reading Articles

Just a note about peer or partner reading. It is a very good technique when teaching English Language Learners to pair them together. I usually pair one who is a stronger reader and perhaps one who is a stronger writer. This technique can be used in tutoring any grade level. I have the students read the dialogue and I read the narration. They really like it and it takes the burden off of the student. It works really well. You can do the same thing teaching writing. You can do one sentence and the student can do another. Try it.

Last year I tutored reading and math once a week for an hour and a half to a 12-year-old girl in Arlington. Her mother told me she was dyslexic. This gave me the opportunity to go to the Robbins library down the street and survey all the books on dyslexia. My mother told me about a study going on at MIT on dyslexia, and I read about that as well (though I didn't completely understand it).

One really nice thing about tutoring in this home was the family. They had four children and a very home-y, comfy home mixed with a healthy dose of sarcasm. There was also a really un-intimidating dog (I won't say the name), whom I also got the chance to "tutor" (aka, take for a walk and clean up the poop). One of the brothers of the house was a talented high school pianist. His piano playing created an inspiring backdrop to tutoring sessions.

While tutoring, I visited a Montessori school in Melrose and was impressed. The order of the classroom, the focus of the students, the polished techniques used by the teachers, the cohesive curriculum, and the candor of the school attracted me. I learned some of the math and reading techniques, and tried these out on this girl whom I was tutoring. It seemed to be successful, though I do not think I persevered long enough to cause -and certainly not to record- any serious improvement.

Tutoring reminded me of several great "tutoring" movies. My Fair Lady is a great example, and I think "Mr. Higgins" actually a great example of a tutor, due to his order, his culture, and his love for the job (making for a very fun and enjoyable time). Mary Poppins, I think, is also, in a sense, a "tutoring" movie, though this is perhaps more subtle. Finally, the movie about Helen Keller, The Miracle Worker, is an inspiration, especially for a reading tutor or student. We watched this during one of our sessions.

One thing that was successful in my time: spending about half the class cooking cookies or muffins (and, with practice, attempting to multi-task cooking and tutoring). Cooking is a great activity that is time-based and requires care, therefore keeping the student on her toes and making them uncomfortable (so to speak). The girl I tutored enjoyed cooking, so it was a good activity to "get the brain going." Since cooking involves reading and math, it is a good alternative activity for these two subjects. It also helps to encourage order and time management, and therefore is just a great activity overall, improving study and life skills, as well as physical fitness and general joviality.

Also successful was any class I prepared for. Namely: my best classes were the ones before which I would spend about an hour sipping coffee at the local brew-house, jotting down notes and inspirations, and then about half an hour pondering and stretching by the nearby baseball field. I mean this seriously: our most productive classes were precluded by a good, long, thorough, and sincere "think." I found my student changed, her behavior corresponding in an uncanny way to my own preparation -disciplined, focused- , as the lesson was naturally captivating, being based on sincerity. We often spent the first 15 minutes of class reading in silence. Then we would talk about what she read, and write "who" "what" "when" "where" "how" and maybe "why".

On the other hand, as the year went on, I was not always able to thoroughly prepare for every lesson. Because of this, the girl's normal rebelliousness and desire to watch Nickolodeon sometimes took over. The dog, the heater, the blanket...these things are difficult to overcome without a lesson plan.

We, as adults, forget that everything we interact with has a 'name.' We often forget to 'label' these items for our new readers. Having a world filled with 'names' gives the aspiring reader resources to add to his or her own 'file box' of information. Reading everything around you will fill his/her world with information, names, spellings and starts filling their own 'dictionary' in their memory as they sort out learning those letters and eventually words on the page. Point out 'all' the words in their day-to-day life. Learners can easily recognize whole words such as STOP, Milk, Butter, Pizza and so on and so on. Then, as you begin to read to them, read for fun, then re-read for learning by pointing to the words as you say them. Whole words such as A, THE, OF are easily learned as they repeat so much in our day-to-day writings thus giving your new reader the confidence that they "know" how to read. Encourage the 'bragging' when mom or dad or grandparents come over. Keep a running list of whole words your new reader can 'read' up on the refrigerator. Go over them each day. The more whole words that are memorized in the beginning of reading can greatly affect the 'ease' of reading on the page. With a battery of whole words memorized, one can begin to isolate those not so repeated words using phonetic strategies and such. Thereby, the new reader "knows" some of the words already on the page and isn't afraid to tough it out with those that are more challenging.

Very often, in vocabulary, and the study of definitions, I have found among my students that the history of a word is seldom used as a means to understanding the word and how it's used, or changed in use.

Word history, or etymology, as the study is called, can be very valuable to a student in several ways.

First, it helps the student understand that English, as we know it, is international and multicultural. The root of a lot of words in English are derived from Greek, Latin, French, and German, and that language is not only living, but evolving. Words with prefixes and suffixes that change context can also be isolated and discussed.

Secondly, the history of a word, studied in context of its original language and spelling can make the meaning of a word come alive for a student and give them one of those much-prized "light bulb" moments that teachers live for; the student has a point of reference to make a connection, and will be more likely to remember the word the next time they encounter it.

Finally, the study of how a word might have changed in meaning or spelling can prove interesting; a research assignment on a word's etymology could be a small study project that will enhance learning new words in a way that will engage the student and make them take ownership of increasing their own vocabulary.

I am a teacher who mainly works from the Wixom library, but if you live far we can meet at a book store, coffee shop, or a library. My hours are 10:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Monday through Friday. Once you complete your information through WyzAnt, they will let me give out my number and we can start that week.

I have been teaching for 12 years ind all subjects and have helped many people. YOU will be next. Education is the key to success!

"Angie"