Search
Joseph S.'s Photo

Top 50 Wyzant tutor in Math, Reading, English, and Social Sciences
Joseph S.

5.0 (1,225 ratings)

5,293 hours tutoring

Your first lesson is backed by our Good Fit Guarantee
Hourly Rate: $50
Contact Joseph
Response time: 33 minutes

About Joseph

Bio

I worked as a teacher in Dartmouth Public Schools for 20 years, teaching all academic subjects. I am certified to teach at all levels. I have had experience in tutoring both Language Arts and Mathematics as well. I am certified and qualified to teach any student at any level.

I consider myself to be a creative and innovative teacher with an ability to assess students individual strengths and needs and focus lesson plans on meeting those needs.
I was particularly patient and...

I worked as a teacher in Dartmouth Public Schools for 20 years, teaching all academic subjects. I am certified to teach at all levels. I have had experience in tutoring both Language Arts and Mathematics as well. I am certified and qualified to teach any student at any level.

I consider myself to be a creative and innovative teacher with an ability to assess students individual strengths and needs and focus lesson plans on meeting those needs.
I was particularly patient and understanding when "students didn't understand" and helped them find the way. I believe in teaching not only the basics, but the process of learning.

I maintain a positive focus on learning and try to communicate an appreciation and love of learning to my students. I also try to focus on the whole student and entire process of learning as opposed to teaching just the basic subject.

To conclude, I was an English-Education Major with a Minor in Social Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. I taught 20 years at the Middle School level, student taught at Pilgrim High School in Warwick Rhode Island, and even coached high school basketball. I also have a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State College. This adds up to a versatile and flexible educator, familiar with working with all students at all levels.

Read more

Education

University of Rhode Island
English-Education
Bridgewater State College
MEd
  • Licensed teacher

Policies

Schedule

Loading...

Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

Sat

Approved Subjects

ADHD

ADHD

I am currently working with a number of students with ADD/ADHD and have worked with quite a few students with this learning challenge in the classroom. I assess the strengths and areas of improvement for each student and prescribe work on their skill level. I also limit the amount of time needed for each assignment by decreasing the total number of problems, utilizing breaks from the work, varying assignments, and minimizing distractions. I also assess the student's best modality of learning and then prescribe work based on that assessment. I maintain a patient and reinforcing teaching style, focus on success and reinforcement, and the positive. I also combine much academic work with concrete projects to avoid over attention on abstracts. I also stress listening skills such as looking at the speaker, paying attention to body language, giving feedback, and oral reviewing. In addition, I provide a study skills unit that breaks the academic work into basic parts that can be studied one skill at a team, using a parts to whole approach. A key part of my work deals with building confidence, self-esteem, and utilizing the interests of the student while always giving constant and immediate reinforcement. Where necessary, I also utilize special texts and worksheets. In many cases I will break the learning to the most basic elements or at a concrete level and utilize a parts to whole approach. I find that confidence and success are key elements in a distraction free environment with modified assignments in difficulty and quality.
Algebra 1

Algebra 1

I taught math at the middle school level for 10 years which included a great deal of algebra. In addition, I have been tutoring students of all age groups and levels in Algebra. I focus on the basic skills of Algebra, taking a student from their current level to the next level. We treat Algebra almost as a mystery to be solved in an enjoyable way. I stress not only finding the correct answer, but finding the right process to find that answer. I try to build confidence and self-esteem in my students with guided reinforcement and practice. We treat Algebra as as a discovery waiting to happen!
American History

American History

I minored in history in college, but it always was a major interest of mine, especially American history. I always felt that history not only told us a story of the past, but was a direct connection with helping us understand our present and projecting into our future. It represents a panorama of great people and great events. That is how I teach history, as a story of great people and great events and its relevance to the present. I try to make it come alive for the students. I look for patterns and trends in history and it's impact on the past and present. History is more than just dates and events, but humanity's story!
Chess

Chess

I have been an amateur chess player for many years, probably at a moderate skill level. I was self taught and read a number of books on my own. At the Dartmouth Middle School I taught chess to beginners as part of their activities program many years ago. I have also taught beginners who are adults. I have been a teacher all my life and use those skills to teach chess. I believe in breaking the game to his fundamental parts o teach moves of pieces and the power of the pieces and position and then follow that up by teaching the overall big picture and chess strategy. I would do very will introducing people new to chess or teaching the basics to beginners. I also play a pretty intersting game!.
Common Core

