear about web-based tutoring. I had not heard of this yet, just a prime example of the unique ways technology can assist us. I have no questions from this reading.
This was such a great chapter to read since our internship is starting. I had to receive tutoring services as a child, so I know the benefits of tutoring first hand. I did not realize as I was reading this chapter that a paraprofessional is a type of tutor. I worked as a paraprofessional throughout the schools, but I was not responsible for the reading areas. The section that I found very informative for me was the Planning and conducting the tutoring session very informative. Reading over that section gave me some comfort I also found it cool that the tutee was named Marie (should of spelled it like my name of course). When I read that 70% of student between the fourth and twelfth grades struggle with reading; I was not surprised by this. This is probably because I was one of those students that has struggled with reading. The figure 13.2 is something that all teachers should look into. Since technology is growing rapidly with in the schools, I see more and more teachers use web-based tutoring. They are many programs out there more bad programs than good programs. All my questions that I did have, have been answered after reading this chapter. Therefore I do not have any questions at this time.
Marei, I have to agree with you. The amount of time we have to teach them during the day, we really need something else for them, something better than no parental guidance and video games if we want to put a dent into that 70%. I'm feeling a little better about tutoring now.
This chapter gave a lot of information on the different types of tutoring and the different tools you can use in tutoring. There are several different types of tutoring. I think it is important to know your role as a tutor or paraprofessional. One part of this chapter that I found very helpful was the part about planning and conducting the tutoring session. Making sure you have the correct objectives and your lesson is sequenced well. I learned how important it is that you know what each child's interests are. If they are interested in different things you can find books that will accommodate to their needs. Another section of the book that was help was on ELL learners. ELL learners can sometimes be hard to plan lessons for. One thing is that, what is good for an ELL student is only going to help the other students who are learning the information. I feel a little more prepared now going into tutoring. I feel like I know a little bit of what to expect.
Like almost everyone else, I am experiencing high level of anxiety working with a group this coming week in tutoring. Even though I have worked with students in a classroom for a job and even tutoring, there is always a level of anxiety that comes with something new. Chapter 13 was all about tutoring, which was a good resource for the upcoming week. Pages 350-351 were especially helpful because they broke down the tutoring sessions from the first lesson to the third, except for english language learners, which was in the next section. I have no ELL students in my tutoring session, so that particular section was not as beneficial. I think that building a rapport with students is important in any kind of teaching, especially in smaller groups when you are able to work with students on a more individual basis. The personal interest survey and "favorites" collages using old magazines seemed like fun ice breakers for students and would help me better understand what the student enjoys. Another helpful bit of information was on intervention when the tutee is reading. For a while now, I have told students to "sound it out" without realizing that if they don't have the appropriate skills in place, it can create confusion and more frustration. Figure 13.7 gave a helpful list of suggestions such as looking for clues in the pictures (if available), provide them the correct word then reread the sentence to check for comprehension and always praise students for making effort!
Jessica I too thought the collage idea was a good way to have the students be occupied while I am giving the others tests. I am also a little nervous about this week, I wish Hays was a little closer to me so I could be involved in the sessions where Mrs. Stoppel where be:). I think I am ready and I am tutoring at a school that is very supportive of me and I know if I have any questions there will be several people willing to help me. I am also lucky that I have somewhat of a rapport already with a few students as I have substituted for them before and one of my students is my son:). Good luck this week.
One of the things I like about tutoring is that the children are there, either because they want to be there or because the parents want them there. This makes teaching easier because there is support. There isn’t as much opposition. I think tutoring is so much more beneficial to these students than sending homework home. I did notice that under the benefits of tutoring they suggested that tutoring be done at least three times a week and 30 to 45 minutes. I wondered how much of a difference it makes to only be tutoring two times a week for an hour? The other question I had was, we are a low budget school, but do any of the schools that have more finances use computer-assisted tutoring? In a real world wouldn’t it be nice for every child to have a computer to take home for some kind of computer-assisted tutoring? It could be similar to online classes. They could Skype in with the teacher if they needed help. I guess I’m looking at the web-based tutoring now. I do notice how much children get involved in repetitive books. They love to be able to join in.
I think it would be wonderful if every student had access to a computer they could use for extra tutoring at home. On the other hand, though, how many students would actually sit down and take advantage of that opportunity even if they had it. A lot of children have problems staying focused throughout the school day with a teacher right there with them. I don't believe most students would actually use this tool if left to their own devices with it. That being said, computer assisted tutoring could be a great addition to the regular instruction or tutoring sessions.
Like most of you I found this chapter to be a worthwhile read. One of the things that interested me was having children reread familiar texts to improve fluency, comprehension, and automaticity. This is something I had given little thought to before because I have always been one of those people that needs to read things once. As I have never struggled with reading, it is good for me to learn strategies like this so I can understand and help students that do struggle. I also found the sample lesson plans and lesson sequences to be helpful. I know how important it is to have well thought out plans tailored to the students needs, so it is nice to see examples of how this is done.
Elizabeth, I felt that the lesson sequence was helpful also. I always feel the need to be organized and having a template of the order that things should be done in. In our adobe connect Thursday meeting, I was so relieved when Mrs. Stoppel gave us a sequence of how to conduct the tutoring lesson. Without this I would have felt lost.
Chapter 13 was about tutoring. I think that it is great that we are reading this chapter before our fist tutoring session. Benefits of tutoring listed in the chapter instruction being tailored to the need of the student and instant feedback. Although I don’t totally feel well trained, which is one of the conditions for effective tutoring, I am sure that my students will benefit. Unlike the campus students who will have Mrs. Stoppell readily available, I feel like a little nervous about my first tutoring session, especially the assessment process. This is a downfall to being a virtual student. The chapter also talks about lesson plans for the tutoring session. As we prepared our lesson plans this week, I found that I felt a little more organized and therefore, better prepared. I am hoping to be able to keep my tutees engaged for the hour session. One thing that I do know is that it will not be a perfect session this week but I will be reflection to make appropriate changes. Finally, I was looking for a “getting to know you” activity and I found a great one in this chapter. I am now going to modify my lesson plan to include the favorites collage which I will be completing also. I am hoping that this activity will help me to establish a comfortable rapport with the students. Although I am nervous about tutoring, I am sure that as the weeks progress I will find my niche.
Chapter 13 offers a great deal of information about tutors, tutoring, and the benefit to students. The first part of this chapter discusses the different types of tutors, and the importance of tutors being trained and highly qualified. Having worked in a school before I was familiar with much of the first part of this chapter, but learned a lot from the sections on how to make tutoring successful. I really enjoyed the section on “getting started” that discussed interest inventories and getting to know and building a rapport with the students you are tutoring. This section helped me with my lesson plans and also got me excited for this week! Lastly, I also really liked figure 13.7 “Helping tutees tackle challenging words.” In this section there are many great suggestions for when students get stuck on words and gave me several ways to help the students figure out the word without actually telling them. I know that many parts of this chapter will help me be successful this first week of tutoring.
