Tutoring & Volunteering
There is strong evidence to suggest that carefully supervised and well-implemented tutoring programs can make a difference to struggling readers. Read more about the role of literacy tutors and tutoring programs, and the evidence that tutoring works.
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4 Steps to Finding an Excellent Tutor for Your Child
Whether your child is lost in a haze of elementary grammar rules, sinking fast in a jumble of Newton's laws in middle school, or lost in the details of an AP biology class, you need help. And usually you need help quickly, before your child falls way behind the class and never recovers. You want to find help before she feels like a failure, loses self esteem, and gives up on school. So, exactly what can you do....NOW?
Breaking Barriers Without Breaking the Bank
As a parent, you would do anything for your child. And when you see your child struggling, you want to jump in and help. But sometimes your instincts and desire aren't enough. When your child struggles with schoolwork and a tutor is necessary, one of the biggest roadblocks to getting help is money.
Evidence That Tutoring Works
When tutors work closely with teachers and are provided with intensive, ongoing training, they can make a difference in a child's reading success. Learn what researchers have found about the elements of tutoring programs that lead to increase reading achievement.
On Summer Loss
The Center for Summer Learning compiled this quick review of statistics on summer learning loss.
Out-of-School Time Reading Programs
Reading instruction does not need to stop when the bell rings. Using out-of-school time (OST) can be an effective way to boost academic skills while engaging students outside of the classroom. Education research lab McREL reviews effective afterschool and summer programs that focus on reading, and identifies the components that make them successful.
Standards for Middle and High School Literacy Coaches
International Reading Association. (2006). Standards for Middle and High School Literacy Coaches. Newark, DE: Author.
The International Reading Association recommends that literacy coaches be 1) skilled collaborators who function effectively in middle and/or high school settings; 2) skilled instructional coaches in core content area; 3) skilled evaluators of literacy needs, able to collaborate with school leadership and teachers to interpret and use assessment data; and 4) accomplished middle and high school teachers skilled in developing and implementing instructional strategies.
Teach the Seven Strategies of Highly Effective Readers
To improve students' reading comprehension, teachers should introduce the seven cognitive strategies of effective readers: activating, inferring, monitoring-clarifying, questioning, searching-selecting, summarizing, and visualizing-organizing. This article includes definitions of the seven strategies and a lesson-plan template for teaching each one.
The Impact of After-School Programs That Promote Personal and Social Skills
This meta-analysis of 73 programs finds that after-school activities can have a positive impact on children’s personal and social skills, including problem-solving, conflict resolution, self-control, leadership, responsible decision-making, and self-esteem. Youth who participate in after-school programs show significant improvement in their feelings, behavior, and school performance. Research demonstrates that the most effective programs are SAFE (sequential, active, focused and explicit).
The Literacy Coach: A Key to Improving Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools
Sturvent, E.G. (2003). The Literacy Coach: A Key to Improving Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools. Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.
A literacy coach is a master teacher who provides essential leadership for a school’s overall literacy program. This report, from the Alliance for Excellent Education and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, examines the role of the literacy coach and demonstrates why more of these coaches are needed in secondary schools to provide leadership for school-wide reading efforts. Leadership areas for coaches include attending meetings and professional development sessions to bring information and ideas back to their school; providing guidance to content-area teachers in teaching literacy; provide expertise to reading teachers; developing and administrating quality assessment systems; and liaising with stakeholders (school administrators, teachers, policymakers, university experts, community members) to help them understand the school’s literacy program and brainstorm solutions to problems. The report provides program examples, and looks at some pathways for becoming a school-based literacy specialist.
When Good Kids Get Bad Grades
Tutoring can offer kids the one-on-one attention busy teachers often can't provide. From simple homework help to intensive work on basic skills, tutoring can offer just the boost your child needs to succeed.
