All of
Debra’s current tutoring subjects are listed at the left. You
can read more about
Debra’s qualifications in specific subjects below.
ACT Math
I am a state certified teacher with a special state endorsement in math. I have taught High School pre-algebra, algebra, geometry, and Algebra 2 and Trigonometry, all math areas found on the ACT and SAT college exams. I can assess areas of weaknesses in each math student and then develop a plan of review and study that will prepare each student to perform to the best of his/her ability on the Math Section of the ACT/SAT.
Algebra 1
I am an IL State Elementary Education certified teacher. I have a state endorsement in mathematics and I adore algebra. I have been tutoring algebra privately for over 10 years. The concepts of algebra can be and should be used for the rest of your life. I can help each student realize the beauty, ease, and usefulness of algebra.
Algebra 2
I currently teach Algebra 2 to high school students. I enjoy working with in-depth algebra concepts and helping students work successfully with these higher level math skills.
American History
I love American History. I was raised by American History majors and I spent my summers exploring the historical spots of the US - Civil and Revolutionary battle sites, Gold Rush ghost towns, Old calvary forts across the west, and trudged in the wheel ruts left by the covered wagons of the pioneers. I have a State Endorsement in Social Studies (history) and I've taken many collegiate history classes - American History, Government, World History, World Civilizations, European History, English Kings, Biblical History, and Archaeology. I want to help your student understand and appreciate history and be able to apply the concepts to future decisions based on the hard-won experiences of our past.
Chemistry
I have a BS degree in Chemistry and have worked as a plastics chemist for Dow Chemical Corporation and Whirlpool corporation. I can help struggling students with their high school science classes, especially high school chemistry, physics, biology, earth science, and general science. I love science, but I believe that science should be taught so that the student is engaged, understands the applications of what they are learning, and can apply solid concepts of science to their decisions about careers and life.
Elementary (K-6th)
I am an IL State Elementary Education Certified teacher with state endorsements in Middle School Education, Mathematics, General Science, Physical Science, Social Studies. I love math, science, and literacy. I have worked as a math intervention tutor for elementary students in Prairie Elementary D203 Naperville, working closely with the Curriculum coordinator and classroom teachers. I've taught 7th grade math in the classroom. I have also worked as a literacy instructor in afterschool programs.
Elementary Math
I have an IL State Certification and State Endorsement in Elementary Math. With early elementary students I work with them so that they gain innate number sense based on early Ten number frames, the underlying concepts of adding on, counting back, one-to-one relationships, more and less then. I enjoy working with older elementary children, helping them to gain confidence in their number sense, their ability to perform math calculations, and to set-up math word problems. Many children have problems with accuracy because they have trouble lining up numbers during long problems, they don't read the directions correctly, they have trouble relating the rules of fractions and decimals to understanding what is happening within a math problem. I work with each child helping them to understand the underlying math concepts within each math word problem or new skill.
Elementary Science
I am an Elementary State-Certified teacher with State Endorsements in General Science and Physical Science, along with math and history. I have a BS Degree in Chemistry and have worked as a chemist at Whirlpool Corporation and Dow Chemical. Currently I teach Middle School Physical Science and Intro to Chemistry. I strongly believe that science should be experienced and experimented with in order to understand the physical rules that define our world.
European History
I am a State Certified Teacher with a State Endorsement in History. I love history and have taken many history college classes such as British History, European History, Archaeology, World History, and World Comparative Religions. I have traveled through Western Europe and am entranced by the history I have viewed in the streets of Spain, France, Switzerland, Austria, England, Wales, etc. One should try to explore the history of this world, instead of just reading about it, but I can help your student understand the results of decisions of long dead people and culture on today's world.
GED
I am an IL State Certified Teacher with State Endorsements in Math, Science, and Social Studies. I enjoy working with students and helping them prepare for important goals in their lives. In order to prepare for the GED, I will help each student review important math, science, social studies, and language arts concepts and then focus on areas that need additional reteaching and practice.