I think one major tutor that the book excluded was the students' family. These individual know their child and their learning aptitude better than anyone. By creating a site with suggested outlets for families to sit down at home with, parents then become involved within their students' education and thus becoming an at home tutor.
Lindsay--I completely agree with you. I believe this section will really help all of us when we begin our tutoring sessions. This text gave us new ideas and strategies to do with our students. I cannot wait to try some of them out! This will be great reference to refer back to if we need help throughout this semester.
I also feel a little nervous about tutoring this week, but am excited as well. I think it's appropriate that we are a little nervous because it means we care about what we are doing. I also used the idea of a getting to know you collage for my lesson plan after reading this chapter. I agree there were many great parts to this chapter, and after reading it, I feel a little less nervous and a little more excited!
A funny thing I kept thinking about all the tutoring availabilities out there for students in school, students are able to easily access individuals to help them on campus or after hours on school property. However, there are other alternatives that many educators must provide to their students and families. If educators place together a website for their home room or specific grade levels, students and parents can get together and review work from the past week along with any additional practice sites that the educator posts. This is a great way for parents to view what their children are doing. Who is a better tutor than a child's own parents. Families know their children better than any other and by getting these individuals involved within the education, children should "florish" at home and back in the classroom.
Chapter 13 was all about tutoring. I believe this was a very beneficial chapter to read before we started out tutoring internships. I enjoyed reading about the different types of tutors, tutoring, and different methods and strategies to use when tutoring your students. I really enjoyed reading the "Getting to Know You" activities. These are great ice breakers to use if your students are unfamiliar with you or with other peers. Fortunately, for me, my students already know each other because they are brothers and I am a very close family friend so we all know each other pretty well but I believe these would still be a fun game to play to get them ready for the session. I do work at a school district so some of this information in this chapter was all review for me. It was still interesting to gain other knowledge I did not know about tutoring and different ideas to use in my tutoring sessions for this semester.
I liked reading this chapter this week. It helped to give me some more insight on the subject of tutoring. I found there to be good information about the subject, one of the first things that jumped out at me was that tutoring all day can be tiring for a person. I can see how it would be to have to help students all day who struggle in reading. There is not time for your brain to relax because you are always ensuring that the student you are working with are understanding the concepts. The information on ITSS was interesting as well. I think one of my children would benefit from using this program, he is always saying he can't understand the information in his science book and it seems odd to me because he can read really well. But usually when he reads it is for pleasure so that is quite a bit different than reading a science book for assignments. I found the information on what to do in the first 3 sessions helpful. I like the idea of bringing several books for the tutee to pick what will read in the read aloud. I went to the library and got 5 books because I really didn't know what the preference would be for the students. I think I have finally narrowed it down to either Cam Jansen, or I was a Third Grade Spy, I am tutoring 3rd graders so I think that one will win:). The chart of helpful tips on page 354 is helpful in how to deal with some situations that might arise in the tutoring session.
I agree, Jen, that there was lots of good information in this chapter that will help us as we tutor our students. I am also tutoring 3rd grade. I am looking forward to this since I have been with first graders all year! I too had never thought about how tiring it can be for a person who is tutoring a reader all day. At Edison, we have an excellent literacy coach and a reading intervention teacher. Too bad we only have one reading intervention teacher, because we have so many students that could use her expertise. I probably should have let them pick out their read-aloud, but I went with the one Dr. Walizer read to us last semester. I loved Spencer's Adventures and I can assume they have not read this book since we don't carry it in our school library. Have a great week!
Chapter 13 was very informative for this upcoming week. I have tutored before but I never felt completely satisfied when I was finished. This chapter would have really helped me about 6 months ago! Chapter 13 begins with explaining the responsibilities of the different levels of reading teachers. This was very helpful because we are a title 1 building and we have various reading teachers pulling kids all day long. So, it was nice to know what the students do with each of these teachers. One of the most helpful readings in the chapter was regarding reading recovery. When I do tutor, this is the area that I a tutoring them in and I liked the detailed lesson plan they gave in the book. This chapter was so insightful with how to get started with tutoring and what your first three sessions will look like. Figure 13.7 will be helpful to me during the day also as I do my guided reading groups. Sometimes it is hard to help those kids that are struggling to sound out words, but the book gave lots of good advice. I look forward to this week and the weeks to follow in our tutoring sessions. I hope that I am able to give them something to take back to their classroom to help them succeed in school.
Nicole S. - I loved Chapter 13. It really gave a lot of great information for tutoring that we can take into our first week! I especially like the explanations of what it takes for the various jobs and what they're requirements are. The section that will help me most, I believe, is the guided reading section. I have had the opportunity to work with groups when I've subbed, but it will be a whole different experience doing it on my own. This section really motivated me! Finally, the lessons they gave as examples helped guide me as I wrote my lesson plans. I am definitely NOT an expert when it comes to this, so I am thankful to have the opportunity to practice prior to being in my own classroom. I am so excited for tutoring to start! Best of luck to everyone!!
In response to Jen Watson - I agree about how tutoring can be very tiring. We have a tutoring program in our community that happens during the summer. The students are given a 30 minute lesson, twice a week for eight weeks. The schedule often depends on the number of students we have. Last summer, I started at 8 am, took a 30 minute lunch at 12:30, and then finished around 2:30. It was quite a schedule and I always felt VERY drained when I came home! It is so worth it, though, knowing that those children wouldn't have the opportunity to read or practice their reading strategies over the summer if we weren't there. I guess we all probably feel that way, seeing as we all want to be teachers:) Good post!
In my experience, the title “tutor” has always been used in a broad sense. The text does a good job of explaining that a certified teacher is the best tutor possible. The text also brings reality to us, letting us know that because it is cheaper to hire paraprofessionals and assign students to a computer our students do not always get individual time with a certified teacher. I appreciate the text defining the importance of tutoring and the resources available to help us, help our students. While I agree that para’s are a very important part of our educational system and that computer based tutoring program is a great tool for us to use I become very frustrated that some of our students get the short end of the stick because they don’t get the direct instruction they need. As a teacher, I plan to conduct reading in small groups, so that I can have the opportunity to work with my students, they will have the opportunity to work with a para, the opportunity to work with web based programs as well as work by themselves.
