How to tutor a child

Tutoring Strategies for Preschool and Kindergarten

By: Derry Koralek, Ray Collins

Almost everything young children do in the preschool and kindergarten years supports their emerging language and literacy skills. When children have access to reading and writing materials at home and at their child care or Head Start program, they will incorporate literacy in their play.

Many young children explore literacy play on their own, with little need for encouragement from adults. Other children need the one-on-one attention of a tutor to help them make literacy discoveries such as: print is talk written down, reading books is fun and interesting, and printed words carry messages to the reader.

Below are some tutoring strategies for working with children in preschool and kindergarten. They include:

These strategies may also be appropriate for older children in an earlier phase of literacy development.

Reading aloud

One of the best ways to encourage emerging literacy is to read aloud with a child as often as possible. If you work with a child in a preschool or kindergarten, spend at least part of each session reading aloud.

Read-aloud sessions involve much more than saying words and turning pages. When you express your own excitement about the pictures, story, setting, and characters, the child will be excited too. With your guidance, the child can learn to take meaning from the words and expand his or her understanding and enjoyment of the story.

Looking for the details in the pictures, talking about what might happen next, and discussing how the story relates to the child's real-life experiences are important parts of read-aloud sessions.

The following six-point checklist summarizes the key strategies used to read aloud to young children.

1. Choose a book

• Look for a book that:
  • You will enjoy reading.
  • Supports and builds on the child's interests and experiences.
  • Has beautiful pictures.
  • Is slightly above the child's current vocabulary level.
  • Introduces a new style such as poetry or a folk tale.
• Invite the child to choose books she would like to read.
• Repeat familiar, well-loved books often.

2. Get to know the book

• Examine the illustrations so you can point out the information and clues in the pictures.
• Read the story to yourself.
• Plan ways to vary your voice (tone, volume, pauses) to fit the plot and characters.
• Collect dress-up clothes, puppets, or other props related to the story.

3. Set the stage for success

• Help the child get ready to listen.
• Make sure the child is comfortable and can see the book.
• Make sure you are comfortable.

4. Before starting the story

• Introduce the author and/or illustrator.
• Talk about other books you've read by the same author and/or illustrator.
• Show the cover and point out details in the illustration.
• Read the title aloud.
• Talk about what type of book it is – true, make-believe, folk tale, realistic.
• Describe where and when the story takes place.
• Introduce the setting and the main characters.
• Suggest things to look and listen for in the story.
• Show a few pages and ask: What do you think will happen in this book?

5. While reading the story

• Vary your voice to fit the characters and the plot.
• Stop frequently to:
  • Add information that will help the child understand what's happening.
  • Rephrase something that might be confusing.
  • Explain the meaning of a new word.
  • Invite the child to predict what might happen next.
  • Ask the child about the story and characters.
  • Show the pictures and describe what's happening.
  • Share your own reactions to the story and characters.
  • Use the props to enhance the child's enjoyment of the story.
• Encourage participation by inviting the child to:
  • Join in with rhymes and repeated words and phrases.
  • Make different sounds "Peter, would you like to be the cow?"
  • Add the last word to a familiar part of the text.
• Move your finger under words as you read.

6. After reading the story

• Ask questions to help the child:
  • Recall what happened in the story.
  • Relate the story to personal experiences (e.g., "Did you ever?").
  • Put themselves in the story – (e.g., "What would you have done?").
  • Express ideas, opinions, and creativity.
• Do a book-related activity so the child can:
  • Act out the story (with or without props).
  • Make up a sequel to the story which you write on a large piece of paper.
  • Draw pictures that show the events in the story then use them to retell the story.
  • Learn about the author and/or illustrator
    • Talk about his or her life
    • Look at his or her other books
    • Draw a picture of the characters in these books.
• Encourage the child to look at the book at home or in the classroom. Read the book again and again if the child is interested.

Talking with children

Because all forms of language are connected, talking with children is an important way to encourage their emerging literacy.

Talking helps children develop thinking skills, use their creativity, express ideas, increase their vocabulary, and understand the relationships between oral and written forms of language. As described above, talking is an important part of reading aloud with young children.

