All of
Miriam’s current tutoring subjects are listed at the left. You
can read more about
Miriam’s qualifications in specific subjects below.
Elementary (K-6th)
I have six years experience tutoring K-12 English Language Arts through Academica Advantage and Professional Tutors of America.
English
English Language Arts, encompassing grammar--sentence structure,figurative,language, text structure(compare/contrast, problem-solution, cause-effect, etc.); subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, creating compound and compound/complex sentences.
Grammar
Students and business people alike believe they have a firm grasp of English Language grammar until they find themselves in the middle of an awkward sentence not knowing where to go next, what tenses to use, and how to fix dangling modifiers. As a superior tutor, I begin with the basic verb tenses, move to diagramming sentences; re-arrange subjects, verbs, adjectives and adverbs to create forceful and dynamic structure. I help the student understand how to develop a simple sentence into compound or compound-complex sentences, along with all basic grammar guidelines for future writing.
Literature
I became an avid reader in sixth grade, reading three books above required list in school per week; summers I consumed six-- History and human quandaries captured my imagination. After my freshman year in college I began reading the classics: Shakespeare, Henry James, Thomas Hardy, George Elliot, Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, Camus, Kafka, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dickens, Bronte, Austin, James Joyce, Faulkner, Joseph Conrad, etc.
Currently, I consume three books a week despite a busy schedule, pausing to write captivating paragraphs in my journals.
Phonics
Over the past six years I've tutored phonics to children K-3 with great success. Using worksheets, flashcards, exercises and oral practice, I teach word blends, clusters, consonants, final blends (-ng, -nk, -sh, etc.); sight word rules, long and short vowel sounds, syllabication, word families (e.g., "rime"-mat, flat, bat, sat) and the other conventions until the student's spelling and word recognition increases to the next grade level.
Public Speaking
I majored in Speech Communication and Public Speaking and taught Public Speaking during and after obtaining my Masters Degree and California Lifetime Community College Speech Communication and Public Speaking Certificate. I used persuasive speaking throughout advertising career, convincing highly visible client to invest millions in advertising campaigns.
Reading
My students from the previous six years have increased their reading skills by 100%. In each session, we practice phonics, pronunciation, syllables, spelling rules, vocabulary; then we dive into the magic world of reading. I incorporate the Reading A-Z Fluency Passages, designed for one-minute reading text; reading out loud; also I use exercises and reading comprehension worksheets. The key to reading is practice, practice, practice--until you are sailing through the pages of any book.
Spelling
English is a difficult language to spell because sight far outweighs phonetic words. At all levels, K-12 through adult, my tutoring method begins slowly with repetition, beginning with phonetics and delving into learning/memorizing detailed spelling rules: -ceed/-cede, -ful, -i before e, adding prefixes and suffixes, consonants in words of more than one syllable; words beginning in –e; long and short vowel sound (-c, -cc, -k, -ck, when to use –tch after a short vowel, -ch otherwise, -kw always spelled with –qu, -le endings, consonant rules, etc. Finally, easily confused words; all rules are used in daily spelling exercises.
Study Skills
I took a Speed Reading and Study Skills class after my Freshman year in college in order to improve my muddled study habits. Incorporating these skills to further courses, caused success not only completing a Geography minor and Speech Communication major at a California State University, but achieve my Master's Degree in Speech.
My tutoring incorporates study skills and teaching students note-taking, research, reading signals for speed and guidelines for comprehension.
Vocabulary
With my passion for reading the classics, philosophy, theology and complicated literature packed with sophisticated words and hidden symbolism--I've kept a personal vocabulary notebook all my life. Teaching vocabulary is one of my sheer joys in tutoring, as I direct students to begin their own journey of words. Understanding sounds, root meanings, syllabication and correct usage of words have helped students quickly develop an advanced vocabulary at any age K-12 grade, college, and business people alike.
Writing
Experience writing extensive research papers in graduate school (A and A- grades), along with years of researching and writing complicated marketing/media plans for major advertising agencies and companies, provides me a superior command of the English language and writing capabilities.
Also, I have a personal passion for writing, an extensive vocabulary, and am familiar with MLA and APA research composition college writing formats.