My thoughts regarding your comment about, "becoming frustrated that some of our students get the short end of the stick because they do not receive direct instruction," are really similar. Students that are in need of reading remediation need direct, explicit instruction from the teacher to receive the skills needed to achieve their goals and reach their full potential in their reading skills. Students receiving tutoring instruction from para's can attain their goals but, in my opinion, they need a more educated professional to help them really succeed. As long as the teacher is super involved and not stagnant in their profession, I think the para/teacher tutoring is beneficial! (P.S. I am a para)
Chapter 13 discussed the topic of tutoring that is required by state and federal legislation to the meet goals required by educators. Paraprofessionals, reading specialists, certified teachers, and computer assisted and web-based tutors are listed in the book as different categories of tutoring types. This chapter was informative in giving specific methods in creating lesson plans and constructing the tutoring session. It was interesting reading because it directly relates to what we will be doing in a couple of weeks! The book stated that, “ it is estimated that 70 percent of adolescents students in grades 4-12 have difficulty reading in some manner and require direct, explicit instructional interventions to expand their word recognition, decoding, reading fluency and comprehension skills.” This statistic was really eye-opening to me, as I did not understand how many students are in need of reading interventions. In conclusion, tutoring will be a great learning experience and a great way to connect all of what we are learning to real struggling readers and observe their progression.
ReplyDeleteI was amazed by this statistic as well. I didn’t realize it, but it does make sense with all of the ELs, LDs, and other issues that can affect reading. I found the methods and such provided by the book interesting and helpful. I also think that the tutoring experience starting on the 14th will be a great experience.
DeleteI, too, was shocked by this statistic! I actually did a double take, I read it, and thought "wait...what?" and then I re-read it!
Delete1. Analysis of reading/issue.
ReplyDeleteChapter 13 is about tutoring and give ideas about how the first few sessions should be like. It also discusses the different types of tutors: Reading Specialists, Certified Teachers, Paraprofessional, and Computer-Assisted Tutoring. It also includes the qualifications and what to expect with each different type of tutor. This chapter also discusses the reading recovery program and why it’s successful. This chapter discusses how a tutoring session should be planned like a normal class and how to get it planned for ELs and non-English Learners.
2. Questions/contradictions about the reading issues.
I don’t have any questions at this time.
3. How did the reading reflect you or allow you to look at an issue differently.
I’ve been through some tutoring sessions, but they were never planned like an actual class. This allowed me to look at tutoring as an actual class. When I went through these sessions I felt like I was a dumb kid because there wasn’t a plan. These sessions were based on what I had for homework and how the person could help me get through it. I’m glad the sessions I’ll be involved in are like a class and are so structured.
4. Connecting the reading to you. Examples of your own experience.
I’ve never had tutoring in reading; however, I remember my mom having tutoring sessions when I was in elementary with some of her students. I don’t know what they did because she sent me out of the room so she could work, but I’m sure it helped the student.
I like the idea of having a plan or structured time for tutoring. I don't think it's very effective if someone just sits there and helps a student get through their homework. Then, they aren't acquiring the extra practice and skills they need to complete their homework on their own!
DeleteThis chapter was relevant to my current need for understanding the tutoring sessions I will soon encounter. Figure 13.4 shows a lesson plan with reading objectives. Our lesson plans will look very different from this one but it gave me an understanding of how important the time requirments for each activity. Outlined on pages 350 and 351 are suggestions for tutoring sessions 1,2, and 3. This chapter places importance on keeping records of each tutoring session. Log sheets for strategies used and books read are good to keep while tutoring. The last section of this chapter talks about technology. In the school that I will be tutoring I will have access to countless pieces of technology. A goal of mine is to train the students how to use the technology available to them. Basic technology such as spell check all the way to using the recording device on the new ipads are all pieces of technology that could be useful to the students I will be tutoring. The regular classroom teachers have limited time to spend on training students to use the technology. I hope to fill in the gap with the three students I will tutor.
ReplyDeleteJena, I really liked the examples of the lesson plans the book provided. Even though ours is structured differently we have many of the same components. It will be very important to have time requirements for each activity. I think it will also be important to over plan and always have read aloud books on hand!
DeleteI’m very glad that we read this chapter before we went out for our first session. I feel more comfortable about tutoring after reading this chapter. Chapter 13 laid out all the information needed to know about tutoring students very nicely. First, it began discussing the different people that should be tutoring students and the qualifications. It stated more then once that certified teachers are the best to use for tutoring students but this is unrealistic. It would be too expensive and the number of children needing tutoring out numbers the available teachers. That is where we, future teaches, come in. A lot of the information presented in this chapter has already been discussed in class with Ms. Stoppel. For instance, the book discusses what to do the first couple of tutoring sessions. For the first session the book suggests getting to know our students just like we have been told. Also, it states that we should have many read aloud books available that way the student can have options to choose from. Chapter 13 also says that most struggling readers do not enjoy reading. I hope by the end of the tutoring sessions my students can be more excited about reading.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I never thought a computer-assisted tutoring or web-based tutoring program would be good. Put it seems like both of these benefit the teacher and the student. You get results back almost instantly and they seem to move along at their own pace.
I really liked the last part of this chapter because it gave many great ideas of what to do at our first couple of tutoring sessions. It will be exciting to have a small group experience and actually get to know my students rather then just going to my internships.
Andrea,
DeleteThis chapter made me feel more comfortable too. Ms. Stoppel has covered a lot of the information in this chapter, but the other information was good too. I wonder if computer-assisted tutoring or web-based tutoring would be hard to keep focus with. I could see myself drifting off pretty easily in that sort of setting. Immediate feedback is always good though! Hopefully we can provide that for our students. I am excited to meet my students too!
I am glad that we were required to read this chapter just before going into the field next week. It gave me a better understanding of what we need to know and do as the tutor. I am not even going to try to hide the fact that I have been a little nervous about the what, when, where, whys, and hows of getting our tutoring groups going. Reading chapter 13 helped me gain a little confidence as well as filled me in on important details of becoming a tutor. This chapter offered a lot of tips and advice for the tutor, that was very helpful as well. I really enjoyed looking through the examples of lesson plans the text offered. It gave me a lot of great ideas!
ReplyDeleteMuch like you I am feeling the nerves of beginning tutoring next week! This chapter defiantly provided me with the much needed information I was lacking on tutoring! Good Luck with your group of readers!
DeleteKristle,
DeleteI'm glad we had to read this chapter now too. It is extremely informative for what we'll be experiencing next week. I'm also nervous but once we get a few sessions under our belt we'll be good I'm sure! My favorite part of this chapter were all of the examples and figures in it. Especially the lesson plan figure. That will be very helpful for writing the first couple.
I'm nervous about this whole experience too, however I'm glad that we read this chapter before going out into the field. I think that it will be a great experience to see the children grow and know that as teachers we need to do everything in our power to help EACH child.
Delete-Chapter 13 discusses the topic of tutoring. There are multiple benefits that result from tutoring: the readers receive instant feedback because the instruction is based on the individual needs of the student, and it is tailored to the individual needs of the student. There are five different types of tutors: reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. Lesson plans for each tutoring session should include written objectives, the sequence of the lesson, needed materials, and a reflection on each area of the lesson. I liked how the author wrote a summary of what should be done in the first three sessions for both English speakers and English Learners.