Common Core

I worked as a teacher in Dartmouth Public Schools for 20 years, teaching all academic subjects. I am certified to teach at all levels and currently teach all academic levels under the Common Core curriculum. I am certified and qualified to teach any student at any level and focus on the Common Core goals and objectives. I consider myself to be a creative and innovative teacher with an ability to assess students individual strengths and needs and focus lesson plans on meeting those needs through the required basic skills curriculum. I was particularly patient and understanding when "students didn't understand" and helped them find the way. I believe in teaching not only the basics, but the process of learning. I have also tutored for the PARRC test and many other assessments that measure Common Core achievement. I maintain a positive focus on learning and try to communicate an appreciation and love of learning to my students. I also try to focus on the whole student and entire process of learning as opposed to teaching just the basic subject.
Elementary (K-6th)

Elementary (K-6th)

I taught 20 years in the 6th grade and am certified to teach all subjects at the elementary level. I taught 10 years of Math/Science Reading and 10 years of Language Arts/Social Studies and Reading. In addition, I have my Masters in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State College. During my 20 years I taught students of all leveles and groups of ability. My focus has always been to assess students ability level and structure lessons to meet specific needs at that level. I believe in teaching both the basics and the process that goes into making a student a motivated lifetime learner. I have always been considered a creative and innovative teacher as well as a good motivator. Finally, I have always prided myself on understanding students individual needs and meeting those needs in the most interesting and enthusiastic way.
Elementary Math

Elementary Math

I taught math at an elementary and middle school level for 10 years. I have taught students at all skill and age levels. I believe in starting with the basics after assessing a student's skill level and then building from that point. Assessing their skill level is essential, but it is also important to make math be enjoyable and interesting. Many times we will create math games that reinforce skills and make math fun. I also think it is important to assess what stage of learning a child is at. Some are at a concrete level, some at a semi-abstract stage of learning, and some at an abstract level. I like to build from a child's strengths, especially their mode of learning. Overall, math is part of everything we do. I try to help students enjoy it, see its relevance in the world, and become life-long math students.
English

English

I was an English-Education Major at the University of Rhode Island, student taught English at Pilgrim High School, and taught Language Arts/Reading at the middle school level for 10 years. I have taught quite a few students for WyzAnt in English with a focus on writing, punctuation, spelling, and basic skills. I try to involve the student with personal writing experiences such as journal writing, reading of current events, and then integrate that into school lessons and current work. My students will work with me on any assignment ranging from school assignments to projects we have developed together. Motivation and enthusiasm plays a major role in what I teach. I have also worked with quite a few ESL/ESOL students for WyzAnt and have developed experience in that area. Again, I focus on building from the basics based on the student's skill level and needs. I also have professional writing experience as I have been a writing for national articles for About.com, a sub-group of the NY Times. This also helps quite a bit in teaching English and writing.
ESL/ESOL

ESL/ESOL

I have worked with a number of students under the category of ESL/ESOL. I take a very basic approach, first assessing where the student is regarding language development and then prescribing work starting at that level, whether it elementary or beyond. The skills I have worked on the most include vocabulary development, punctuation and grammar, spelling, and reading comprehension. For vocabulary we would work at not only learning definitions, but defining words by context and word parts. Usually I use basic elementary materials for grammar, punctuation, and spelling and build up from that point. We not only stress rules the rules of grammar and spelling, but deal with the students own written work as a curriculum for correction. We have utilized journals, personal paragraphs, and simple sentences to approach grammar, spelling, and comprehension. Overall, I have tried to take the student from where they are in English and build from that point. By stressing the basics and moving forward, I have found a great deal of success.
Grammar

Grammar

I teach grammar as part of the overall skill of writing, building from parts of speech, punctuation, capitalization, and spelling to paragraph development. I teach the basics to build up to an enriched level with the idea that writing is a skill of personal expression and meant to be enjoyable. I try to show my students the power of language by having them write on meaningful and relevant topics. Grammar is an important key to this as it represents the "road signs" to both the writer and the reader for written expression and makes expression and comprehension possible. I try to stress the role and function of grammar and make it be enjoyable.
Homeschool

