writing and reading lessons and classes

 

Private Lessons


I tutor short-term and long-term. Lessons can include individual students or small groups. Lessons can be as short as 30 minutes or last multiple hours. Most are 1 hour. I generally meet students once a week, but we can meet more or less often as needed. Contact me to discuss options.


Following are the main topics I tutor in and some of my strategies. For some examples of my students’ successes, see my background.


Writing


Types


I teach all kinds of writing: informational, persuasive, narrative, and poetic. I teach short-term and long-term. A long-term progression might look like this:


Younger students often start with creative writing, such as stories or personal essays, like describing trips they have taken or summarizing their favorite books. Or they may write informational pieces on topics of interest, like animals, famous people or places, or history. 


From there, I usually transition to persuasive essays on age-appropriate topics like whether students should wear uniforms or whether they should be allowed to eat in class. After a few essays, I add a research component. 


When that is comfy, I introduce literature analysis essays, which covers reading skills, too. 


Later in high school, students often take the AP Literature and Composition and/or AP Language and Composition exams, which I help them prepare for. Students may also write essays for other standardized tests, such as the ACT (the College Board dropped the SAT essay). Often, I also help them with other parts of the ACT or SAT (see below). 


Finally, I guide them through writing college application essays.


I also work with them on other projects that come up, such as narratives, essays, or poetry for local or national writing contests, like the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards. I have prepared Virginian students to write admission essays for the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. And I coach students on essays for academic summer programs, like SUMaC or UCSB programs.


Beyond high school, I have helped students write application essays for graduate school, including medical school. Living near the Mayo Clinic, I’ve had a chance to help research fellows from overseas use natural-sounding English in their manuscripts.


Approach


For writing, I teach the process of preparing, drafting, and revising. It looks like this for essays:


Preparing includes brainstorming, researching (finding and evaluating sources and taking notes), considering multiple viewpoints, and creating a well-organized outline with all the proper components in place (an introduction with a hook, background, and thesis; body paragraphs with topic sentences, evidence, reasons, and a conclusion; and a conclusion with a restated thesis and an answer to “so what?”).


Drafting involves turning notes from the outline into sentences, filling in details, and adding transitions.


Revising starts with content and organization. Does everything fit the thesis? Are the points clear and persuasive? Is the information accurate? Do the ideas flow easily? Is everything in the appropriate part of the essay? Have opposing viewpoints been addressed? Does the essay fit all the parameters of the assignment?


Revising continues with style: energy (dynamic, concrete diction), efficiency (cutting unneeded words), variety in diction and syntax, literary devices (to the extent relevant), tone (including the appropriate level of formality), and sound (euphony, etc.).


Revising ends with grammar and mechanics (for topics in this area, see below).


Informational writing involves many of the same concerns, without the persuasive elements. Narrative writing includes other elements, like characters, setting, plot, description and dialogue, and theme. Narrative essays combine elements of essays and narratives. Poetry includes more elements related to sound and structure as well as denser expression.


The process approach not only covers all the necessary skills but also saves time. For example, if students start drafting without finishing preparing, they have to spend much more time revising. Additionally, if they proofread for grammatical errors before revising for content and organization, they may end up rewriting sentences or paragraphs that they must proofread again. This order also governs what I focus on first. For example, in the earlier lessons, I spend a lot more time on preparing, drafting, and revising content. When these skills are better established, I focus more on style and grammar. Of course, when students have class assignments, I cover all aspects in my recommendations.


Grammar and mechanics


Aspects


I have taught this subject separately and as part of writing and test prep. Unless I am targeting a specific concept from an assignment, I start with the eight parts of speech. 


Each part of speech comes with its own topics, such as the following:


Nouns are abstract or concrete, common or proper, countable or mass, singular or plural, and have rules for possession. 


Pronouns are broken into types. Some have cases, including subjective, objective, and possessive. Indefinite pronouns can have tricky singulars and plurals. Pronouns must agree with their antecedents. 


Verbs are also broken into types, and they have tense, voice, mood, and the ability to act like other parts of speech as verbals (infinitives, gerunds, and participles). Traditionally, infinitives should not be split. Distinguishing gerunds and present participles is necessary to avoid a specific error. Participles should not dangle. Verbs must agree with their subjects. 


Adjectives and adverbs modify different parts of speech. Some are gradable, with positive, comparative, and superlative forms. They must be properly placed and cannot dangle. 


Conjunctions and prepositions are connecting words but function differently. It is important to understand the types of conjunctions (coordinating, subordinating, and correlative).


Interjections are grammatically disconnected from the rest of the sentence.


