“On The Q.T.”
Click on link below to access tips and additional
resources:
Þ Community Extension (field trips)
Þ Newspapers/Magazines and the Media
Þ Incorporating Holidays with Instruction
Literacy “quick tips” provided by the Program Coordinator
and Literacy Site Coordinators at Lincoln Land Community College, Springfield,
Illinois. Through their efforts, they
have also found additional websites to compliment and enhance tip ideals.
o Q.T. (1) Getting Started: During your first tutoring sessions, it’s important to establish rapport. One goal should be to find something (or many things) to admire about the adult learner. The following are a few questions that you might use to get to know your student better: What have you taught someone else to do?; What would you like to lean how to do yourself?; What is your favorite television program, movie, store to shop at, and so on?; What place would you like to visit some day?; What would you like to know about me?
o Q.T. (2) Reluctant Readers: Some adult learners who are low readers are often reluctant to read out loud. One strategy to assist your adult learner in overcoming this barrier is tutor participation. Begin by allowing the learner to select the reading text. Tutor introduces, then reads the selected text to the adult. Tutor and learner discuss what the adult understood from the selection. Next the learner reads the selected text. When the learner comes across a difficult word, the tutor should tell them the word and record each missed word to use later in vocabulary building. Note: If learner misses a large amount of words, tutor should assist in choosing a less difficult text.
o Q.T. (3) Puzzles and Word Games: Puzzles and word games are great alternatives to offer adult learners. Giving choices helps to keep motivation high and enhance the learning process. If your learner enjoys crosswords or word searches, the internet has a huge variety of websites with free puzzles to download or even play online. Many of these website allow you to select the grade level of the learner so that the puzzles you select are challenging.
Þ Additional
Resources
o http://www.nald.ca/province/nfld/redochre/highact.htm
o Q.T. (1) You are the first step a student needs to take in order to improve their performance in a math course. You may have to help them overcome math anxiety. Math anxiety is a learned response that you can overcome by improving your study habits. One idea to assist in learning mathematical terms: Make note cards for terms, symbols, and formulas. Include a definition, sample problem, and answer. Review these cards often to retain the terms and practice, practice, practice!
o Q.T. (2) Crazy, but true! Many errors in addition and subtraction can be identified and improve upon, if only students would show their work. Errors in regrouping, substitution, direction, placement and omission are problems that can be resolved. Graph paper is an inexpensive way to help your student, help themselves. The use of graph paper organizes the math problem. Each number is in its own box representing the ones, tens, hundreds, thousands and so on. Students are now able to think through math problems with a visual understanding.
o Q.T. (3) Students are comfortable with math, when tutors are comfortable with math. Tutors can assist their students by demonstrating the everyday use for math. One good example is the introduction of decimals using money. Our adult learners pay bills, buy groceries and shop. Use these everyday life skills to show how decimals are necessary. As the student develops confidence, begin using money in word problems.
Þ Additional
Resources
o http://www.meritsoftware.com/index.html
o http://teacher.scholastic.com/mathhunt/index.asp
o http://www.mwcc.mass.edu/HTML/DEVENSLEARNINGCENTER/problems.html
o Q.T. (1) For students of English as a Second Language, it is important to note that literacy is not the primary concern, but communication is. The student wants to be able to communicate, understand, and participate in conversations with co-workers, doctors, and others they come into contact with everyday. Finding simple topics that can be used and practiced outside the learning environment are best. Weather is a topic you can begin with at each tutoring session—you can adapt many lessons around the subject of today’s weather. Also, the visual aid is right outside the window!
o Q.T. (2) Before integrating online resources and web-based ESL activities into your tutoring, familiarize your student with key terms and concepts needed to navigate the internet: 1) Put labels on the MOUSE, KEYBOARD, MONITOR, PRINTER, etc. and review the vocabulary first; 2) Students must be made familiar with the scroll bar, the address line, close and minimize buttons, pop-ups ads, links, etc. Begin with a web page you are familiar with and navigate it together for a few minutes for several successive tutoring sessions, gradually introducing these necessary concepts. Be sure to let the student control the mouse as often as possible; 3) At the end of each session, ask the student what he/she enjoyed about using the internet and what was confusing or difficult. At the next session, create a word list incorporating those areas of difficulty and dialogue about them.