Geography
I am an IL State Elementary Education Certified teacher with state endorsements in Middle School Education, Mathematics, General Science, Physical Science, Social Studies. I love history, geography, and social studies. I enjoy traveling to different countries, while exploring their culture, talking to their citizens, and enjoying their geography, be it oceans, deserts, mountains, or plains.
Geometry
I am an Elementary Education certified teacher and I have a State Endorsement in Math. I enjoy helping students gain a solid foundation in math. Math is an essential skill for success in life and I want to take away the fear of this subject. Geometry is a class of more than shapes and formulas, for geometry teaches students to think logically using known facts, to draw correct conclusions, and to look in a different way at the way our world uses shapes in our buildings, our designs, and in nature. Many people discover that geometry can be much understandable than the language of algebra, but I can help each student feel comfortable and successful with their geometry.
Grammar
Although we tend to speak informally, our peers and superiors are apt to judge us on the words we use when we write or speak and how we use them. As an Elementary Education teacher, I can help students build their grammar knowledge, so that they can correctly and fluently express themselves through writing and speech. Grammar Education does not have to be "Drill and Kill" but fun authentic writing, speaking, and vocabulary practice.
Phonics
During my Elementary Education program, I took several literacy education classes. In these classes I learned various strategies and methods to help emerging and beginning readers gain phonemic awareness. I also completed two practicums focusing on elementary literacy, which included working with elementary reading groups.
Physical Science
I love science and I want to engage all students into science. I want all students to understand that science is the exploration and understanding of the world around them. I have a BS Chemistry degree and I've worked as a chemist for Dow Chemical and Whirlpool. Besides chemistry, I have taken collegiate courses in biology, earth science, physics, archaeology, and qualitative analysis.
I enjoying engaging children and youth into investigating their world and using their curiosity to understand "How Things Work." I have put together science circuses for youth and children and provided science enrichment to schools. I want to help your student succeed and enjoy science.
Prealgebra
I am an IL State Elementary Education Certified teacher with state endorsements in Middle School Education, Mathematics, General Science, Physical Science, Social Studies. I love math, science, and literacy. I have worked as a math intervention tutor for elementary students in Prairie Elementary D203 Naperville, working closely with the Curriculum coordinator and classroom teachers. Besides elementary, I've taught 7th grade math and prealgebra in the classroom and tutor high-school algebra.
Reading
I am an IL State Elementary Education Certified teacher. I love math, science, and literacy. I have worked as a literacy and reading instructor in the Ace-It Sylvan Learning Center after school program. During this last year I worked with struggling elementary students at Prairie Elementary in Naperville. Reading fluency and comprehension are essential skills for a successful life and I want to ensure that each student learns to enjoy reading.
Spelling
I am an IL State Elementary Education Certified teacher. I love math, science, and literacy. Although our computers are equipped with Spell-checkers, the ability to spell is essential for reading comprehension, picking engaging words for writing projects, and knowing when to trust the Spell-Checker. In spelling, the ability to chunk words, hear the different phonetical sounds, and practice is essential. I am eager to work with your student to learn the basics of correct spelling.
Study Skills
As an Elementary Education certified teacher, I have taken Class Management, Educational Psychology, and Teaching The Exceptional Child. In these classes, I learned methods and strategies to help each child organize his lessons, develop study strategies, best learning practices and methods, and developing solid learning skills for the different learning types such as for those that learn verbally, visually, orally, or kinectically. I can help each student with his study skills and school preparation. Together the student and I can develop an organized system of keeping track of completed work, notes, homework, and assigned work. We can work together to discover best strategies for studying, reviewing for tests, note taking, and ensuring homework completion. I want to ensure that each student discovers study skills, test taking strategies, and understand his/her own best way of learning that are most effective for him and that he will continue to use in life long learning.
Vocabulary
I am an IL State Elementary Education certified teacher. Having a broad high-level vocabulary is essential to being able to comprehend reading passages, to understanding social studies and sciences, and to writing detailed, engaging, and descriptive assignments. Through the use of analyzing word roots, prefixes, suffixes, and using sentence clues, students can learn to decode vocabulary words found in their reading, science, social studies, and writing classes.