English, Reading, Special Education (cross categorical) ED LD

Hello,

My name is John, and I am a retired sixty-one year old former English and Special Education Teacher.

I graduated from Arizona State University with a Master's degree in English, and from the University of Arizona with a Master's degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation. I began my career teaching English for four years on the Navajo Reservation, then I moved to Tucson to teach English for twenty one years, and special education for ten years. As an English teacher, I taught all grades, from 9th grade to 12th grade, and at every level, from remedial to gifted. As a special education teacher, I worked with all grade levels, from 1st grade to 12th grade grade. My two specialized areas were learning disabilities and emotional disabilities. Under learning disabilities, I had students who had reading disabilities, dysgraphia (inability to form letters), dysgraphia (inability to comprehend abstract math), inability to remain focused, inability to retain information from written matterial, ADD and ADHD (lack of organizational and focus skills), oral retention of information, short term memory and long term memory retrieval, and numerous other skills. Under emotional disabilities, I worked with students with Asperger's Syndrome, Bi-Polar disorder, highly marked ADD and ADHD, highly marked depression, Tourettic impulse drive, alcohol fetal syndrome, highly marked depression, suicidal ideation, conduct disorder (anger management), poor impulse control, and other disabilities.

At the present time, I am a volunteer with Jewish Social Services. I work with Holocaust survivors as an ESL teacher. For many of them, Russian is their primary language, so much of the work I do is teaching basic conversational skills, as well as help them translate documents (letters to relatives, business, family) from Russian to English (I also am certified in ESL). They are all shut-ins, so I make it a point to visit each survivor (or survivors, in the case of husband and wife) at least twice a week for to hours.

If there is one thing I learned during my thirty-three years as a teacher, it is that each student is an individual, with very specific learning styles. There is no one size fits all education. I also believe in working very closely with parents, with their concerns. No tutoring program can work very well without parental input.

I look forward to hearing from you

John's Subjects

English:	ACT English, English, grammar, literature, proofreading, reading, SAT reading, SAT writing, vocabulary, writing
Test Preparation:	ACT English, SAT reading, SAT writing
History:	American history
Special Needs:	ADD/ADHD, Aspergers, dyslexia, phonics, special needs
Elementary Education:	elementary (k-6th), elementary science, grammar, phonics, reading, spelling, study skills, vocabulary
Corporate Training:	grammar, proofreading
Homeschool:	elementary (k-6th), English, reading, SAT reading, study skills, writing

Vocabulary

The more a person builds his vocabulary, the easier both writing and reading will be. The best way to improve vocabulary is to read often. There really are no short cuts.

The following are some aspects to learning new vocabulary:

a. Verbal Context: The other words in a sentence often provide clues to the meaning of a single word. Young children learn most of their vocabulary by taking guesses as to the meaning of words. Take the word 'table'. If a child hears the sentence... Read More

Grammar

How to figure out whether a sentence is grammatical:

1. Examine the sentence:

John and me are going to the movies.

2. Break the sentence apart.

John is going to the movies.
Me is going to the movies.

3. Which part ofthe sentence is not grammatical. The obvious answer is "Me is going to the movies."

4. The correct form for the sentence should be:

John and I are going to the movies.

Grammar is the study... Read More

Reading

I have taught reading at all levels, from 1st grade through 12th grade. My personal belief is that for many children, reading is often very overwhelming.

Every single subject requires reading, be that subject Elizabethan Literature or basic math. If a student is unable to draw information from the context of the text in front of him, he will eventually become so discouraged that he will give up.

There are so many different aspects of reading. Here are just a few:
Read More

Writing

The first rule of writing is to never write on an empty mind. Before setting pen to paper, a writer must be sure that he has enough information to write a complete essay. In order to comprehend a subject it is not enough to have an opinion. The writer must explore his subject. He must gather and examine all relevant material. He then needs to limit the subject so he can develop the utilization of necessary material. For example, if he selects the Civil War as his topic, he would need to write... Read More

English

I was an English teacher for twenty one years. I taught at all levels. I taught many different essay styles: inductive, deductive, comparison/contrast, process, journals, poetry, and personal-expository. In reading, I taught everything from context clues, phonetic sound/structure, to symbolism in Shakespeare. Later on, I finished my degree in Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Arizona, specializing in ED (emotional disabilities) and LD (learning disabilities).
My... Read More

Literature

I was an English teacher for over twenty one years. The most important element when reading a work of literature is to not be a passive reader. Reading requires both induction and deduction (exploring and examining content and drawing conclusions). In a classroom, reading also requires discussion.

