reading Articles

Ken B., known as "The Best Little Tutor In Texas", has just surpassed the 400 hour tutoring mark in Houston, Texas! What makes Ken so good and popular in Houston? It is because of his diverse background and of being able to do the following: mathematics, statistics, chemistry, physics, computers, and computer programming. He can help a student in many many different areas. Ken does both high school and college and does regular, honors, IB, PAP, AP, etc... All that is quite a talent. Ken says that the subject most tutored in the past several months is statistics, and the reason for that is that most teachers use the 'dump' method...they 'dump' a copious quantity of power point files onto the student but the teachers do not really teach how to 'do' the problems...he has seen the same trend with other subject areas, and this is most unfortunate for students taking the classes...so, if you need to get on top of your mathematics and science courses (except of biology), then Ken in Houston is the person to contact.

Do you find yourself giving up or procrastinating on your reading and studying? Does it seem like there is an endless amount of work to finish between now and Christmas? I know you have heard a million times, "break it into smaller pieces". Maybe you need another way to do that.

Here is a way that has worked for some of my students. Let's say you have 9 chapters in your history textbook to read and understand by the end of the semester (and 3 exams---3 chapters per exam). Rather than be overwhelmed by that concept, what you can do is make up 3 separate index cards (one per exam--and write which chapters must be covered for that exam). For now, just refer to the card for the first exam. Take 3 post-its (and write 1 chapter on each). Stick the post-its on the exam card. Pick a deadline for each chapter. As soon as you finish a chapter--throw the post-it for that chapter away. There is something very satisfying and empowering to be able to pitch that post-it.

As soon as you feel like procrastinating, odds are you are focused on the 9 chapters. Re-focus! Grab your chapter cards. Tell yourself---I will finish 1 card; I will throw away post-its.

This may sound like an idea that cannot work. But it gets around the mental blocks that we tend to create and then use to procrastinate. This concept worked great for one of my students. He just couldn't get started on his reading assignments. As a matter of fact, we took a step backward from this strategy. I made a card for just 1 chapter. If the chapter was 21 pages long and he had a week to cover it, I would direct him to read only 3 pages a day. I added that if he knew he needed to take a day off during that week, he needed to have his page count for the week taken care of anyway. We would make a game of it, and try to estimate how many minutes it would take to thoroughly read those 3 pages. He began to see that no matter how huge the reading assignments, he could break it down into manageable sizes. If he had to read 140 pages during the week, but he could only bear to read 5 pages at a time, he needed to read 5 pages 4 times a day. Guess what? He quickly decided that he would rather read 20 pages at a time and be done for that day. But even if he needed to read only 5 pages at a time, he could get it done. Get the challenge or mountain down to the size where you almost laugh and say---of course I can do that much!

Success breeds success. Baby steps to the end of the course.....as one of my favorite students says, "slow and steady wins the race"!

You can succeed! Let me know if you try my techniques! I would love to tutor you and get you on your wonderful road to success!

Students build and maintain various foundational skills through reading. The goal of independent reading is for students to read at their independent level (words can be read with 95% accuracy) to build fluency, enjoyment of reading, and their decoding of known and unknown words. Oftentimes, the mistake that is made is the assumption that student’s independent level is the same has their grade level. To determine a student’s independent level have him/her read a page of text with 95% accuracy or request the teacher provide a fluency check. Thereafter, you can go to the library or bookstore to select books at their independent level and he/she can read the text with ease and enjoyment. As students continue to read through a series of text at this comfort level, their skill level will grow as they are taught new words, spelling patterns, and vocabulary. The key for parents is to provide your child with access to books and to monitor their skill development. Happy reading!

The English language abounds with homophones, words which share the same sounds, but have different meanings and, especially, spellings. There are also near homophones. These can be confusing to writer and reader alike. Most of the time the context tells the reader which word is intended, but sometimes it may mislead the reader. Therefore, it is important to properly spell the word you are using to clarify your meaning. The wrong choice among homophonic spellings may not only confuse your readers, it can make them stumble in reading your material. And it can make a poor impression when a good impression counts. Examples of this are resumes, cover letters and reports.

So how do we keep homophones straight? We may memorize many sets of homophones. But many of us have trouble just remembering what amounts to another list. I suggest using mnemonics. A mnemonic is a device which aids memory. What I am suggesting is mnemonic sentences or phrases which use the homophones in a set together in the same context. Just bringing them together reminds us that there are different spellings of same-sounding words which carry different meanings. I will give a few examples. You may create others to assist you in your writing.

Homophones: there, their, they're
They're over there with their luggage.

Near Homophones: weather, whether
I wonder whether the weather will be rainy or sunny.

Homophones: to, too, two
You have to mail two letters to Mr. Jones too.

Homophones: accept, except
They will accept all of these except that one.

Homophones: affect, effect, effect
This decision will affect every one of us adversely. The effect is unacceptable. Please do not effect this policy.

Homophones can be on the humorous side:
Tutu taught English as a Second Language (ESL) to immigrants. He was teaching Phan and Thu [pronounced "TOO"]. Phan learned fast, and soon moved from Level One to Level Two. One day Tutu's ESL supervisor came to him and asked, "Phan is almost through Level Two. When will we get Thu to Two too, Tutu?"

I have found that, unlike any other language, repetition is the key to learning a language. For a person new to the English language who wishes to learn to read, I have found certain step into reading level 1 books very helpful. This is because they offer up a lot of word repetition and make it easier for the client, who may then be asked to answer several reading comprehension questions about the book they just read. Placing recently learned words/vocabulary, as well as those repetitive words from the book within the questions, makes for a lot less stressful and easier learning experience.

Last but not least, colorful and interesting learning materials seem to make for a much more enjoyable learning experience. I have tried using black and white, school issued work book materials. Even I didn't enjoy using these materials. Envision the types of books young children are exposed to and eventually learn to read. They are colorful, entertaining, and will often ask the reader to get involved in problem solving.