When you talk with a child you send important messages – "I'm interested in you. Tell me about what you're doing. I want to hear your ideas." You can talk with children while reading, writing, playing, and doing routines together. Some examples follow:

• Talk about the past, present, and future. "Last week we played in the sand box together. This week we painted pictures. What would you like to do next week?"
• Talk during everyday activities. While preparing and eating a snack with a child, follow the child's lead. "I like cats too. I used to have a fat cat with white paws."
• Ask sincere questions. While taking a walk together, respond to the child's interest. "How do you think that dandelion grew up through the sidewalk?"
• Start a conversation. While looking out the window together, say, "The clouds look soft today." Wait for the child to respond.
• Respond to a child's question. "I don't know if hamsters like nuts like squirrels do. Let's see what it says in the hamster book."
• Offer props that lead to talking. Use puppets, dress-up clothes, and accessories to encourage make-believe play.

Writing with children

Writing is communicating with others by putting ideas in print. Children begin learning to write in the early years.

Writing focuses children's attention on print, helps them learn that letters represent sounds, and contributes to their emergent reading skills. Handwriting comes later when children can form letters and words in conventional ways.

If you are a tutor who works with a 3- to 5-year-old child, you can offer support that helps a child make discoveries about writing. Here are some examples:

Bring writing materials to each session. In your tutor's toolbox include:

• Paper (lined and unlined; different sizes, shapes, colors, weights, and textures)
• Writing tools (crayons, markers, alphabet stamps and pad, pencils)
• An iPad or other digital tablet

Some things you do to encourage writing include:

• Let the child see how you use writing.

  Tell the child that you need to make a list and ask, "Would you like to make a list, too?" While you write your list the child can use scribble writing or invented spelling to write hers. Take turns reading your lists aloud.

• Help a child see the connection between spoken and written words.

  Have the child draw a picture then dictate a story to you. You can write the story – exactly as the child tells it – then read it back to him.

• Encourage a child to put her ideas on paper.

  The child can use scribble writing or invented spelling to write a story, then read it to you. Encourage her to take the story home to read to her family.

• Create opportunities to practice writing.

  Bring paintbrushes and a bucket of water outdoors. You and the child can write letters and words on a wall or sidewalk. Write letters in the air – whichever letters are of most interest to the child.

• Show respect for a child's home language.

  Learn how to write a few words in this language. Ask the child's family to help you, if necessary. When children have strong skills in one language, they can use these skills to become proficient in a second language.

• Help the child see the connections between oral and written language.

  Ask a question about an interesting experience or special time she had with her family. Write the question in a special journal, then write the child's answer. Read aloud the question and the child's answer – to close the session and to start the next one.

• Help a child build the small muscles and coordination used for writing.

  Together you can cut, paste, draw, paint, thread beads on a lace, roll playdough, connect small blocks, use a computer keyboard, play a drum, or spread peanut butter on a cracker.

• Have the child write and illustrate a story.

  Make a simple book from paper folded in half and stapled on the fold. Make a fancier book with paper and a cardboard cover. Bind the book by lacing thick yarn through holes made with a hole punch. Encourage the child to take the book home to read to his family.

• Make alphabet cards or an alphabet book.

  Save interesting pictures, catalogs, magazines, junk mail, and other items that contain print for the child to look at, cut up, and paste on index cards. Collect images that represent the child's culture, home, and family. Show the letters of the alphabet in various forms (A, a, and a), together with an appropriate picture. Use the cards or books to refer to letters of the alphabet that come up while reading and writing with the child.

Tutorful - First Tutoring Session

As a tutor, your first lesson with each student is crucial in laying the foundations for an ongoing relationship and setting the agenda for future sessions.

Most teachers will know that your first lesson with a new class is vital in setting your behavioural expectations and enthusing your class. One-to-one tuition demands a different kind of approach, where your enthusiasm is important, but the main aims are to build a bond with your student and to gain their trust. Why not offer a free 15 minute video chat to help you better perepare for your lesson!

Here are our top ten tips on how to deliver the perfect first tuition lesson:

1) Ask the right questions before the lesson

This is absolutely vital - which is why we’ve put it at number one! Whether you can deliver a great first lesson is often about whether you have all the information you need beforehand. Make sure you have asked:

• The subject
  
• The age/level
  
• The exam board - it is vital that you work towards the specific exam board a student is working on if they are seeking tuition for a specific course.
  
