Carlton TP #16

Sixth tutee session with DH and MH,  American born of Korean parents. Monday, April 28, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. Mrs. H asked if I could tutor both twins, DH and MH, today. They both have the same homework assignments similar to prior weeks, so I figured that would take the hour. They had different math worksheets, but the same spelling, vocabulary, and a short reading for comprehension. They also had to write a paragraph summary of any new book. When we sat down they already had chosen some books to write about. MH chose a level 3 Star Wars story and DH chose a level 2 Spiderman story. While they read and wrote, I planned the rest of the hour. Knowing that DH was easily distracted, I first searched online for a Spiderman theme learning game I could entice him with. I found an excellent example word game quickly at: http://www.wordgames.com/spiderman-2-web-of-words.html.

The boys both wrote their paragraphs. I prompted them to read to me and self-correct a few spelling and sentence errors in both. I really wanted them both to rewrite the paragraph neatly because they have poor handwriting. They say the teacher does not care, but it is difficult reading. I think they will suffer in higher grades of they do not attempt to write clearer now. But they protested the rewrite, and I let it go to address the other homework.

The reading was about an immigrant woman starting her own business. They read and answered 10 questions independently. When I reviewed the worksheet, they had both missed half the questions. They were able to make corrections working together with a little prompting and discussion. I had previously thought that MH was more attentive to his work, but I think he watches his brother a lot and becomes distracted when they are together. Mom agrees that they need to be separated to learn best, and that is why she requested two tutors.

MH does better with math but I had to review the instructions related to visualizing geometric patterns. They had to draw a picture to understand how to answer the question. Again, if they are more careful they can resolve most mistakes. They seem to have no issues with the concepts, only with the directions and impatient attitude.

Lastly, I made a competitive spelling bee out of the word list. They have all week with these words, so it is more important that they repeat the review each day. So I tried to make it fun by awarding points if one makes a mistake and the other can correct it. They were attentive to this approach. We did not have time to play the Spiderman word game, but I will save that one for later. It is perfect for these two.

Carlton TP #15

Sixth tutee session with DH,  American born of Korean parents. Monday, April 14, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. Mrs. H was concerned over poor grades on his classwork for this new week. I mentioned again that they were preparing for testing FCAT next week and there is probably a disrupted class schedule. DH says they have practice in Math this week.

A few weeks ago when we did the new weekly spelling list, he got 100% correct (on a pretest). But this week, his score from the teacher was only 50%, just for spelling. We did some review and there were only a couple of words that seemed really difficult. Most he could figure out using spelling rules he knew.

His handwriting was also worse than I had seen previously. The task was a short paragraph he had written to paraphrase a story. I asked him to rewrite the summary again and we would improve it for sentence structure and neatness. This was relatively easy, even as we discussed in detail: margins, capitalization, line and word spacing, ligatures, erasing. He compared the two versions and agreed that he could do better writing.

For a diversion that would keep him interested, I had prepared a little information lesson on the continuing theme of pirate ships and treasure. I gave him a little information when we needed a break or to entice him back to his work. This time I used a famous Florida discovery, the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha. There is a lot of internet information about this famous treasure, and I had visited the museum in Key West, so I could speak personally about it. In the past weeks, he has always lit up when we talked about this subject, and I can introduce a little American history instead of trying to relate to cartoon fantasy characters.

Carlton TP #13

Fifth tutee session with third grade twin, DH,  American born of Korean parents. Wednesday, April 9, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. Mrs. H had texted me earlier in the week to ask that we work with the boys on FCAT preparation. On Monday, we delayed the session because of heavy rains, and on Wednesday Bianca was sick, so I prepared to tutor both boys this time.

I knew that the schools were spending a lot of time and energy diverting lessons to test preparation because of the high stakes for everyone. Parents are also being made to feel the pressure and it is treated like an educational "sprint" to the finish line. I know that even academically successful kids begin to hate school during these weeks. Such was the case when I told DH and MH that we were going to discuss how they could do their best on the FCAT.

I had printed the only sample test available for 3rd grade Reading from the state website, along with the answer guide. I wanted to use it to reinforce the strategies that the teachers were trying to get students to use. I knew generally what they were being told, but I had to ask them to describe the advice they were given  first. It would so no good to confuse them at this point, but I could be encouraging, and try to motivate them to do their best. When I showed them the forms, they both frowned and said "We already did that yesterday! I don't want to practice anymore."

I asked them questions about the content of the first reading. They were clearly bored by the story of baby birds and although they had read it before, neither was interested in the questions. However, M was much more accurate in answering the questions correctly. When we checked the answers together, it was apparent that D knew the story as well, but was misreading the questions a lot. I could see the difference in the boys patience. M also seems to enjoy correcting D's work. He sometimes interrupted in order to demonstrate this. I had to ask him to be quiet, and I tried not to correct D in the same manner, because that was clearly negative reinforcement in his eyes. I tried to affect D's attitude the most, hoping he could focus if I promised the puzzle they liked later, and to let them choose what to study.