Reading also requires the ability to construct meaning through content. For example, we have all had the experience of putting something together only to discover we skipped on of the major... Read More

Proofreading

As an English teacher, I graded tens of thousands of essays, often late into the night. The best way to proofread, however, to to work one on one with a student. The worst thing a teacher can do is drown an essay with red ink and return the essay to a student. When someone writes, the last thing they need is to have their self-esteem destroyed before they have even made the attempt to progress. The last thing the act of writing should be is a source of anxiety. The person who is placing pencil/pen... Read More

SAT Reading

For most people, reading does not come easily. There are so many processes involved in the reading of an essay. Here are just a few.

1. Diction, the choice of words. For a single sentence to make sense, the person reading the essay has to continually ask why each individual sentence was written in a specific vernacular. A single word can change the meaning of a sentence, or even an entire essay.
2. Knowledge of the subject. To give an example, I am very knowledgeable about the... Read More

SAT Writing

I have a Master's Degree in English from the University of Arizona, and I was an English teacher for over twenty two years. I also taught English 101 and 102 for two years when I was a graduate student. During those twenty two years, I centered my curriculum on my students' acquiring the skills necessary for writing essays: personal reflection, process, comparison/contrast, inductive writing, deductive writing, poetry, journals, summaries, thesis statements, research, separating opinion from fact,... Read More

ACT English

The best way to improve reading and writing scores is to read and write. The grammar and the literary textbooks are not enough. The most important thing a parent can do is read along with their children. Here are just a few steps:

1. Read a book that is at the child's level. If a child is reading at a seventh grade level, Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" will be way beyond his comprehension level. On the other hand, if he is reading at a 10th grade level, "Moby Dick" might be the perfect... Read More

Elementary Science

There are several skills a child must have if he is going to be successful is Science:

1. The ability to take notes from an overhead. Very few teachers use blackboards anymore. Often times the notes are typed out and arranged by outline. However, there are many students who cannot keep up with the copying of the notes. Sometimes it can be due to poor vision, but more often than not the child might have a reading disability, an inability to process written information, difficulty focusing... Read More

Phonics

I have two degrees: the first is a Master's Degree in English from Arizona State University. The second is a degree in Special Education from the University of Arizona. My two areas of specialization are LD (learning disabilities) and ED (Emotional Disabilities). As a special education teacher, many of my students read at a second of third grade level, even though they were in the eighth or ninth grade. They had absolutely no understanding of how reading and writing related to sounds (phonetics)... Read More

Study Skills

I received my Master's Degree in English in 1976, and I was an English Teacher for twenty one years. I received a second Masters's Degree from the University of Arizona in 2000. That degree was in special education. I had two areas I specialized in. The first was working with students with emotional eisabilites; the second was working with students with learning disabilities. All three of my areas of specialization required the teaching of study skills.
There are many aspects involved... Read More

Special Needs

Before retiring, I was a special education teacher for ten years. I have a MA degree from the University of Arizona in Special Education and Rehabilitation, specializing in students with learning disabilities and emotional disabilities. As a LD (learning disabilities) specialist, I worked with students with reading, writing, math, and cognitive disabilities. As an ED specialist, I worked with students with highly marked ADD and ADHD, Aspergers, Dyslexia, BiPolar Disorders, Tourettes Syndrome,... Read More

ADD/ADHD

One of my specializations as a Special Education teacher was working with students who had marked ADD and ADHD. I worked not only with students, but with their parents, developing full case studies. Much of my work involved developing focus techniques, organizational techniques, impulsivity control, and recognizing high levels of frustration.

I have a Master's Degree in Special Education from the University of Arizona, with a specialization in children with emotional disabilities. One... Read More

Aspergers

I have two Master's Degrees. The first is in English. I taught English for over twenty one years. I later on received a Master's Degree in Special Education, my two areas of specialization being Learning Disabilities and Emotional Disabilities. I counseled and worked with numerous students with Aspergers. Much of my work centered around my students' functioning in social situations, and dealing with social cues.

For a child with Aspergers, life can be very difficult. I also worked... Read More

Dyslexia

I have two degrees. The first degree is from Arizona State University: a Master's Degree in English. The second degree is a Master's Degree is Special Education and Rehabilitation from the University of Arizona. I have two areas of specialization. Under Specialization: LD (learning disabilities) and ED (emotional disabilities). I worked with and tutored many students with Dyslexia, as well as numerous disabilities related to reading/writing.

Question: What is Dyslexia

1.... Read More

Read all subject qualifications »

Education

University of Arizona english (Master's) Special Education (MEd)

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John will travel within 13 miles of Tucson, AZ 85742.

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