ReplyDelete-I do not have any questions at this time.
- I have not taken part in tutoring sessions, nor have I lead any. Before becoming involved in the Teacher Ed program I never really thought of making and using actual lesson plans for tutoring. Although, looking at the idea now I do not understand how it could be successful without some kind of lesson plan to follow. I really liked the idea of computer-assisted tutoring. I know that we are being encouraged to keep kids active while they are studying, but there are some good programs and websites out there that can be a lot of fun for students. At the afterschool program I work at, we take a grade or two every day to the computer lab. A lot of the time, the kids plays just fun, entertaining games, but today some of the older kids were having so much fun with a new math website they had just been introduced to. I thought it was encouraging that the students were enjoying themselves instead of being turned off to the website because it was math related.
-I thought this chapter was very helpful as we get closer to starting our own tutoring sessions. The author mentioned doing a collage activity as a good icebreaker; I know that is something I will keep in mind! I liked that there were multiple categories of tutors listed. It is nice to have different ideas of ways to assist students, especially as we think about the students we will soon have in our own classrooms. Being a tutor may even be something to consider instead of teaching full time.
I also never really thought about a lesson plan for a tutoring session, but it is necessary. It is always good to have a plan and a structured outline to follow.
DeleteI agree with you both! I guess I never realized that so much planning went into tutoring. But now that we have looked at just the first two sessions, I see that if we didn't think through the sequence, list our needed materials, think about our essential questions, and plan engaging activities, we would spend our entire time trying to gather information and materials. I feel like, because we did put thought and preparation into our lessons that they will be more engaging and fun for our students.
DeleteI found it useful that this chapter provided a schedule of how specific tutoring strategies are implemented. For example, Reading Recovery, this is a new strategy for me, I think that it is interesting that Reading Recovery is not used across a classroom curriculum since statistics show it to be highly effective. Another benefit of this chapter is the outline and ideas for conducting a tutoring session. Considering this semester will be my first time tutoring a group of students, it has helped me to identify how a tutoring session can be implemented effectively. From a previous semester I was allowed to work one-on-one with a special education student for reading, and from observing the student’s learning gains through one semester the student went from not knowing her alphabet to reading at a first grade level, it was just so amazing to watch this transformation. I am super pumped to begin tutoring next week, I find learning gains to be very motivating as an educator!
ReplyDeleteBrooke,
DeleteI liked the schedule for specific strategies as well and Reading Recovery sounds like a great program to me. You made a good point about Reading Recovery not being more widely used with is high success rates. I'm curious to why that is. I'm also curious as to why there are not many tutoring programs being implemented in places I'm familiar with. I've never experiences one like what we're doing in class. I'm also ready to start tutoring and get feel more relaxed with a couple sessions under my belt! Good post.
This has been the most interesting chapter for me so far. Mostly because I’m anxious and nervous about starting tutoring myself. One of the first sentences that caught my eye was the one that said “good teachers need to seize the “teachable moment” by selecting instructional strategies that hold the tutee’s interest and that are tailored to his needs and learning style”. I think that is the goal in our tutoring in this class. We’re going to use assessment to target the skills and drive the instruction. This chapter listed so many useful tools that will help me do this throughout the tutoring program. Some of the most interesting information in this chapter was learning about the different successful tutoring programs out there like Howard street tutoring and reading recovery. I plan on doing tutoring this summer as well so these programs are ones I really want to research an learn more about. I also thought the reading CAT computer assisted tutoring program was awesome. I’m wording about doing the miscue analysis and this tool would be a great technology aid for it. Another interesting bit was the section that discussed paraprofessionals.
ReplyDeleteI learned a lot but my absolute favorite part of the chapter was the end section that discussed intervening with the tutee during reading. During internships, subbing, and working with children in general I’ve always wondered exactly what to do when students were struggling during reading. Especially when in a group setting. I know that I should never just give a child a word but I always struggle with what exactly to do when they cannot figure out a word when reading. Figure 13.7 was a huge help for me with this. I did have a question on one part of the information in that figure. It says that when readers read incorrect words one thing you can do is read the sentence to the student as they have just read it and ask them if it makes sense. It also says that when readers self-correct you can ask them how they knew that the first response was incorrect and that when readers do not pause for periods you can read the passage back to the student and ask them if it sounds correct. My question is when these situations occur during group reading do I just stop the students right then an there and ask them these questions? If I do this for one student won’t it possibly make them feel on the spot and uncomfortable in front of their peers? Also, if I do this in the middle of them reading a story might it interfere with their comprehension if I have to keep interrupting? Other than those questions I feel very informed with the information given in this chapter. I also feel a bit more prepared for tutoring!
I believe we are all there with you. Ready to start but still a little nervous. I also felt this chapter helped to prepare us and give us some needed information. In answer to your questions I believe yes you would stop the student and read it back to them the way they read it. Because if you let them continue on they probably wouldn't remember how they read incorrectly the first time. Also for comprehension, them reading the passage wrong may already hinder that, it may be something that is important and if they read it wrong it may impede their comprehension to begin with.
DeleteIn chapter 13 the text discusses tutoring. The book talks about the different type of people you can have tutor, from community members, college students, to parents, I did not realize that college students were the most effective torturers other than a certified teacher. The text stated that many districts seek tutors other than certified teachers because of the cost. The book says how important it is to have a structured lesson and have all your materials at hand since the tutoring session is so fast paced. You do not want to waste time looking for materials instead of helping the child. Also, the text says how beneficial tutoring for ESOL students is. The students have a chance to interact with English speaking tutors, and the tutors can help the students with their English.
ReplyDeleteSteph - I too was surprised by our book statement about college students being the most effective tutors over certified teachers. In a way it make sense to do the fact that we don't have a lot of free time but we have that same understanding being in school our selves we also have that thrive to succeed.
DeleteI also learned something new about college students being the most effective tutors. It does make sense, but it also seems like tutoring would be the last thing on a college students mind.
DeleteChapter 13 talks about the importance of tutoring; not only the tutoring that is requesting by parents but also the tutoring that is required by the state as well as tutoring required by federal. My favorite section of this chapter is on page 343 titled “Benefits of Tutoring.” It states that proven from research that tutoring is beneficial in preventing reading failure when five conditions take place.
ReplyDelete1. Tutoring is based off of classroom instruction. 2. Tutors are well trained. 3. Students are tutored at least 3 times a week. 4. Tutors develop a rapport with tutees. Lastly, 5. Program is well implemented. After reading and understanding these 5 conditions I have decided to set my own personal goals or rather conditions for my tutoring session. I want not only my students to receive the best tutoring but I want to give the best tutoring I can offer. This will be my first experience in tutoring and I want to be able to offer them a great deal of successes. Throughout this chapter I was also amazed by the several different kinds of tutoring, as well as tutoring based on the internet. In class on Tuesday we started to go over the standards for our lesson plans. I am eager to continue the lesson plan process this week and begin tutoring next week!