We skipped to the last reading about a daredevil, but they clearly did not want to review testing. They both demonstrated for me the strategy the teachers used. But they argued over the steps. I am not sure they understand that saving time is important in this test, much more than in a regular classroom or with homework. Third grade really should not be losing instruction time to test preparation. For first time testers, a more gradual introduction, perhaps with test/retest flexibility for the school, would establish a better baseline level for students destined to take many more standardized tests.

I wish I had more varied materials than what the teacher had already used in class. We talked a bit about the test in general. So I finished the session letting them work together on the puzzle I had (a "scramble square", a deceptively simple set of 9 pieces to match). I spoke to their mom a little about the FCAT hype, and how I thought the best preparation for her was to encourage a positive attitude without too much pressure on kids to "perform".

Carlton TP #10

Forth tutee session with third grade twin, DH,  American born of Korean parents. Monday, March 31, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. Today I looked for some worksheets using the Lego Chima characters but could find nothing but coloring pages. Apparently, the series is too new to be incorporated into many educational materials yet. Too bad, because the Star Wars theme worked out really well last week. I printed the pages anyway, to use as a reward today.

DH first asked me about Blackbeard's ship, the Queen Anne's Revenge. Last week, he asked me if "Jack Sparrow" was a real pirate and I had to explain the difference between movies, especially these modern fantasy CGI ones, and real history. I think this is a real problem with many young children in school, confusing fantasy and reality. It impedes learning if they compare "boring" facts with exciting, fast-paced action. Both are OK, but entertainment is so pervasive, I think this is a bigger problem than in the past. The good thing about this is that DH had looked up the site I showed him last week of the museum that is reconstructing the ship and had obviously spent some time on it. Yeah!

We got back to reviewing his work. I showed him a short video of a wagon train historic reenactment and compared this to a Hollywood version. He was quite interested and noted some details matching his reading (Indians, circling wagons, settlers possessions).

Then we reviewed his current homework that was done. His mother told me he has a teacher that is so dedicated that she stays an hour after school to teach children who can stay material that there is no time to cover because of FCAT preparation. He does some of his homework then. A story I have heard from many teachers. Reviewed his spelling words for this week and he can write all 20 flawlessly correct. Vocabulary is new. The reading is OK, but he admitted to not taking my advice. I had him independently read the questions and check answers and he corrected most errors. The math was geometry and again, he had made silly mistakes he caught independently upon review.

We were joined by Matthew a little early and I directed them both to a little library search challenge. I showed them how to use the catalog search to find specific references. So instead of "Pirate" we searched for "Blackbeard" and "Queen Anne's Revenge" to find a few items. Then we searched the adult stacks for the section on historic wrecks and found a book with maps. Perusing this illustrated book, he found things of further interest, including wrecks off the coast of Korea and in Florida. Matthew found another junior pirate book they decided to check out.

Carlton TP #8

Third tutee session with third grade twin, DH,  American born of Korean parents. Monday, March 24, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. Today I prepared some worksheets I hoped he would like. I found a series of poems by Star Wars fans (this was his favorite characters, I thought). His mother had brought the homework this time, so we began with that. This was a rather long (2 page) American history reading about the "Oregon Trail". It included a general description of the purpose and use of the trail and some facts about the settlers. There was also an included period letter by a young person (primary source). DH found this reading very boring because there was no action described in his terms. This was reflected in his inattention to the comprehension quiz, that was almost entirely wrong.

I told him about my Star Wars worksheet that we could do after we finish the homework for motivation. I then asked if he had seen any American western movies about wagon trains, and he had not. I tried to describe  in more "adventurous" terms the danger and challenge of the trail. Then I asked him to reread the article, pausing to explain a bit for each paragraph and correct some pronunciation. Then he checked the quiz over and changed about 50%, mostly correct. Finally, I questioned him about the remaining errors to find the answer in the article. With a little help, he gained a fair understanding and could justify his answers. One or two questions may have still been incorrect, or had unclear distractors.

My advice to him, and I repeated to his mother, is when facing these readings in a test like the FCAT, you should read the questions first, not all the distractors. Then read the article once carefully, keeping in mind what you are looking for. Then check your answers by rereading if you have time at the end of the test. If you are reading without questions, read at least twice. This review was half the hour.

The purpose I intended for the Star Wars poems was to practice pronunciation and writing (his handwriting is terrible). I chose two poems from this page: http://allpoetry.com/poems/about/star-wars .  "Death Star" and "Star Wars Spine Poem". The first I had him read, explain the action, and we review vocabulary: "scourge", "gigantic superlaser", "massive empire", "rebels", "orbit". I ask him to add some emotion and reread. I question him to show his SW knowledge and he shows more interest. We discuss a little and reread again with my correcting his speech this time.

