NOTE: For a 60-minute class, you would just sign up for two 30-minute classes. If you want a back-to-back 60-minute class, there is a 10-minute break in between. Many parents sign their children up for more than one class in a week, instead.....but I do have parents who have signed them up for two back-to-back classes on the same day. You may sign up for as many classes as you prefer in a week but you are charged per class. 

I also tutor MATH but parents need to find an open reading tutoring class time/day that works for them....for math....and then contact me about that time/day they want. After I know the time/day you want for math tutoring, I will change that reading class to a math class. ONLY after changing it to math, and letting you know it's been changed, will it be possible to enroll in it with Outschool. Thanks!

INFORMATION: I'm open to following a text-based reading program for parents who would rather have that but it's not necessary when building the foundations from the well-researched science of reading. I use highly-researched and proven methods to assess and help students master those important reading milestones. 

First, for early readers (K-2nd...and some 3rd graders) I use assessment materials to determine what they need help with and where they are in the foundations of reading. When students are fluent enough (usually 3rd-12th), I do lessons with them that help improve comprehension....teach them tips on how to answer the questions with proper sentence structure by using the questions.....teach them how to find the answers to test questions, and homework quickly and efficiently using things like keywords to then scan the text they just read for the answers....teach them about the main reasons author's write (author's purpose) and have them figure out which ones different texts were written for......teach them about inferences and work on making conclusions based on the information + their inferences in the text......find the main idea, theme, and supporting details......work on vocabulary development.....teach them about cause & effect, etc.....I have reading materials to cover those concepts, and more, that are part of the standards they're expected to learn throughout the different grades. 

Based on assessing their current ability...both directly with assessment materials for the K-2nd/3rd and indirectly with the older students....and for all students in every class we have....I use materials to target those areas. Students can also use the time on homework, or by getting help with wrong answers on tests or previous homework. You would just need to send pictures of the things you want to be covered by Sunday, earlier in the day whenever possible, since I am usually too busy Mon-Sat to look over them before their next class. I would be much better prepared if I could look at the materials on Sunday, which is my day off. You don't need to do that though. It's up to what you want with the tutoring time.

(For older students who have all the foundations of reading down, usually taught in grades K-3rd, please see the bottom of this section.)

For students who are in the foundations of reading level (usually PreK-2nd/3rd) we will also be doing some skill work based on what they specifically need, during our classes. There is a whole science behind this way of teaching the K-3rds, called Differentiated Reading Instruction. It has been very successful both in statistical studies and in my own teaching experiences. 

Due to my experience.....and maybe an odd brain..... lol :-) .....I see patterns as students read. Then, I not only make the corrections and comments during the lesson, and have some quick mini-lessons on things they missed or don't know.....but I also plan lessons for future classes based on those areas they need help with. The main struggles with reading come from specific "steps" every student needs to learn in order to build the foundation to read well: 

1. Basic Alphabet Knowledge, which is learning letter names and sounds. 

2. "Letter Patterns" are the patterns letters make together which I help students recognize so that it will help increase their vocabulary and reading speed (ex. cat/pat/fat, bit/pit/sit, bug/rug, tug, etc....). 

3. Blends/Digraphs/Diphthongs & Vowel Teams/R-Controlled Vowels: 

"Blends" are consonants that have letter combinations like "tr, st, pl" where you can hear each sound as you're blending them.

"Digraphs" are letter combinations that only make one single sound when blended together, like "ch, sh, th." 

"Diphthongs/Vowel Teams" make one sound for each letter which then changes into a second sound when blended together like, "ea, oa, ie." 

"R-Controlled Vowels" are when the r follows a vowel and makes it so the vowel is no longer short or long but a different sound entirely, due to the r controlling them. 

4. "Vowel Consonant e" are words that consist of long vowels written with one letter (not a vowel team) followed by a single consonant, and a silent e. It is also known as “Magic e" or "Silent e" (ex. wade, rude, eve, hide, etc...). 

Once the K-3rd students have those beginning skills down well, we would then work mostly on reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills (which cover many different concepts like "cause & effect/main idea & supporting details/author's purpose, etc...") to reinforce what they've learned so we can strengthen them for continued success in reading in 4th-12th grade. Although they touch on things briefly, like the main idea, supporting details, etc....before 4th grade, it accelerates greatly in all the nonfiction texts they will read as they get into 4th grade and above. I like to make sure they get exposure, earlier, as soon as they are able to understand the concepts in the way I explain them to the students so they will know them when their schools start to cover them...and will remember them better than students usually do when they only get them covered quickly in their schools. 

For the upper-level readers....often 3rd/4th grade through 12th...and any K-3rd students with a solid foundation on their reading foundation skills (see above)...... there will be additional areas to cover, like the "schwa" sound, vocabulary extension, multisyllabic decoding, and many different aspects of reading comprehension. Although foundational steps are taught in grades K-3rd, many older students are missing some of these, which I can help assess them for as I hear them read. Fluency is the student's ability to read words correctly and automatically....and with the appropriate level of expression, while comprehension deals more with the meaning of the text and subtext. With reading comprehension, we work more on vocabulary expansion; using context clues to figure out meanings, and making inferences based on their prior knowledge so they can connect to new knowledge, as they read....and many other factors. Any PreK-3rd grade student would also work on these things as soon as they are fluent enough as a reader and have the ability to understand those concepts, in the way I relay them to the younger students. 

This is a 30-minute class for grades Pre-K through 12th grade.

For new bookings, it would be helpful if you could send me a message, before the day of our first class, letting me know about your goals are for your child (reading comprehension, learning to read/get better at reading, learning the alphabet, etc...) and the level they are at already (above grade level...on level....below level, etc...). If you really want to book them the same day as their first class, I can get appropriate materials together to make that happen but....I would recommend a few hours' warning since I also teach on other platforms and may not see it in time to be as ready as I would like to be if it's a last-minute booking. I may also have to cancel a group class I am already booked to teach during the time you book.....if you book the same day. They are group school classes and my teacher friends are always happy to sub for the ones I have to cancel, however, sometimes there is a financial penalty for me canceling same day so....whenever possible, please book a class with at least a few hours notice, or for another day. OS and my own website are my priorities so that's why I will cancel. The group classes usually don't even know the teacher they will get so it's not like I'm letting them down, like if I canceled tutoring classes. I am very good about not canceling tutoring classes. It would have to be an emergency for a class to be canceled. Thank you.

OUTSCHOOL NOTE: Any books a student brings to class must follow Outschool's guidelines so please make sure they are unbiased, secular, inclusive, and represent diverse viewpoints fairly and accurately. For more information, please refer to Outschool's guidelines.