The benefits of tutoring was a good section. A good tutoring session builds on the classroom instruction. I feel that I have an advantage of working in the same school that I will be tutoring in because I know the teachers and what they are teaching. I plan on incorporating subject matter that is being used in the regular classroom. I feel very prepared to create lesson plans for this class because of the training we received from Dr. Walizer in Reading and Language Arts.
DeleteThis chapter was really helpful to read prior to the start of tutoring. I found a lot of interesting pieces of information. The first is that amongst volunteers, college students are the most effective. I wonder why that's so. Maybe it's that we're younger and fresh on new teaching strategies or that we relate better with students because of the closer age. The other thing I found surprising what that certified teachers are considered the best tutors for students. I thought that was a little bit strange because they are trained by reading specialists and reading specialists have more education and practice involving reading. The last thing that struck me was that around 70% of students have difficulty reading in some way. That seems so high to me!
ReplyDeleteWith all of the reading difficulties, tutoring may be more beneficial than ever. I really liked the layout of tutoring sessions and what needed to be done for them. The most important thing I want to keep in mind is to be over prepared. I would much rather have too many activities or books than not enough. I really liked the idea of making a collage from magazines to get to know students. The section that discussed English Learners will be very helpful for me as well! This will be a great experience, but it will definitely take a lot of work.
I was wondering the same thing about college students being most effective. It's exciting though! I was also shocked that 70% of students between 4th and 12th grade struggle with reading in some way. That's an incredibly high percentage, and makes me wonder about the abilities or strategies some teachers are using when it comes to reading.
DeleteThis chapter gave a ton of information that I believe I will find to be beneficial when tutoring sessions begin next week. I also couldn’t help but smile when I read on page 343 that, “college students are most effective.” I already knew I’d be making an impact on the students I’ll be working with, but reading that added something to this experience I’ll be beginning shortly!
ReplyDeleteI was shocked to see that 70% of student between the fourth and twelfth grades struggle with reading in some way, shape, or form. I find that to be an incredibly high percentage, and makes me wonder about the teachers teaching reading.
I found figure 13.7 on page 354 to have a lot of good ideas for helping students when they are having issues with reading, whether it is skipping a word or not pausing at the punctuation. These are definitely things I will drill into my head before tutoring sessions begin. There was some excellent information on tutoring English language learners, and I’m kind of disappointed I don’t have any ELL students in my groups. It would definitely be a good experience, so to anyone that will be working with an ELL student(s) take advantage of that opportunity!
I never would have thought that tutoring via videoconference would be legitimate or effective. Then again, when I was in high school (even if it was only 4 years ago) I never thought I would be getting my degree online, let alone in the education field. Although we may hate technology at times, it really does have its advantages.
I was also shocked to see the amount of students that struggle. However I work in a school that has several students that are below grade level. The teacher at this school make two reading groups and I think this helps the students. That way the group who are not as high can still learn and the group that is high are not getting board. They also move kids up all of the time so it must be working. I love doing my school work online. I am a full time mom with two kids and a husband so online is really the best thing for me too.
DeleteThe 7 students I am working with are in third grade are all below the grade reading level, and they are all from one class. There are more than 7 that are below the grade level (I interned in this classroom fall semester for reading and math). So I'd say the statistic is true to life, it's just sad. But I'm glad that I get to help them a little bit!
DeleteChapter 13 is about tutoring and tells what the first couple of times will be like when we start our groups. I’m glad I read this chapter before going out into the sessions.
ReplyDeleteI could think of any questions that I had currently at this time.
I thought that the 5 different types of tutors was interesting there was, reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. I’m excited and nervous to get started.
I have been tutored for reading before; I remember that it was like and actual class. I wasn’t fond of going. It’s going to be my goal for my students to enjoy this learning time, I want them to gain from this experience.
Megan,
DeleteI agree, I am so glad to have read this chapter before going out to tutor in these sessions. We both have something in common, and that is we both had to get help with reading. I did not mind going because my best friend had to go to. I also want my students to enjoy the reading time and I will do my best to provide an encouraging, helpful environment.
I am so glad that this chapter broke down how tutoring will be like in our groups! I was relieved to find that, and it helped to calm my nerves for this upcoming week.
DeleteAlso, it is great to know that you have the goal you do for your students! We all strive for a goal like that. Good luck this next week as we get started!
1. Analysis of the reading/issue.
ReplyDeleteChapter 13 had a lot of helpful information for tutoring. The text explained different ways to set up your tutoring day, ways to break it apart, and how to keep students engaged. Something that was interesting to me was that many schools offer tutoring, but due to cost they try and get Paraprofessionals to tutor instead of teachers because of the cost. The text also listed five conditions to preventing failure in reading. One thing that they mentioned on this list of five was that tutors should be well trained before they begin tutoring and receive continual training throughout the year. I bet by time we are half way through our tutoring we will be a lot better at it than when we first start. Another important thing that I read was that you should set specific and challenging goals for each student, not for the group of students. However you can have group goals as well.
2. Questions and/or contradictions about the reading/issue.
In the chapter it says that tutoring should be at least three times a week for 30mins a day. Then later in the chapter is says they should be 30min twice a week. Both say this is the best way to set up a tutoring group. So I guess my question is why do we do it twice a week for an hour? But then I after thinking about it, we probably do it this way because we are enrolled in a class that takes place twice a week and the tutoring part of it is for one hour. I guess I answered my own question.
3. How did the reading reflect you or allow you to look at an issue differently?
This chapter was very helpful to me. I like that it gave lots of ideas about how to set up the tutoring. I also liked that it gave helpful places in the book to look. In fact I plan on using the reading and writing attitude survey. I am going to give that to my students on the first and second day. This will give me good input about the students and give them another thing to do while they are waiting to be assessed.
4. Connecting the reading to you. Examples of your own experience.
I really connected to this chapter because as a student I was never a good reader. I think tutoring and learning new strategies would have helped me. I am excited to start tutoring and see the difference I will make in these children’s lives. I just hope that they will become more confident in themselves, by the time tutoring is over.
