Middle School Math Tutoring

My double major as an elementary and special education teacher (grades K-8) and need to keep abreast of the demands of the Common Core curricular changes has kept me current in my math teaching in elementary and middle school. My math teaching in middle school has been mainly from teaching in the public schools for several years in supplemental and inclusive settings. I have co-taught math lessons for students on IEPs, made modifications on homework, classwork, and tests that special education students would need. In a private clinic and private tutoring, I have developed math programs or done homework tutoring for students on IEPs, 504s, or in regular classrooms who needed extra assistance.

Homework Coach Tutoring

My degree in Elementary Education and Special Education (K-8) plus having a Master's degree in Reading and Language has helped me be a homework coach to many middle-schoolers and elementary schoolers in public school supplemental programs and tutorials as well as private tutoring. Working with teachers and taking refresher courses on the changing methodologies, like Common Core, has helped me stay abreast of the curricular demands with which students across the state are faced.

Math Tutoring

Please see "Math Middle School" or "Elementary Math", depending on the level you are interested in.

Science Tutoring

My degree in Elementary Education and Special Education (K-8) covered content area subjects. I was very capable in Science entering college, evidenced by my performance on two Science tests of the College Level Examination Program, which gave me credit for two college courses. I have been a homework coach in Science for students in Middle School and Elementary School.

English Tutoring

I have taught English to middle school and high school students in a public school Special Education classroom, in public school tutorials and in educational therapy setting in a private clinic and in private tutoring. My English grades and performance in high school were exemplary enough to award me college credit for two courses through the CLEP program, so I did not have to take English courses in college. However, in my graduate program at Harvard, I took classes in the Theory and Practice of Reading and the same for Writing, as well as a module for Reading, Language and Learning Disabilities: Reading and Writing in the Secondary Schools, and an advanced course in Reading and Related Language and Learning Disabilities: Theory and Practice. These courses, and the whole Master's degree program in Reading and Language molded my thinking in the components of the English language, spoken and written, and the English Language Arts, and formed the backbone of my teaching. Combined with my coursework in bilingualism under the direction of Dr. Catherine Snow (see ESL under College) and experience in this area, I have been able to help students who were not native speakers of English and have had many students of immigrant families in my tutoring family; these students have done quite well in English, for oral and written language.

Elementary Math Tutoring

As an undergrad at Fitchburg University, I received coursework in elementary math through Integrated Professional Studies, Math Concepts, and Student Teaching. My student teaching position was pioneering a unique, whole classroom, individualized math program where fifth graders changed classrooms for math and received individualized instruction at their level or flexible grouping (ahead of its time) so they could advance at their level of proficiency. I have taught elementary math in schools and private tutoring over the years using various teaching strategies and approaches, including "Common Core" math which is more meaningful and less based on rote memorization. This is the recent shift in math teaching which is how the state assessment program, the MCAS, tests its students and schools.

Social Studies Tutoring

While at Fitchburg University, studying for a double major in elementary education and special education, grades K-8, I also took U. S. History I ("4.0"). I have taught Social Studies to students in elementary grades. For tutorials, we occasionally had to find materials for students who hadn't yet reached proficiency in reading that had Social Studies themes covered in class. We modified the lesson with the alternate material, or when possible, used an e-reader for the text until reading proficiency was achieved. I've also helped students use study skills to study for Social Studies tests, or strategies to do their homework.

ESL Tutoring

At Harvard, I took three courses that apply to teaching ESL at a high level: Second language acquisition and bilingualism ("A"), Child Language and Education ("A"), and Special Reading or Research in Language Acquisition (C. Snow).("Sat."). This was an independent study where I was able to tabulate some of the first results from a research project on bilingualism that Dr. Snow was conducting which were reported at the BU Language Conference later that year. At Migrant Ed., I taught ESL to immigrant Hispanic and Portuguese children, grades preschool to five, through the four language modes: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. In private tutoring, I tutor English through the four language modes to immigrant families' young children.

GED Tutoring

The GED test consists of four tests: Mathematical Reasoning, Reasoning through Language Arts, Social Studies, and Science. In High School, I graduated in the top 3 percent of my graduating class, with a class rank of 14 out of over 600 students. In College, I took a US History II course ("4.0") which had many civics themes, instead of history topics, that the GED covers. I didn't have to take the other courses because I took the College Level Examination Program, which covered these subjects for college credit.

Reading Comprehension Tutoring

I've been working with students from preschool through high school in reading comprehension my entire career, when strategies have shifted from discreet skills to thinking skills, to many wonderful strategies to help people prioritize, organize, integrate and remember what they read. I think it's the same in college, just with more complex content. I also took a course in my graduate program called Components of Reading Comprehension ("A"), and two others called Theory and Practice of Reading and Reading and Writing in the Content Areas (Secondary Schools) ("A"), ("Sat."). For Early Literacy, my module in 'Reading, Language, and Learning Disabilities: Beginning Reading Materials ("Sat.") and continued work in the field added a new dimension to this wonderful knowledge, and introduced me to a new way of teaching!

Study Skills Tutoring

I've taught Study Skills in a private clinic and private tutoring for half of my career, and while teaching in supplemental special education programs when students needed to study for tests in the middle school. I learned strategies for teaching these skills in undergraduate courses like “Program Development for Learning Disabilities” (“4.0”), and in Graduate School in the Module—“Reading, Language, and Learning Disabilities: Reading and Writing in Secondary Schools” (“Sat.”). I kept updated with on-the-job training through courses, articles, and workshops, including the areas of organizational strategies and executive function.

Writing Tutoring

I have taught writing from preschool through high school, but my training would extrapolate to college. I learned from the best writing instructors at Harvard in one course called the ‘Theory and Practice of Writing’ (“A”) which went through adulthood. My next course was called ‘Module—Reading, Language, and Learning Disabilities: Reading and Writing in Secondary Schools’ (“Sat”). I’ve helped students who had another language than English as their native tongue write well, and my ESL background has assisted here. I've also taken workshops at work and on my own by authors Lucy Calkins and Karen Harris to keep up with current research trends on writing today.

Pre Algebra Tutoring

When entering my freshman year of college, I took the College Level Examination Program and received credits for the freshman year math course, and Calculus. Teaching math was made more effective with the course 'Math Concepts' ("4.0"). For the past few years I have had the pleasure of teaching Pre-Algebra to my eighth grade students.

SAT Verbal/Writing Tutoring

I have a Master's degree from Harvard University in Reading and Language which included courses such as 'Theory and Practice of Reading' and the same in Writing as well as 'Components of Reading Comprehension' for which I received "A" grades in each. I taught my daughter test prep strategies for her SAT in Verbal areas/ Writing and her scores improved significantly from her practice test to her final test.