• Current working level (grades achieved) - this will allow you to prepare material based roughly at the right level of your student.
  
• Areas where the student feels they are struggling (if they're able to identify this)
• Expectations of tuition - you need to know whether your student is looking for long-term tuition or a one-off lesson.
  

2) Dress to impress (but not to intimidate) and arrive on time

Tutors should match their student’s aspirations, therefore your attire is important in demonstrating your own standards. Tutors should wear smart-casual clothing and be well presented. If you are teaching a primary-aged child, you would not wear the same as for lessons for business accounting. As in everyday life, like it or not, your students and their parents will make an immediate judgement of your suitability based on your attire, so dress well.

Being late for your first lesson makes a terrible impression. If in doubt, set off early or book the lesson in for slightly later than you feel would be best. Always make sure that you have got your student’s exact address well in advance and planned your journey so you arrive with time to spare. Saying your bus was late will just not cut it in your first lesson. 

If you are teaching online, make sure you are in a suitable working environment with limited or no distractions. We would recommend that you run a browser test before the lesson is scheduled to begin to allow you to check that your connection, camera and microphone are all working and avoid any disruptions at the beginning of the lesson. 

Everyone understands that there are times when unavoidable delays happen, so make sure that you have the student’s phone number on hand so you can call ahead if you really need to.

3) Introduce yourself and find out what your student’s aims are

Students are obviously looking to make great progress, however, they are also looking to enjoy learning and working with someone they like, so get to know them! Introduce yourself and ask them about themselves. The approach you take will vary based on each student but the aim is to make them feel comfortable and to get them talking. You may want to ask them where they go to school/college, what their favourite subjects are or what else they are studying, what their hobbies are, etc.

Again, this will depend on the age of your student. If they are old enough, ask them what their aims are and what they would like specific help with. Ask about time frames and their current levels - the best tutors can quickly make their student’s hopes into shared targets. They may also be able to tell you how they learn best so that you can support their particular style of learning. 

If the student is younger, talk to them about why they are having tuition. Remember, even young children often know when they find a subject difficult and will be pretty switched on about why they are having tuition - your aim is to make sure that they feel like it is a positive opportunity for them to get additional help.

4) Explain how sessions will work

Many students will never have had a tutor before, so it is up to you to set the agenda. Let them know how lessons will work best and how sessions are different from school or college. Explain that:

• It will be more like a conversation.
  
• To stop you when they don’t understand anything.
  
• To ask questions whenever they need to.
  
• That you will work on the areas they struggle on, as that will help them the most.
  
• …and answer any questions they might have about how it will work.
  

The first impression starts before the first session has even begun. Ensure that you have a good on-boarding system in place so that by the time your students first see you live, they already know and trust you.

This could include a pre-first session survey asking to give you a basic understanding of their current abilities, make sure you have both added each other on the platform you'll be using and that they understand what to expect from lessons with you and how any tech you'll be using works. "

Lindsay Williams, Founder, LindsayDoesLanguages

It is important that you set clear expectations with a student. Tutoring sessions will be different to how they are taught in school and whilst you should build a good relationship, there should still be a clear line as to what is and isn’t expected from the child. 

5) Bring resources and assess their current level of study.

Get your student to complete some pre-prepared questions or activities, to find out the level they are working at and how they work. This serves a variety of purposes:

• Bringing resources demonstrates that you have prepared for the lesson and will work hard to help them achieve their goals.
  
• It lets you check the level your student is currently working at. Often parents and students are unsure about their child’s or their own ability. When they are more informed, it may be that you disagree with the assessment their school has given. This will be vital in letting you plan for future sessions.
  
• It lets you see how they work and their attitude to studying. Often students really need help with their study skills, i.e. how neat they are, how they read questions, how they plan answers, the speed the take to form responses, etc.
  
• It lets you build shared objectives. Make sure that you are positive about their correct answers and their wrong answers. When they make a mistake, a great response would be, ‘Okay, that’s great. You’ve got that one wrong, so that’s something we can definitely help you get better at.’
  

6) Make the student feel confident

It is a good idea to begin tuition at an easier level than the student suggested in your earlier communications. You can test whether to move ahead more quickly by challenging them early in the process. This will let them settle into private tuition but swiftly discover out their real ability level. It will also allow you to ensure that they make progress during their first sessions.