o Q.T. (3) Identify a real-life need or problem and solve it together. A) Does the student have difficulty interpreting a credit card statement or utility bill statement? Bring a bill or statement of yours and walk through the layout of the statement (including location of key information such as account number and mail-to address), important vocabulary, and unfamiliar titles and headings. B) Does the student know how to locate information in the yellow pages? Bring a phone book to your session. Make a list of people or businesses your student might need to call (schools, doctors, plumbers, pest control) and practice using the yellow pages. Talk about alphabetizing and do further practice with that concept as needed.
Þ Familiar
Websites
Þ Additional
Resources
o http://www.handsonenglish.com/
o Q.T. (1) Field trips benefit adult learners in many ways. They give the learning activity meaning and they provide an opportunity for the learner(s) to connect with their community. Field trips should be an extension of the learning activity, the learner(s) should be prepared academically and socially prior to the trip, and the trip destination should have knowledge of your intent. A history lesson could include a trip to the State Capitol or hall of records and with pre-planning, brochures could be supplied to make the field trip educational and fun.
o Q.T. (2) For tutors who normal tutoring site is not the library. Make the library one of your monthly field trip activities. The library is more than just a warehouse for books – it is an adventure! Each month can be a new discovery for the adult learner and tutor. One visit to include applying for a library card and familiarizing your learner with the on-line catalog system. Great exercise in computer literacy. Have learner locate books that peak their interest. Then, locate the book(s) on the shelf. Success is a wonderful thing and this one didn’t cost a dime.
o Q.T. (3) Community extensions can be as close as the nearest computer. You can see and read about things within your own community, another state, another country, and even another planet. Websites such as MSN offer encyclopedia type information through Encarta and Science/Technology links such as MSNBC/SPACENEWS. Again, the adult learner should choose the destination of interest. You as the tutor should guide the learning process by pre-activity planning: Why do you want to live here? What do you want to know about this place? Climate? Distance? Economics? Population? Industry? Cost of Living? Education? Tourism? This could be a lesson in computer literacy as well as global learning.
Þ Additional
Resources
o http://www.field-guides.com/
o http://www.beasmartshopper.com/pages/home.html
o http://www.articlesforeducators.com/fieldtrips/
o http://www.msnbc.com/news/default.asp?0ct=-34o
o http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/artcenter.aspx
o Q.T. (1) Newspapers, magazines, and other forms of written communication can transform readers into writers. One such example is using the newspaper to find various writing samples. A “scavenger hunt” helps students develop their own writing skills by locating examples from articles written by professionals. Examples include: Statistical stories; Descriptive stories; Stories that answer “who, what, when, where”; and stories with direct quotes.
o Q.T. (2) Newspapers and magazines have relevance. They contain a variety of topics students find interesting and the information is current. They are available at your community library in print or can easily to be accessed via the internet. A fun activity involving magazines is the “Birthday Budget” or any other special occasion: 1) Allow learner to choose the occasion; 2) Learner sets spending limit (i.e., $10 per each family member; 3) Learner selects gifts for each member of their family using magazine advertisements; 4) Learner clips ad from magazine and pastes item along with cost on a separate sheet of paper.
o Q.T. (3) Charts and Graphs: Newspapers, magazines and even the local T.V. news use charts and graphs for visual impact. Charts, graphs, and maps are an important element in the media as it provides picture information at a glance. Adult learners may need assistance in reading and understanding charts, graphs, and maps. This quick lessons may help. Have learner: 1) Skim newspapers, magazines, etc. to identify graphs, charts, and maps that are intended to provide information; 2) Cut out one (1) graph, chart, or map and paste on separate sheet of paper; 3) Write the title of the item and where they got it; 4) Then write a paragraph that could have replaced the illustration. Upon completion of this project, tutor and learner could then discuss which represents the information better or why illustrations are used more today.
