I've always been drawn to sharing my love of learning with others. I began tutoring in high school and I’ve been working full time as an English tutor for the past 3 years. I double majored in English and Psychology at Clark University, where I graduated summa cum laude in 2013. I specialize in reading and writing for grades 7—12, and English and Psychology at the college level. I also work with ESL adults to compose personal letters and emails, including parent-teacher communications,...
I've always been drawn to sharing my love of learning with others. I began tutoring in high school and I’ve been working full time as an English tutor for the past 3 years. I double majored in English and Psychology at Clark University, where I graduated summa cum laude in 2013. I specialize in reading and writing for grades 7—12, and English and Psychology at the college level. I also work with ESL adults to compose personal letters and emails, including parent-teacher communications, job-related inquiries and worker disputes, as well as editing text for websites and online businesses.
When I begin tutoring a new student, I often hear them repeating the phrase, "I can't." It's always a joy to hear this phrase disappear a few weeks into tutoring. I believe my role as an educator is to help my students see that success is much closer than they think, that taking the extra time they need is something to be proud of, and that as they demonstrate their own strengths, they will build trust in their own abilities. I strive to approach all challenges with patience, confidence, and nonjudgment. I believe that improving reading skills fosters creativity, empathy, and lifelong learning. In my spare time, I write music and poetry and draw realistic portraits.
I look forward to meeting new students and sharing in the joy of their success!
Teaching Methods for Grades 7—12:
My lesson plans revolve loosely around a collection of what I consider the best English short stories, from authors such as Ray Bradbury, Roald Dahl, and Truman Capote. Reading these examples of effective writing aloud with my students helps me monitor their fluency and identify gaps in vocabulary. They also provide the material to explore different types of narration, methods of building characterization and mood, and literary devices such as metaphor, foreshadowing, symbolism, and parallel structure. Before I begin a new story with a student, I give them a prompt that focuses on one of these components of effective writing. Then, as we go through the story, the student highlights particular passages that relate to the topic and we discuss examples they find independently and ones they miss. For homework, the student uses the passages they highlight as supportive evidence in an essay on the particular story and topic.
My students also have an additional, less formal writing assignment each week where they practice using new vocabulary words in context. Most of the words they use come from a vocabulary workbook that contains additional exercises. When I begin working with a student, I have them take a brief placement test to determine which book they should start with out of a set of 8. They also take a quiz every few weeks to monitor their progress.
I begin each lesson by going over the student's homework with them. I point out the strengths of each piece and identify areas that need improvement in terms of concise language, proper diction and grammar, clarity, and essay structure. I encourage my students to make as many corrections as they can independently and then I help them fill in the gaps. We may spend some time brainstorming, outlining, and revising together depending on the student's needs.
Although my students have an analytical writing assignment most weeks, I substitute this assignment with a journal entry or personal essay every few lessons, especially if we're working on a longer story or after lessons when the student takes a test.
I find that using stories which incorporate suspense, humor, twist endings, and captivating characters helps students maintain interest. In all my lessons, I place a particular focus on what makes language beautiful and evocative, what constitutes effective writing, and how it can be used to promote empathy, facilitate insights, and change opinions.
College, Professionals, ESL, Dictation, & Procrastination:
Many times when a client is stuck on a writing assignment, I find that they need only to stop writing and start talking to get their ideas flowing again. One of my favorite parts of being a tutor is taking dictation. It’s always satisfying for me to turn a dead end around by simply asking a few questions and typing my student’s answers as they’re speaking. More often than not, a few minutes of conversation produces an outline or rough draft that disperses all feelings of hopelessness with minimal effort.
For more general editing and organization, I like to use google docs with students so that we can both view and edit the piece at the same time. I’m comfortable citing in both APA and MLA format and I have experience assisting with database research and literature reviews, as well as designing & organizing psychological research. I particularly enjoy literary analysis and I’m happy to assist students with works of any length whether it be for Intro to Lit, literary theory, or graduate work from renaissance studies to contemporary literature.