If you find that a student struggles with a lot of the content of a first lesson, they could quickly become disheartened and feel tutoring isn’t for them. Be sure to have a couple of ‘easy wins’ for a student so that you are able to allow them to impress you with their knowledge. You can revert to these short tasks at times where you feel the student has had to show resilience for a, particularly long time during the session. 

7) Teach them something new

Whilst the first lesson is primarily about finding out about the student’s level, you also need to demonstrate your ability as a tutor! Remember that you do have to sell yourself - students and parents have a large choice of tutors, so you do have to prove yourself.

Pick one of the areas your student made a mistake in and teach them this skill. Be enthusiastic. Use diagrams or notes that you can leave with them, or even consider multimedia resources. Kids love innovative sites, apps and videos. This might be harder if you don’t know what you are going to cover, but as you tutor more and more, you will build a great bank of resources and references you can draw on.

In your first lesson, it is better to be over-prepared than under-prepared! Always have a backup plan and a variety of tasks you can use should you need them. As you don’t know exactly where the child is at in terms of their learning, having a number of tasks pitched at different levels will allow you to use what you find to be appropriate within the lesson. You could also use one of the harder tasks to teach your student something new. 

8) Leave some home learning

To make great progress, your students are going to have to practise the skills you teach them whilst you’re not there. Which means that you’ll need to leave them some homework.

The word homework might spark some groans but you should always leave something for your student to practise at the end of your first lesson together. This will send a great message to students that you are thinking carefully about how to support them reach their goals.

Leave an activity which is relevant and interesting, so that your pupil doesn’t feel that learning with you is like additional schoolwork. By this stage, if all has gone well, the student will have bought into how much your tuition is going to help them.

9) Build a rapport with the student’s parents

In the first session, it is vital to not only build a great rapport with the student but also with their parent(s). This will begin when you first arrive - shakes hands, be polite, etc. but mainly when you leave. Give the parents at least 10 minutes at the end of the first session to discuss their child’s needs. This time should be in addition to the amount of time scheduled for the lesson itself.

Being a tutor is about helping your students make great progress and to build their confidence. One hour a week can make a difference, but it will make a real impact when you build a relationship with parents to help them support their child and formulate a great plan to help the student as a team. It’s also great to ask for feedback from the child’s teacher as this will really help you triangulate your approach. Agree on a plan for tuition and the areas to cover in future lessons and…

10) Book in your next lesson

Ultimately, you must remember that, as a professional tutor, your income is based on securing long-term students. Be confident and ask parents when they would like their next session and how often they would like lessons to take place. 

Scott Woodley, Co-founder of Tutorful

Scott is a fully qualified primary school teacher who left teaching to set up Tutorful, a site which helps parents and learners find the right tutor for them.

If you are looking to become a tutor, you can easily create a profile with Tutorful. You can set your own price, offer online or face-to-face tuition and begin building your rewarding career in no time.

How to deal with children in the summer: 10 tips from a teacher that will help you not to quarrel with your child

Almost half of the summer is behind us. And if at first most of the parents did not worry and let the children (and themselves) rest and relax, now many are already asking the question: should I start classes? And if so, how? Our blogger, teacher Katerina Karpova, gives 10 useful tips.

The parents of my students were divided into two camps. The first one is those who, with the onset of summer holidays, passionately want to forget about school until the first of September. The second “camp” is in a panic: the children will go on a spree, forget, stop studying, something needs to be done urgently. And while the former are nailing pens, books, notebooks into chests under locks, hiding on the seas and dachas and do not want to hear anything about the school, the latter are frantically looking for new tutors, new circles or sit down to study with their children themselves.

In order to somehow reconcile both of them, I decided to write general recommendations on how to do summer homework with a child without ruining my (and his) psyche.

I must say right away that you are all still very lucky: you do not have plans and reports that need to be carried out strictly in order. You do not and will not have checks from ministries that control whether your methods meet all the latest requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard, and you do not need to write down this process on paper, certify it with signatures in different instances. So:

1. Calm down!

I mean, relax and try to enjoy the process of interacting with your own child. Remember that you are not at school and this is not a lesson. You play, talk and just communicate with the child.