Homeschool

I worked as a teacher in Dartmouth Public Schools for 20 years, teaching all academic subjects. I am certified to teach at all levels and currently teach all academic levels. Due to my certifications, I can teach in the home for school credit depending on school system approval. I am certified and qualified to teach any student at any level in middle school and elementary school and secondary English and Social Sciences for school credit. I have taught a number of home school students in all subject areas and followed current, accepted curricula, school curricula, or my own curricula. I have a great deal of experience in home schooling. I consider myself to be a creative and innovative teacher with an ability to assess students individual strengths and needs enabling me to work on a broad based in home program focusing on meeting those needs. I am particularly patient and understanding when "students don't understand" helping them to find the way. I believe in teaching not only the basics, but the process of learning. I maintain a positive focus on learning and try to communicate an appreciation and love of learning to my students. I also try to focus on the whole student and entire process of learning as opposed to teaching just the basic subject. To conclude, I was an English-Education Major with a Minor in Social Sciences from the University of Rhode Island. I taught 20 years at the Middle School level, student taught at Pilgrim High School in Warwick Rhode Island, and even coached high school basketball. I also have a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State College. This adds up to a versatile and flexible educator, familiar with working with all levels of student
ISEE

ISEE

I am certified and qualified to teach any academic subject for elementary and middle school grades. Therefore, I am prepared to tutor any skill required on the ISEE. In addition, I have tutored test preparation in the past including the ISEE, SSAT, and SAT for other educational businesses. I have a great deal of experience in test preparation for these tests. I not only focus on the academic skills students need, but the overall strategies that help students succeed in test taking. I particularly focus on reading comprehension, verbal reasoning (including synonyms and sentence completions), math, and essay writing. As I mentioned, I not only focus on the academic skills needed for the above topics, but test taking strategies that can be utilized to give a student a better chance of answering questions correctly. These strategies include elimination of wrong answers for multiple choice, previewing questions, time management, context skills for vocabulary, use of word roots for vocabulary, and many more. As you can see, I have a great deal of experience, skill, and knowledge that is required to prepare a student to succeed in taking the ISEE test. I also have a proven track record of success in dealing with many students for this test and the overall certifications and qualifications to teach any academic skill to a future test taker.
Literature

Literature

Overall, I was an English Education Major on a secondary level and focused on American and English literature, as well as composition. I have even taught students on a college level one-on-one to help them in literature. I try to relate great works of literature to current, relevant themes in the world to better involve students and motivate them to learn. Overall, I try to show my students literature is a journey through real life experience.
Phonics

Phonics

I taught reading at an elementary level and middle school level for 20 years, have my Masters in Elementary Ed and in many ways specialized in a phonics approach towards teaching of reading i.e. sounding out vowels and consonants, consonant blends, vowels sounds within syllables, and the sounds of vowel patterns. One method that was very helpful was to look at the parts of a word, roots and vowels, and look for common patterns and the sounds they made. I found a children might be able to read most of a word but have trouble with one syllable. We would look at the word for the sounds of the vowels within that syllable, see if it followed any rules, patterns, or was irregular, and then sound it out. Many times, the child might read the word or syllable incorrectly the first time, but it might sound like a word that he/she knew and made sense in the sentence. A child might know know more words by sounds than sight and could figure out the new word because he/she had heard it before. To sum it up, I taught children to sound out words and syllables based on common and irregular patters, attack words syllable by syllable, and using their listening vocabulary as an aid.
Prealgebra

Prealgebra

I have taught mathematics and algebra for over 10 years at the middle school level. I believe in building from the basics to enrichment in accelerated programs. I have taught students of all ages and of all skill levels in my classrooms so I have quite a bit of experience. I try to make Algebra enjoyable and a discovery process for the student by solving problems for unknown variables using the student's imagination and interest. I believe Algebra should be fun and part of a lifelong learning process.
Public Speaking

Public Speaking

I have taught public speaking in my classroom through a variety of units on debating, persuasive speaking, presenting oral reports, and even as part of conducting a mock trial in class. From creative activities like these, public speaking becomes fun. I teach not only how to organize a speech by presenting an interesting opening statement, the body of the speech, and the closing or "clincher,", but I teach activities that develop confidence, presentation, and enthusiasm. I also stress knowing the audience and knowing what they expect from the speaker. I have been a public speaker many times as a spokesperson for a number of non-profits, including the Boys & Girls Club, Special Olympics, and The Arc. I have actually spoken in front of thousands of people. From these experiences I have learned that public speaking can be a joy and a way to "get your message across and help people. Confidence, organization, and excitement with the topic make public speaking easy and relevant. As a result of my experience as an educator and as a public speaker, I am highly qualified to teach these skills to my students.
Reading