While reading chapter 13 it gave me things to really think about, and ideas to use in order to have a successful tutoring session. Students struggling, during this tutoring session have that one-on-one time, because it gives them immediate feed back. In this chapter it talks about five types of tutors: reading specialists/literacy coaches, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, computer-assisted, and web-based. This chapter gives ways to plan and conduct the tutoring sessions. There needs to be lesson plans that have objectives, make sure to sequence that lesson plan, have appropriate materials, and then also reflect on that lesson plan. It also talks about the first three sessions; one is where you get to know the student, help them get comfortable with you. Session two is where the tutor has books picked out for the tutee so they can begin reading. Session three is where the assessment of the tutee’s reading is taking place. Along with these sessions it gives what the tutor should do for the English learner. It also talks about the tutor needing to make sure to scaffold struggling reader’s material to help them improve.
ReplyDeleteI have not questions at this time about this chapter.
Like I said in the very first sentence, this chapter gave me things to think about and ideas to use while I will be tutoring during these sessions. I am very excited to be a tutor, it will be like my own little classroom, but I am also nervous because I have never done anything like this before.
I have been in a classroom, observed, and taught a lesson on reading, but nothing like this. The only personal experience I can say is when I was in third grade I went to a reading specialist, and I loved and still love to read.
This tutoring session will be like our little classroom. Great comparison. I too went to a reading specialist. I received tutoring sessions from the first grade and up. It was great, the teacher was amazing.
DeleteEven before reading this chapter I could tell it was going to be a useful chapter to read, with us having tutoring sessions starting this coming week. And after having read the chapter, I can confirm my initial thoughts. Here are a few things I found interesting:
ReplyDelete- Figure 13.4 on page 349 was an interesting figure to view. Of course it is not the same lesson plan template that we use at FHSU, but some things I found were comparable, and that was helpful in preparation for our coming tutoring sessions.
- I have been a nervous wreck in planning for these sessions, but after reading the authors detailed description of the first three sessions on pages 350-351, I am starting to feel more calm. Sessions for ELL students continue then on 351 and 352. A good read for a nervous student like myself!
One of the last things talked about in the chapter was the role that technology could play in tutoring. Students were researched after taking a tutoring class through teleconferencing, and the study concluded that those students performed better than ones not using teleconferencing.
Overall, this was just what I needed to read before getting the hands-on experience of tutoring!
Cody, I would have to agree with you that I too was a nervous wreck when planning for these first couple tutoring sessions. I think that once we jump in and start completing the assessments we will gain so much information about where our students are that it will all make sense. I am excited to get to know our students, and then start targeting our instruction for them.
DeleteI think this chapter did help a lot and I can tell I am a lot more prepared for the tutoring. I am really glad we got to this chapter before we started our tutoring. I think it will help us to be more efficient in tutoring children.
DeleteCould the timing be more perfect for this chapter on tutoring? I know that I have a little anxiety about our upcoming sessions. This chapter on tutoring explores the benefits of tutoring, the types of tutors and their qualifications. It also describes tutoring programs and how tutoring sessions should be planned, conducted, and the role technology can play in tutoring. Tutoring is beneficial for several reasons: it involves well qualified tutors, and well implemented instruction. It also builds a strong relationship for the tutee with their tutor due to the individualism and frequency of the sessions. The section of this chapter that was especially informative was in regards to the planning and conducting of the tutoring session. The book stresses written objectives, the sequences of the lesson, using appropriate materials, and reflection on the session. The text also explains that when getting started, establishing rapport, getting to know your students and their interests, strengths, and weaknesses is vital to giving them a successful experience.
ReplyDeleteI will admit that I was a little bit confused and overwhelmed with the assessments we are going to complete this next week or so. But now that I have the forms printed, folders made and have looked over the material in detail, I feel much more prepared and knowledgeable about the process. I am excited to see what information the assessments provide for me about my students. I look forward to creating fun, engaging and beneficial lessons for these children.
This chapter couldn't have came at any better time. I love how the chapter aligns so well with what we have been taught in the class, this validates for me that what we are doing is proven to work. I also was very overwhelmed and confused about the assessments. I spent almost all of yesterday, checking, and rechecking to make sure I knew exactly what I was doing and how to do it. It is very stressful! I do feel better now that I have everything in order, and am becoming excited about next weeks sessions. Finally one on one attention with the teacher is so important to increase a students reading skills, and what better time to do this than in these groups. I love that I will be able to make a connection with the students that I have in my tutoring groups and that by the end of the semester I will see the improvement in their skills. Good luck next week!
DeleteWell after reading and writing my blog for chapter 4, I realized that this week’s reading was chapter 13 over tutoring. The first section that caught my attention was the five conditions that must exist, in order for tutoring to be effective in preventing reading failure. Well our groups met almost all of these characteristics. The one condition that I had often thought about was basing tutoring off of classroom instruction. In a perfect world we would collaborate with the teacher and base our lesson plans off hers. This would help make the learning experience more meaningful than just trying to guess the objective that the class is on. The next area is on the 6 different types of tutors. Each one of these types has different benefits and weaknesses, and all of them have different qualifications. I found the reading recovery program very interesting. The programs fundamentals align with what I was taught about teaching reading. The next session covered planning and conducting tutoring sessions. It was startling how closely it aligned with this class and how we are planning to conduct our groups. It’s like a step by step instruction; plan lesson plans, write objectives, create a sequence, have appropriate material, and then reflect over the lesson. The overview of sessions one, two, and three, are similar to what I have already planned. For example, on day two I am administering a fun reading attitude survey with the Garfield one that is located in the course documents. The main difference is that I started administering assessments on the first day and continue into the second day. Finally the last topic is over intervening with the tutee during reading. It’s so important that we remember to scaffold our lessons, all of us have students at various levels and this is the best time to address issues that sometimes the teachers are unable to do during the day. I have a feeling that I will do this often this semester. I only have two students and I can already tell that the instructional levels of the boys are very different, but if there was a better time to address these it would be in my small tutoring group.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to all of you this next week!
Chapter 13 discusses the benefits of tutoring and various types of tutors. Student learning abilities vary in many ways. There are many that may need individual, one on one, or small group work to progress better in learning. Tutors must acknowledge that each session should motivate the student and adapt to the student's understanding, needs, and progress. A tutor session should be planned just as effectively as a classroom session with detailed thought and lesson plans.
ReplyDeleteI acquired many new thoughts and ideas form this reading. Most of which will come in useful in the near future form my tutor sessions and building a strong effective classroom.
I am consistently amazed at technology. I am not a technology person either. I use it for the basic needs within my lifestyle. But it intrigues me with all the capabilities it allows for us as individuals. I was impressed to hear about web-based tutoring. I had not heard of this yet, just a prime example of the unique ways technology can assist us.
I have no questions from this reading.