The second poem I use as a creative writing exercise. A spine poem is a structure that adds dimension to writing. The vertical lines starting words spell a message "May the Force be with you!" The lines must then tell a related story. DH does not understand this particular poem because it is a little mature, but I can use the form as an example and I ask him to write his own version. He likes puzzles and I am surprised how seriously he tackles the task. I laid out the spine for him, skipping lines on the paper in order for him to have room and direct him to write within the lines. This is a problem with his writing. While he works I try to direct him to focus on writing clearly. We work together until the end of the hour and he has a final draft to show his mother. She is quite impressed with him and his writing effort is much better than the homework was.



Carlton TP #4

Second tutee session with third grade twin, DH,  American born of Korean parents. Monday, March 17, 6:30-7:30pm

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street. This time his mom brought a composition book and pencils, no homework. She asked to work on reading and writing today.



After introductions, I first asked him about last week. We reviewed the vocabulary words again, and I asked him to write his responses in his BEST handwriting. His writing is sloppy, and barely readable. He ignores lines and left to right organization. He had retained about half of the definitions. We corrected spelling also. He read a passage of his own writing to me also, making mistakes. Writing issues could be a real problem for him in English.

Next, we selected a book to read. He perused a familiar stack of Star Wars series picture books and could not find one he had not already read. He chose a Pokemon story instead. I thought this would not be very good because so much of these are repetitious "battles" and derived from the card game, with little plot content. However, it did hold his interest in reading. It was difficult to focus on pronunciation with this story because it is packed with invented proper names of characters, and silly fighting moves. But, I was surprised that DH did not recognize many of the vocabulary. It was also difficult to read the dialogue format. We focused on finding synonyms for strange words. The first one was "connoisseur", a difficult word for anyone. He guessed it sounded French, like "crochet" was last week, and we defined it as an expert and/or collector. Other, simpler unknown words were: "tuft" (clump of hair), "dodge" (avoid), "countered" (opposed), "hollered" (yelled), and so on. He became bored with the story about half way through and asked me if I had brought the puzzle. I had not.

We stopped reading. I had explored a few travel pages on Seoul and found that there was a new hands-on children's museum opened last year. I showed him the website and he recognized a nearby theme park he will visit. I suggested he could visit this place when he travels this summer. We talked briefly about Korea using a map until the time was up.

Bianca and I agreed that the boys should bring their school assignments each time, even if completed, so our time reinforces the homework and we can focus on English language skill support.



Carlton TP #3

First tutee session with third grade twins, David and Matthew,  American born of Korean parents. Monday March 10, 5:30-7pm

I tutor DH and Bianca tutors MH. The mother insists that the two boys must be visually separated in different rooms or they will act out too much.

We all meet at the main Library on Park Street and agree that we will meet a little later (after 6pm) in the future to avoid the new parking fees in the lot. We used the stacks to separate the kids in the youth reading area. There is one private meeting room available sometimes by reservation, but we did not use it since the boys proved to be very well behaved. We chose a comfortable seating area facing each other with a small table for my computer and room to write. He liked the padded chairs better here.

After introductions, I asked DH to talk about a favorite book he read recently. He related the story of a prince fighting a dragon and saving a girl in short sentences and good logical order and I understood what he liked about it, the strategy of defeating the monster. His favorite genre is fantasy and science fiction, especially Star Wars, Pokemon, and some comics. His mother does not like his reading choices, but she provides them portable video gaming devices where these kinds of adventure stories predominate the titles. The boys are energetic and fidget in their seats, but I would hesitate to label them as having any unusual attention issues. He did not require any behavioral corrections during our session.

First, we spoke a bit about his school and family. He told me about his summer plans to go to Seoul and visit relatives and he demonstrated his writing in Korean.

Next, we addressed his homework, a reading for comprehension worksheet on family traditions and memory boxes. I noticed he read fairly well, but often slurred words or sometimes made an unexplained substitution. We encountered a few new vocabulary words, "tiara", "crochet", "fragile"; but he was not proactive in asking about unfamiliar words. I had to inquire directly. I used computer dictionary lookup and Google images to help explain these in a way that held his interest and modeled an easy way to check words. He was familiar with navigating Google searches. He was attracted to the image view collection and I noted this kept him focused on the vocabulary. In completing the worksheet, it became clear he was not very diligent about reading the questions carefully, but he understood them well if he did. I guided him in discovering the corrections for a few questions about the reading by returning to check the text.

We then addressed his math worksheet that was already complete. His only errors were related to the definition of "trapezoid" and we also checked this visually using image examples.

After finishing a few minutes early, I wanted to end the session with a little more fun activity. I had brought some cards and a puzzle to use as interactive tools and we finished the hour with the puzzle (also a clue to his visual learning preference). I thought he was a very attentive student overall and look forward to being able to help him improve study habits and address English speaking proficiency.