Reading

I taught Reading at the Middle School level for 20 years as part of a block system and integrated Reading as a curriculum into every academic area. I have worked with all skill levels ranging from enrichment to basic skills. I also integrate a study skills program into reading and all subjects. I majored in English-Education with a focus on literature studies. Reading and literature were major focuses of mine. I believe in assessing a student's reading skill level and designing lessons to meet those needs as well as integrating outside reading and projects to enhance interest and motivation.
SAT Writing

SAT Writing

I have tutored numerous students in test preparation ranging from middle school age to college for the SAT, SSAT, ISEE and others. I focus not only on helping students with the subject matter of the tests but with strategies of test taking, time management, and what to do when you don't know the answer. My students have had a great deal of success using these strategies. Overall, I am a professional educator who has taught all academics to students of all ages. I have experience in tutoring for all types of test preparation as well as numerous strategies for success. My background as a professional writer is an added advantage for the writing and verbal parts of the test. This makes me a versatile educator who can tutor and instruct students to achieve in the classroom and on entrance level tests.
Social Studies

Social Studies

I am a certified teacher in Social Studies at a secondary level in Massachusetts. In addition, I taught Social Studies and History at the Middle School level for 10 years. In my classrooms, we did everything from a traditional textbook approach to learning reinforced by study skills units to more creative activities that involved projects, role playing, debating, and even mock trials of historic events. Social Studies combines all of the social sciences ranging from history to psychology, sociology, geography and more. We studied Social Studies as the story of people on this planet, past and present. As a teacher, I always tried to relate our topics of study to current times to help understand the modern world. I found Social Studies to be one of the most enjoyable subjects I had a chance to teach for me and the students. Their involvement, investment, and creativity were used to engage students in Social Sciences as an ongoing, living subject.
Special Needs

Special Needs

I have worked with a variety of students with special needs including those with Attention Deficit Disorder, reading and math problems, and language barriers. I have worked with students with these special challenges both in the classroom and one on one in a tutoring situation. I assess the skill level of the student and their strongest modality of learning and then prescribe work based on that assessment. I try a very patient and reinforcing approach with work prescribed at their level, stressing success, confidence, and the building of self-esteem. Where necessary, I also utilize special texts and worksheets. In many cases I will break the learning to the most basic elements or at a concrete level and utilize a parts to whole approach. I taught students with special needs in my classroom for over 20 years and also worked professionally for Special Olympics, giving me a wealth of experience.
SSAT

SSAT

I have worked with numerous studies preparing for the SSAT test focusing on strategies for test taking, test taking skills, and academics. I focus on building confidence, self-esteem, and what to do when students don't know the answer.
Study Skills

Study Skills

I am certified and qualified to teach at any level and any subject from elementary and to middle school levels. I am also certified to teach English and Social Sciences at the secondary level. During my 20 years of teaching 6th Grade at the Dartmouth Middle School, one of my major focuses was to help students learn study skills that would be applicable to any subject. Study skills represents a process of learning that includes surveying material before actually studying it, forming questions from the students curiosity, reading or looking for those answers, actually reading for those answers and reviewing and reciting answers to those questions. This is called the SQ3R method (Survey, Question, Read, Recite, and Review) and makes the student an active participant in the learning process. As a teacher, I stressed reading as an important part of every subject and focused on the entire process of learning, not just searching for correct answers. I encouraged students to utilize study skills that would make them lifetime learners with interesting materials that was relevant to their lives. Motivation and interest is very important to studying. Study skills are part of a learning method as opposed to reading and rereading for the right answer.
Vocabulary

Vocabulary

As an English major and English teacher, I have stressed the importance of vocabulary development for many years. I encourage students to develop vocabulary through reading, focusing on media, and in every day communication. In addition, I stress context skills for vocabulary development, building and understanding words through word building with root words, prefixes, and suffixes, and studying the etymology or history of words. We also develop vocabulary through writing, oral discussion, and even role playing, making the study of vocabulary interesting and enjoyable. Finally, I use professional and technical journals, magazines, and articles to help the student learn new words. Overall, it's about words, words, words! Vocabulary development can be enjoyable and interesting based on study the many meanings a word has, its word parts, and the way it is used.
World History

World History

I minored in history in college, but it always was a major interest of mine, especially American history and modern history. I always felt that history not only told us a story of the past, but was a direct connection with helping us understand our present and projecting into our future. It represents a panorama of great people and great events. That is how I teach history, as a story of great people and great events and its relevance to the present. I try to make it come alive for the students. I look for patterns and trends in history and it's impact on the past and present. History is more than just dates and events, but humanity's story!
Writing

