Reading Intervention, English Language Development, and French

Barbara T.

Elementary (K-6th)

I am a certified teacher in California and Nevada. I completed my student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom teaching all subjects. Following this experience, after graduation and licensure, I served as a long-term substitute in a 2nd grade classroom as well as in a 6th grade classroom teaching accelerated and grade level Reading and English. I currently work in a K-8 environment teaching English as a second language to English learners. My special interests include language arts and French.

English

I have experience teaching 6th grade English and tutoring AVID students in both middle and high school in English. I learn new vocabulary by receiving a word of the day, and incorporate vocabulary lessons in my tutoring using Marzano's strategies for learning academic vocabulary. Additionally, I have a bachelor's degree in comparative literature/French and am fluent in literary terms to help understand a wide variety of texts.

ESL/ESOL

In December 2010, I took the California Tests for English Learners and passed all three exams to add English Learner authorization on my teaching credential. I am currently employed part-time with the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and instruct elementary and middle-school students on learning English as a second language. I enjoy applying the methodology learned in my CTEL coursework with these learners, and I am considering going further in this area which I perceive to be a high need area for learners of all ages.

French

I specialized in French literature within my major area of study in college (Comparative Literature). In order to specialize in this area, students were expected to be academically fluent in French - conversing, reading and writing fluently. I also worked for a French company, lived in France, and have many years of experience tutoring French from preschool to college age students. J'adore le francais!

Grammar

I have experience teaching grammar from kindergarten to 8th grade. I enjoy teaching grammar using various engagement strategies. Usually, students are surprised to find that learning grammar can be achieved while having fun!

Handwriting

I am certified in teaching the Zaner Bloser handwriting method for both manuscript and cursive handwriting. As a credentialed teacher, I must teach handwriting in the elementary classroom as part of the writing standards. I have several resources available to me that will help students know where to begin to form their letters on the lines and how to spatially orient all letters. I also have tactile cards for letters to incorporate a mulit-sensory approach to lettering.

Phonics

I am a certified teacher K-8 in California. As part of my teacher preparation, we were required to learn the subject of phonics as a skill that is required in learning to teach students to read and to develop better reading fluency. As a basis for phonics and reading instruction, we focused on the latest research in the report entitled Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and its Implications for Reading Instruction (2000). This report highlights best practices in reading instruction and it draws heavily on phonics. Specifically, the teaching points within the subject of phonics help students with word identification, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension. The subject of phonics is based on the alphabetic principle which states that each letter makes up a sound or phoneme. The sounds of these letters blended together help students pronounce or decode unknown words. The teaching of phonics involves explicit instruction of vowel patterns (long, short, schwa, closed and open syllables and diphthongs), vowel digraphs (when two letters produce one sound), vowel consonant e (silent e rule), r-controlled vowels (car, fur, sir), and the -le ending (becomes its own syllable). Phonics also has rules about consonant patterns such as consonant digraphs (two consonants make up one sound or phoneme) and the short vowel + consonant variation (the k sound as in leek is spelled with a -ck when the vowel is short as in lick). The teaching of phonics has been shown, particularly in this report, to be a more effective approach in the teaching of reading than any other approach. These key vowel and consonant patterns and their variations require explicit instruction of the letter-sound relationship to better teach students to read. My teaching focuses on the importance of phonics in the reading process.

Praxis

In my Teacher Preparation program, I was required to take the Praxis I and II exams. I purchased the preparation book published by ETS and I successfully passed with higher than average scores at the first attempt. I can help educators with these required Praxis exams by sharing this resource as well as other test taking strategies I used for myself to succeed.

Proofreading

During my experience tutoring AVID middle and high school students in English, and teaching writing to 2nd and 6th graders, I have used strategies to help students have an ear for language while proofreading their written work. Helping students synthesize what they have learned in grammar, vocabulary, semantics, and writing skills allows them to become better proofreaders. I think I can help your student enjoy proofreading.

Reading

I have experience teaching reading from the kindergarten to the 8th grade level. Using various strategies, I have helped empower students to become better readers, both with reading fluency and comprehension.

Spelling

Spelling is a particular passion of mine. I have experience tutoring a middle school student with local and state spelling bees and have several resources to help demystify spelling such as learned patterns and exceptions. This is one of my personal favorite subjects in the language arts.

Study Skills

I spent over three years as an AVID Paraprofessional. The AVID program encourages students to pursue rigorous subjects and a college preparatory path. In exchange, students receive tutoring as well as help with organization and study skills. As a Paraprofessional in the AVID program, I helped students with binder organization, note taking, using their agendas effectively, and study skills. Additionally, I completed my Teacher Preparation program with an online university. In addition to working part-time and caring for my family, it was imperative that I had effective study skills. This is an area that can help students use their time efficiently and boost achievement, and I would love to share some of my strategies.

Vocabulary

My experience tutoring and teaching English and the Language Arts includes the subject of teaching vocabulary. I use research-based strategies for learning vocabulary. I believe learning academic vocabulary will help students improve their understanding across all content areas. I am eager to teach these strategies and to show how comprehension can improve with them.

Writing

Writing is one of my personal favorite topics. I have tutored AVID students in writing at both the middle and high school level, and have taught writing as part of an English class to 6th graders as well as to 2nd graders. I enjoy teaching students how to organize their thoughts through a structured writing format, make their writing come alive through word choices, and help them identify how to improve sentence structure. Writing can also be an enjoyable means of self-expression and creativity. I want students to embrace the written form in all its functions.