2. Games are also useful

Question for purposes. What exactly do we want to get as a result of the game? Good mood (which is also useful), certain skills, the necessary mindset? In the game, the pleasure center in the child’s brain is activated, which has a good effect on his memory as well. Therefore, I advise you to start any activity with small games. Finger exercises, ball games, motor exercises to music, etc.

You can use games suitable for the topic of the future lesson. If it's math, we take the ball and do counting exercises. If humanitarian subjects, then the games "name the word with a letter (containing a syllable, on a topic ...)".

3. Ask questions correctly

In general, the right question is the key to success in studies. Don't say "Two plus three five, right? Say yes! Why are you silent! So yes or no?". Because our main goal is in paragraph 4.

4. Learn to reason

“Let's try to add blue to red paint on the palette, what will happen? Did we add a lot or a little? And if you add more? I don't doubt you at all, all you adults know how to get purple. But now the main thing is not you and not your cleverness, not your time, which is always absent, but the processes taking place in your child's head. My dad, for example, frankly said: "Oh, I don't remember what's going on at your school, tell me, please." And I spoke with pleasure.

5. Don't demand answers to all questions

It's OK to leave questions unanswered. It is normal that the child does not answer questions. There could be many reasons for this. And it's okay if you don't answer questions. It's called intrigue. “I wonder how much our planet weighs?”. And mysteriously shut up.

You can go to another room and forget about the question. “I don’t know the answer to this question, but you can try to look for the answer (book, Internet, empirically).” “You don’t know the answer to this question? We will return to the topic “Integrals in the theory of infinitesimals”, etc. Some questions really need time and preparation.

6. You can't know everything

Don't blame yourself or your child for not knowing the definition of a constitutional monarchy. You can find out together what it is, and then write down the definition in beautiful handwriting on an A4 sheet and hang it on the refrigerator. Or making a sticker on your forehead is also fun.

One of my students wrote down the word thought thirteen times, and on the thirteenth time it dawned on him that he knew this word. He graduated from school a long time ago, and he still remembers that moment.

7. Doubt yourself

Applies to both adults and children. You should not hit the table with your fist, climb for an eraser, erasing the wrong answer of the child. Think: Am I right? What will be the consequences of these actions? It’s better to ask, even if there are no mistakes: “Is it true that coastal is written through and? Are you sure? And what did you take from? Well, I understand, you have explained your position."

8. Let's make a mistake

The fact that for you "disrespect for the Russian language" and "carelessness when counting" is a symptom for a neuropsychologist. This is a signal for action, what to pay attention to. It’s better to keep a notebook and track the child’s mistakes: write them down, fix them, talk about them calmly, consult a neurospecialist.

9. Give the child time

Time to write. Time to think. Time to search for the error on your own, time to talk about it. Time for an independent and conscious correction of a mistake: why did he make this mistake and by what rule do we correct it? After all, you already had all this learning experience at school, and you have developed certain skills, but your child does not yet have them. He is in the process of learning.

10. Find an authority (for yourself)

I suggest that you, adults, think at your leisure, who is your authority? Does he exist? Whom are you ready to listen to with bated breath, and why? After all, sometimes it happens that it is the image of an elder, the image of an authoritative person, that we try on ourselves when we teach someone. Willingly or unwittingly, we begin to play this role in our head and practice on loved ones. This is how we feel more confident in ourselves.

And if the image of an authoritative person that appeared in your head somehow didn’t please you or reminded you of someone close to you, then it makes sense to reconsider the ideals: admire, read about someone, try to form an image of a worthy authoritative person in your head and strive for it. Self-development and self-improvement.

If it is not possible to revise the ideals on your own, but you really want to, it makes sense to turn to a psychologist, a professional in his field, with this particular request.

You are in the "Blogs" section. The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.

Photo: Shutterstock / A3PFAMILY

Developing classes with a child 2-3 years old

Content

Children 2 years old: what is the
Fundamentals
Intellectual abilities
Acquaintance with the outside world

When a baby turns two years old, he begins to actively explore the world around him, so parents ask themselves the question: how to develop a child at 2 years old correctly? Various tasks for children of this age develop many children's abilities, including speech, social, tactile, creative skills, etc.

A child at 2 years old: what is he like