This was such a great chapter to read since our internship is starting. I had to receive tutoring services as a child, so I know the benefits of tutoring first hand. I did not realize as I was reading this chapter that a paraprofessional is a type of tutor. I worked as a paraprofessional throughout the schools, but I was not responsible for the reading areas. The section that I found very informative for me was the Planning and conducting the tutoring session very informative. Reading over that section gave me some comfort I also found it cool that the tutee was named Marie (should of spelled it like my name of course). When I read that 70% of student between the fourth and twelfth grades struggle with reading; I was not surprised by this. This is probably because I was one of those students that has struggled with reading. The figure 13.2 is something that all teachers should look into. Since technology is growing rapidly with in the schools, I see more and more teachers use web-based tutoring. They are many programs out there more bad programs than good programs. All my questions that I did have, have been answered after reading this chapter. Therefore I do not have any questions at this time.
ReplyDeleteMarei,
DeleteI have to agree with you. The amount of time we have to teach them during the day, we really need something else for them, something better than no parental guidance and video games if we want to put a dent into that 70%. I'm feeling a little better about tutoring now.
This chapter gave a lot of information on the different types of tutoring and the different tools you can use in tutoring. There are several different types of tutoring. I think it is important to know your role as a tutor or paraprofessional. One part of this chapter that I found very helpful was the part about planning and conducting the tutoring session. Making sure you have the correct objectives and your lesson is sequenced well. I learned how important it is that you know what each child's interests are. If they are interested in different things you can find books that will accommodate to their needs. Another section of the book that was help was on ELL learners. ELL learners can sometimes be hard to plan lessons for. One thing is that, what is good for an ELL student is only going to help the other students who are learning the information. I feel a little more prepared now going into tutoring. I feel like I know a little bit of what to expect.
ReplyDeleteLike almost everyone else, I am experiencing high level of anxiety working with a group this coming week in tutoring. Even though I have worked with students in a classroom for a job and even tutoring, there is always a level of anxiety that comes with something new. Chapter 13 was all about tutoring, which was a good resource for the upcoming week. Pages 350-351 were especially helpful because they broke down the tutoring sessions from the first lesson to the third, except for english language learners, which was in the next section. I have no ELL students in my tutoring session, so that particular section was not as beneficial. I think that building a rapport with students is important in any kind of teaching, especially in smaller groups when you are able to work with students on a more individual basis. The personal interest survey and "favorites" collages using old magazines seemed like fun ice breakers for students and would help me better understand what the student enjoys. Another helpful bit of information was on intervention when the tutee is reading. For a while now, I have told students to "sound it out" without realizing that if they don't have the appropriate skills in place, it can create confusion and more frustration. Figure 13.7 gave a helpful list of suggestions such as looking for clues in the pictures (if available), provide them the correct word then reread the sentence to check for comprehension and always praise students for making effort!
ReplyDeleteJessica I too thought the collage idea was a good way to have the students be occupied while I am giving the others tests. I am also a little nervous about this week, I wish Hays was a little closer to me so I could be involved in the sessions where Mrs. Stoppel where be:). I think I am ready and I am tutoring at a school that is very supportive of me and I know if I have any questions there will be several people willing to help me. I am also lucky that I have somewhat of a rapport already with a few students as I have substituted for them before and one of my students is my son:). Good luck this week.
DeleteOne of the things I like about tutoring is that the children are there, either because they want to be there or because the parents want them there. This makes teaching easier because there is support. There isn’t as much opposition. I think tutoring is so much more beneficial to these students than sending homework home. I did notice that under the benefits of tutoring they suggested that tutoring be done at least three times a week and 30 to 45 minutes. I wondered how much of a difference it makes to only be tutoring two times a week for an hour? The other question I had was, we are a low budget school, but do any of the schools that have more finances use computer-assisted tutoring? In a real world wouldn’t it be nice for every child to have a computer to take home for some kind of computer-assisted tutoring? It could be similar to online classes. They could Skype in with the teacher if they needed help. I guess I’m looking at the web-based tutoring now. I do notice how much children get involved in repetitive books. They love to be able to join in.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be wonderful if every student had access to a computer they could use for extra tutoring at home. On the other hand, though, how many students would actually sit down and take advantage of that opportunity even if they had it. A lot of children have problems staying focused throughout the school day with a teacher right there with them. I don't believe most students would actually use this tool if left to their own devices with it. That being said, computer assisted tutoring could be a great addition to the regular instruction or tutoring sessions.
DeleteLike most of you I found this chapter to be a worthwhile read. One of the things that interested me was having children reread familiar texts to improve fluency, comprehension, and automaticity. This is something I had given little thought to before because I have always been one of those people that needs to read things once. As I have never struggled with reading, it is good for me to learn strategies like this so I can understand and help students that do struggle. I also found the sample lesson plans and lesson sequences to be helpful. I know how important it is to have well thought out plans tailored to the students needs, so it is nice to see examples of how this is done.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I felt that the lesson sequence was helpful also. I always feel the need to be organized and having a template of the order that things should be done in. In our adobe connect Thursday meeting, I was so relieved when Mrs. Stoppel gave us a sequence of how to conduct the tutoring lesson. Without this I would have felt lost.
DeleteChapter 13 was about tutoring. I think that it is great that we are reading this chapter before our fist tutoring session. Benefits of tutoring listed in the chapter instruction being tailored to the need of the student and instant feedback. Although I don’t totally feel well trained, which is one of the conditions for effective tutoring, I am sure that my students will benefit. Unlike the campus students who will have Mrs. Stoppell readily available, I feel like a little nervous about my first tutoring session, especially the assessment process. This is a downfall to being a virtual student. The chapter also talks about lesson plans for the tutoring session. As we prepared our lesson plans this week, I found that I felt a little more organized and therefore, better prepared. I am hoping to be able to keep my tutees engaged for the hour session. One thing that I do know is that it will not be a perfect session this week but I will be reflection to make appropriate changes. Finally, I was looking for a “getting to know you” activity and I found a great one in this chapter. I am now going to modify my lesson plan to include the favorites collage which I will be completing also. I am hoping that this activity will help me to establish a comfortable rapport with the students. Although I am nervous about tutoring, I am sure that as the weeks progress I will find my niche.
ReplyDeleteChapter 13 offers a great deal of information about tutors, tutoring, and the benefit to students. The first part of this chapter discusses the different types of tutors, and the importance of tutors being trained and highly qualified. Having worked in a school before I was familiar with much of the first part of this chapter, but learned a lot from the sections on how to make tutoring successful. I really enjoyed the section on “getting started” that discussed interest inventories and getting to know and building a rapport with the students you are tutoring. This section helped me with my lesson plans and also got me excited for this week! Lastly, I also really liked figure 13.7 “Helping tutees tackle challenging words.” In this section there are many great suggestions for when students get stuck on words and gave me several ways to help the students figure out the word without actually telling them. I know that many parts of this chapter will help me be successful this first week of tutoring.
ReplyDeleteI think one major tutor that the book excluded was the students' family. These individual know their child and their learning aptitude better than anyone. By creating a site with suggested outlets for families to sit down at home with, parents then become involved within their students' education and thus becoming an at home tutor.