Writing

I have taught writing, English, and Language Arts for 20 years at a middle school level. I try to start with the basics, sentence structure, punctuation, paragraph development, and spelling and build those skills into personal writing experiences for my students. I teach writing as a total process beginning with pre-writing experiences, brainstorming, organization, and composing a first draft. We then proofread with a peer editor, re-write a second copy, and then finalize our writing sample. Writing is an organized approach to express oneself. I like my students to keep a journal so they can see the power that writing has to communicate and the relevance it can have in their lives. I also stress creativity and just plain "fun" so writing is a lifetime skill to be enjoyed. I also try to work with my students on a variety of projects that incorporate writing into the project as the key skill. Lifetime learners and writers are very meaningful to me and I try to help students develop into enthusiastic and motivated writers. I have had a national column myself for About.Com, a sub-group of the New York Times. This adds to my experience to teach writing. In summary, we develop from the basics to the highest level a student can go, trying to help students learn the joy of writing.
Joseph S.'s Photo

Questions? Contact Joseph before you book.

Still have questions?

Contact Joseph
Response time: 33 minutes

Ratings and Reviews

Rating

5.0 (1,225 ratings)
5 star
(1,188)
4 star
(35)
3 star
(2)
2 star
(0)
1 star
(0)

Reviews

First session a huge success!

My son just had his first lesson with Joe. When I asked him a bit afterward if he thought Joe would be able to help him improve his writing, he replied with a huge "YES!" and a smile that I don't often see as big as it was. Joe's used an approach and terms that my son could relate to, and got him engaged within the very first minutes of their session. We look forward to the next! 9/7/13 My son continues to work with Joe as he enters 8th grade. Joe has infinite patience and an extremely positive attitude toward learning. My son looks forward to his weekly meetings with Joe and is always energized after them. Joe has a way of coaching him through assignments that would end up in arguments if I tried to do the same. Joe picks up on what my son is interested in and uses those things as the examples for learning.

Lisa, 39 lessons with Joseph

Joe is excellent.

Joe is excellent, and he is a true professional. He is greatly assisting my son by reviewing, improving, and evaluating his 8th grade English grammar and writing skills. He works well with boys at this age, and my son really likes him.

Peter, 10 lessons with Joseph

Patient and understanding tutor

Mr. Joe is a very patient and understanding teacher! He creates an environment of learning by being personable and commenting on what's going right.Our child looks forward to his time with Mr.Joe and therefore puts in a good effort.Mr.Joe has been a teacher a long time and has techniques to help foster a positive teacher/student relationship.

Julie, 5 lessons with Joseph

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Joe is a great teacher and this week and he helped my son with the English test, something which wasn't planned ahead of the session.

Vijay, 24 lessons with Joseph

Best session!

Activity based learning helps my son to stay focused in the session.He was so excited to type the answers.He learned the secret"keep at it":) Thanks for another great lesson Mr Jo!

Narmadha, 51 lessons with Joseph

Great Reading Instructor with Prepared Materials

Joseph taught a great lesson with reading comprehension and key sight words for my son. I was very pleased with the materials and reading passages that he presented for use. I highly recommend. You can tell he is experienced in the education field. Thank you.

Charmaine, 22 lessons with Joseph

Great tutor, very knowledgeable!

Joseph was able to keep my son interested in learning! He has a great demeanor with children and is very patient. He came well prepared for the visit and provided extra things to work on in between sessions.

Danielle , 87 lessons with Joseph

Knowledgable and patient tutor

Joseph went over the format of ISEE and the strategies of Verbal Reasoning section today. He is a patient, considerate, and explicit tutor. My daughter felt the teaching/learning pace was comfortable and enjoyed her lesson greatly.

Henry, 13 lessons with Joseph

So Thankful We Found Mr. S

Our son is entering 6th grade and requires additional help with math. Mr. S is wonderful and relates well to our son. He is learning a lot and we are so happy we found this wonderful tutor!

L, 14 lessons with Joseph

Broad view

Joseph did an excellent job of helping me understand author's purpose, even though we didn't set out to learn it! He doesn't focus on one thing, and he makes sure the student understands everything.

William, 6 lessons with Joseph
Hourly Rate: $50
Response time: 33 minutes
Contact Joseph