Þ Additional
Resources
o http://newslink.org/news.html
o http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/subjects/mapsofcontinents.htm
o Q.T. (1) Holidays are great ways of improving reading, writing, and math skills. Now that you know your student(s), you should know what holidays they observe. The month of December includes many religious and ethnic celebration. Some suggested activities for that month could include: Christmas crosswords or word games; The history of Hanukah in the Jewish faith; or the celebration of Kwanza in the African-American community.
o Q.T. (2) The adult learner has significant milestones that can also be interpreted as “holidays” or reasons to celebrate. Most obvious is their birthday or a family members birthday, but other important dates could have just as much meaning such as passing a test, completing an application without help, being able to read to their children are all reasons to celebrate. Some ideas to mark these such milestone could be to have the adult learner to verbalize their significant through a writing exercise. Have learner: 1) Identify milestone (i.e., birthday or specific accomplishment); 2) Write down at least one reason why it is important to them; 3) What they plan to do with this accomplishment. This activity can assist with future goals setting for tutor and student.
o Q.T (3) Calendars and Math: Calendar and math games are really fun and challenging for the adult learner. They offer the adult learner a change in their learning experience. One quick game could be to total four dates on a calendar and have the learner use the following formula to provide you with the four dates. The total is 4 dates that form a square on a calendar (i.e., Wed. 16th, Thurs. 17th, Wed. 23rd, and Thurs. 24th = 80). 80 = n + n + 1 + n + 7 + n + 8. Begin by guiding leaner through simplifying the formula (i.e., Total = 4n + 16). Remind the learner that what ever they do on one side of the equation, they must do on the other side (i.e., 80 (-16) = 4n + 16 (-16). Next: Divide both sides by 4, which will give you the number 16 to replace the “n” in the formula. The answer: 16 + (16+1) + (16+7) + (16+8) = 16, 17, 23, 24
Additional Resources
o http://www.papersnowflakes.com/
o http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
o Q.T.
(1) Tutors are valuable
additions for teachers and students in a classroom environment. Classroom tutors need to be flexible in
order to assist the teacher and aid in the learning process. The classroom teacher will provide direction
for the tutor. When given directions to
assist students as needed, be sure to:
1) Facilitate the learning (don’t do the work for the learner); 2) Get
around to all those with questions (don’t linger too long with one student, unless
directed to do so); 3) If more than one learner is asking the same question,
reinforce the teacher’s directions and ask teacher for clarification. Remember:
The classroom teacher and tutor are partners in learning.
o Q.T. (2) Classroom tutors bring expertise to the classroom as well as offer assistance to the classroom teacher. If you have a special talent with computers, writing or math, you may be ask by the teacher to facilitate a small group activity. A small group activity can give you an opportunity to become more familiar with the learning styles of the adult learners in class. Begin by getting direction from the classroom teacher (many times this is a cooperative learning lesson as well). As facilitator/tutor, you are a resource to information and a guide through the learning process. You do not have to know all the answers.
o Q.T. (3) Individual tutoring in reading, writing, computer literacy, and math are just a few of the important contribution the classroom tutor provides. Teachers also need tutors to assist with the day-to-day task that are generally overlooked. Tutors with computer skills can do research and program development. Tutors can often provide the teacher with additional prep-time by acting as test monitor. Tutors are genuine assets to teachers when they provide assistance with filing, photocopying, attendance records, organizing books and materials. Most classroom teachers feel honored and privileged to have a reliable classroom tutor.
Additional Resources
o http://www.netsense.net/cares/catutr.htm
o http://www.tutornation.com/base/help.html
o http://www.usu.edu/arc/america_reads/lead_teacher_manual.pdf
o http://www.classroom.com/login/home.jhtml