DeleteLindsay--I completely agree with you. I believe this section will really help all of us when we begin our tutoring sessions. This text gave us new ideas and strategies to do with our students. I cannot wait to try some of them out! This will be great reference to refer back to if we need help throughout this semester.
Delete@Stacey W
ReplyDeleteI also feel a little nervous about tutoring this week, but am excited as well. I think it's appropriate that we are a little nervous because it means we care about what we are doing. I also used the idea of a getting to know you collage for my lesson plan after reading this chapter. I agree there were many great parts to this chapter, and after reading it, I feel a little less nervous and a little more excited!
A funny thing I kept thinking about all the tutoring availabilities out there for students in school, students are able to easily access individuals to help them on campus or after hours on school property. However, there are other alternatives that many educators must provide to their students and families. If educators place together a website for their home room or specific grade levels, students and parents can get together and review work from the past week along with any additional practice sites that the educator posts. This is a great way for parents to view what their children are doing. Who is a better tutor than a child's own parents. Families know their children better than any other and by getting these individuals involved within the education, children should "florish" at home and back in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteChapter 13 was all about tutoring. I believe this was a very beneficial chapter to read before we started out tutoring internships. I enjoyed reading about the different types of tutors, tutoring, and different methods and strategies to use when tutoring your students. I really enjoyed reading the "Getting to Know You" activities. These are great ice breakers to use if your students are unfamiliar with you or with other peers. Fortunately, for me, my students already know each other because they are brothers and I am a very close family friend so we all know each other pretty well but I believe these would still be a fun game to play to get them ready for the session. I do work at a school district so some of this information in this chapter was all review for me. It was still interesting to gain other knowledge I did not know about tutoring and different ideas to use in my tutoring sessions for this semester.
ReplyDeleteI liked reading this chapter this week. It helped to give me some more insight on the subject of tutoring. I found there to be good information about the subject, one of the first things that jumped out at me was that tutoring all day can be tiring for a person. I can see how it would be to have to help students all day who struggle in reading. There is not time for your brain to relax because you are always ensuring that the student you are working with are understanding the concepts. The information on ITSS was interesting as well. I think one of my children would benefit from using this program, he is always saying he can't understand the information in his science book and it seems odd to me because he can read really well. But usually when he reads it is for pleasure so that is quite a bit different than reading a science book for assignments. I found the information on what to do in the first 3 sessions helpful. I like the idea of bringing several books for the tutee to pick what will read in the read aloud. I went to the library and got 5 books because I really didn't know what the preference would be for the students. I think I have finally narrowed it down to either Cam Jansen, or I was a Third Grade Spy, I am tutoring 3rd graders so I think that one will win:). The chart of helpful tips on page 354 is helpful in how to deal with some situations that might arise in the tutoring session.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Jen, that there was lots of good information in this chapter that will help us as we tutor our students. I am also tutoring 3rd grade. I am looking forward to this since I have been with first graders all year! I too had never thought about how tiring it can be for a person who is tutoring a reader all day. At Edison, we have an excellent literacy coach and a reading intervention teacher. Too bad we only have one reading intervention teacher, because we have so many students that could use her expertise. I probably should have let them pick out their read-aloud, but I went with the one Dr. Walizer read to us last semester. I loved Spencer's Adventures and I can assume they have not read this book since we don't carry it in our school library. Have a great week!
DeleteChapter 13 was very informative for this upcoming week. I have tutored before but I never felt completely satisfied when I was finished. This chapter would have really helped me about 6 months ago! Chapter 13 begins with explaining the responsibilities of the different levels of reading teachers. This was very helpful because we are a title 1 building and we have various reading teachers pulling kids all day long. So, it was nice to know what the students do with each of these teachers. One of the most helpful readings in the chapter was regarding reading recovery. When I do tutor, this is the area that I a tutoring them in and I liked the detailed lesson plan they gave in the book. This chapter was so insightful with how to get started with tutoring and what your first three sessions will look like. Figure 13.7 will be helpful to me during the day also as I do my guided reading groups. Sometimes it is hard to help those kids that are struggling to sound out words, but the book gave lots of good advice. I look forward to this week and the weeks to follow in our tutoring sessions. I hope that I am able to give them something to take back to their classroom to help them succeed in school.
ReplyDeleteNicole S. - I loved Chapter 13. It really gave a lot of great information for tutoring that we can take into our first week! I especially like the explanations of what it takes for the various jobs and what they're requirements are. The section that will help me most, I believe, is the guided reading section. I have had the opportunity to work with groups when I've subbed, but it will be a whole different experience doing it on my own. This section really motivated me! Finally, the lessons they gave as examples helped guide me as I wrote my lesson plans. I am definitely NOT an expert when it comes to this, so I am thankful to have the opportunity to practice prior to being in my own classroom. I am so excited for tutoring to start! Best of luck to everyone!!
ReplyDeleteNicole ~
DeleteYou are right, there are so many possibilities that can be done with small group instruction. I am very excited to for tutoring!!
In response to Jen Watson - I agree about how tutoring can be very tiring. We have a tutoring program in our community that happens during the summer. The students are given a 30 minute lesson, twice a week for eight weeks. The schedule often depends on the number of students we have. Last summer, I started at 8 am, took a 30 minute lunch at 12:30, and then finished around 2:30. It was quite a schedule and I always felt VERY drained when I came home! It is so worth it, though, knowing that those children wouldn't have the opportunity to read or practice their reading strategies over the summer if we weren't there. I guess we all probably feel that way, seeing as we all want to be teachers:) Good post!
ReplyDeleteIn my experience, the title “tutor” has always been used in a broad sense. The text does a good job of explaining that a certified teacher is the best tutor possible. The text also brings reality to us, letting us know that because it is cheaper to hire paraprofessionals and assign students to a computer our students do not always get individual time with a certified teacher. I appreciate the text defining the importance of tutoring and the resources available to help us, help our students. While I agree that para’s are a very important part of our educational system and that computer based tutoring program is a great tool for us to use I become very frustrated that some of our students get the short end of the stick because they don’t get the direct instruction they need. As a teacher, I plan to conduct reading in small groups, so that I can have the opportunity to work with my students, they will have the opportunity to work with a para, the opportunity to work with web based programs as well as work by themselves.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Michelle A,
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts regarding your comment about, "becoming frustrated that some of our students get the short end of the stick because they do not receive direct instruction," are really similar. Students that are in need of reading remediation need direct, explicit instruction from the teacher to receive the skills needed to achieve their goals and reach their full potential in their reading skills. Students receiving tutoring instruction from para's can attain their goals but, in my opinion, they need a more educated professional to help them really succeed. As long as the teacher is super involved and not stagnant in their profession, I think the para/teacher tutoring is beneficial! (P.S. I am a para)