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Tutor Information

Free Tutor In-services:

Date	Time	Topic	Location	How to Register
TBA		Check back for next opportunity

If you are missing any forms that you need, click here.

Here are some tips from the December 2006 in-service:

How to Say a Question:

Practice saying questions with students until they learn correct inflection. Say a question and have them repeat it after you.

Bingo Cards:

With one (or more) students, create bingo cards with words in each square that are being studied. Instead of pulling a “letter/number” to match a square, pull a definition card. Or pull a card that states verb, noun, etc. to match a square. Another option is to practice sight words this way.

Free Flashcards and Ideas

Especially for earlier readers, check out the website for children’s author Jan Brett at www.janbrett.com. Download flashcards on many topics (e.g. math operations, color practice, Dolch Word Lists for sight words). Snoop around for ideas and delightful artwork.

Puzzle Creation

A student studying citizenship liked a homemade American history puzzle. The puzzle included answers to who, what, when, where, and why questions given by the tutor. Example: The tutor named a person and what the person did. The student had to pick out the when and why answers that were related.

Placemat Idea

Use pictures to create a placemat that trigger key concepts on the material being studied. Emphasize who, what, when, where, and why.

ESL or Beginning Adult Basic Ed

Check out Very Easy True Stories from our library. This series has stories to model reading and then have the student read. Comes with comprehension questions and gets good conversation started.

From a previous in-service, tutors shared some ideas that work for them.

When you begin to work on writing with your student, don’t be too concerned with grammar – just get the student writing (or use Language Experience Approach as described in your tutoring manual). Try to retain your student’s voice!

Remember to incorporate the 4 language components: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Use props whenever possible (figures, balls, plastic letters, etc.)

Read books and ask student questions about the pictures

Have some fun with the learning (Hokey Pokey, Simon Says)

Write a word from the Picture Dictionary on a slip of paper – see if your student can look it up.

Repetition is crucial.

Remember: Just because they can sound out a word doesn’t mean that they comprehend the word. To check comprehension, ask questions or get them to show you that the word was understood!

Create your own stories using new vocabulary words.

Help your student create personalized picture dictionary using pictures cut from magazines or the newspaper. With a lower level student, just a word and picture can be entered. As skills improve, have the student add a sentence or two using the word in a sentence.

Use newspapers – inexpensive and available!

1. Find graphs and charts in magazines or newspapers and review those with your student.

2. Material will be relevant and timely

3. Can go from concrete thinking (who-what-where-when-why) to more analytical thinking (fact vs. opinion, what kind of person was…, what do you think about….., what would make someone……).

4. Different purposes: classified (apartment/home buying, auto sales, employment, etc.), editorial page, local news, national news, obituaries, sports, etc.

5. Teaches a lifelong skill.

Here are some links to other websites to help you with your tutoring. Click on the one that you are interested in and you will be linked to it.

Dave's ESL Cafe

Business English, idioms, phrasal verbs, slang, quizzes, idea "cookbook", etc.

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS ONLINE)

Teacher resources, program schedules, adult learning service, general articles, etc.

US Department of Education

Too much stuff to list it all!

Smithsonian

Lesson plans in Arts, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. Lots of other great information.

TEACHNET

Lesson ideas and teacher resources

The White House

Information about the President and Vice-President (and their wives), tour of the White House, press releases, free materials from the government, etc.

Verizon Literacy Network

This site is helpful to potential and existing volunteers with free online courses and information concerning literacy. Great site!

The Key

Online monthly newspaper with articles written specifically for new readers.

First Find

Easy to use information on many topics written in plain and simple English.

Englishpage

Free online English lessons and ESL (English as a Second Language)/ EFL (English as a Foreign Language) resources.

Contentbank

The online resources section at this site includes user-recommended Websites in the following topic areas: Housing, jobs, education, legal services, health, cultural perspectives and community technology. These sites aren't necessarily at a low literacy level, but provide a range of resources for adults, youth, children, communities and may be useful to Adult Basic Education and GED teachers.

City Family Magazine

Many of the articles will be of interest to adult learners. Topics include: news, health, U.S. publicly-funded social service education programs, home feature articles, money, education, work, fun and advice.

Online Guide to Grammar and Writing

Wonderful tutor resource for grammar and writing.

Writing Prompts

Descriptive writing prompts for elementary, middle, and high schools. List is excerpted from Blowing Away the State Writing Assessment Test by Jane Bell Kiester and retyped by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

Activities for ESL Students

Quizzes, exercises and puzzles to help students learn English as a Second Language.

California Distance Learning Project

News-related topics to help build reading and life skills for adult learners.