After parts of speech, I cover syntax. Students learn to distinguish phrases and clauses. They learn the difference between independent and dependent clauses, which enables them to identify simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. They learn to fix sentence fragments and run-ons. Sentences are declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory. 


Then comes mechanics. This includes punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and formatting. Some issues, like spelling, capitalization, and certain punctuation principles, are brought up in early elementary. Other issues are gradually added. Capitalization is partly covered in discussions on nouns and sentences. I cover some formatting issues early. Eventually, students need to learn MLA and sometimes APA style.


With advanced students, I cover any remaining concepts tested on the SAT and ACT.


Approach


As I explain in my teaching philosophy, I teach grammar as a series of stacking skills. Parts of speech are fundamental, and syntax is built on those basics. Mechanics is tied somewhat to parts of speech but more to syntax. 


In teaching parts of speech as a system, I divide the traditional eight parts into five categories: things (nouns and pronouns), actions/states (verbs), modifiers (adjectives and adverbs), connectors (conjunctions and prepositions), and disconnected words (interjections). Syntax is divided into phrases and clauses. Students learn to identify types of clauses by how the clauses begin, and this leads to understanding sentences. For each concept, I assess their current understanding, explain concepts, test their understanding, and clarify as needed. I can then continue to evaluate their understanding long-term in their writing.


Reading


As with writing, I teach all kinds: informational, persuasive, narrative, and poetic, working with students from elementary to adult. 


General comprehension


As with writing, I use a process approach. I think of reading as resembling a trip to the Grand Canyon.


Step 1: Prepare. Establish a purpose. What are students trying to get from the material? What questions are they trying to answer? This determines, among other things, whether the reader is skimming, scanning, or reading more closely. What do students already know about the topic? Do they need to research the general topic first? For some material, especially textbooks, they can read the table of contents, read summaries at the beginning of chapters, browse appendices, etc., before closer reading. Especially in stories, predicting what follows can be useful both before reading and throughout the process.


Step 2: Start at the top. The initial goal is usually to understand the main idea. Readers can focus on the flow of ideas, understanding how the details create the whole. Summary statements are important to find. The hermeneutical circle (or at least some versions of it) is a useful model for considering the relationships between details and the whole. Transition language is important to note in this process.


Step 3: Understand the signs. This includes using context to understand unfamiliar words and distinguishing denotation and connotation. Awareness of connotation is necessary for understanding tone. Learning new vocabulary involves certain strategies, and there are tricks to reading more difficult texts. This includes changes in English through the centuries. In high school, students are reading challenging older texts like Shakespeare’s plays and Alexander Hamilton’s contributions to the Federalist Papers.


Step 4: Descend to the bottom. This involves getting into the details. The two fundamental questions that can be asked of any text are, what is the author saying? and why? But all of the wh questions are helpful. Context is critical. There are also differences between what the author says directly, what the author definitely implies, and what the author may be implying. Readers should determine the intended audience. Additionally, what is the author’s style? What devices does the author use? What are the immediate effects of these choices, and how do they contribute to the overall point? Is the author effective in making those points? Does the author seem to be correct or incorrect?


Step 5: Debrief. After their journey through the text, readers can summarize what they read. They can determine the answers to their initial questions. Were their predictions right? They can then connect what they read to other texts, to themselves, and to the world.


Text types


Since students spend most of their time in English class on narratives, this is a major focus. In addition to the general strategies mentioned above, I ask students to pay attention to the tools that authors use in narratives:


Characters: How is the character directly described? How does the character behave, and what drives that behavior? How do other characters react to that character? Does the character have a foil(s)? What are the consequences of the character’s actions?


Setting: Where and when does the story take place? What atmosphere does it create? How do the location, time, and atmosphere affect the story? 


Plot: What is the central problem in the story? How do the characters attempt to overcome it? What is the relationship between the overall series of events and how they are developed in the story? Where is the climax? How is the problem resolved? 


Point of view: Is it first or third person? Is the third-person view limited, omniscient, or objective? What is the relationship between the narrator and both the situation and the other characters in the story? Does the point of view shift?


Genre: What genre is it? How well does it fit genre expectations?


In addition to these considerations, I ask students to analyze the effect of these as well as other factors already mentioned (diction, tone, literary devices, etc.) on the reader. I also introduce background information as needed. 


Poetry overlaps significantly with narratives. However, sound plays a much greater role in meaning. I start by introducing various meters used in English poetry so that students can identify patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables and understand their effects. We look at examples of poets’ breaking the rhythm for effect. We examine rhyme, alliteration, consonance, assonance, asyndeton, polysyndeton, refrain, etc., in addition to the devices commonly found in narratives, like simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole, symbolism, and irony. We also look at various forms of more traditional poetry, like sonnets, as well as contemporary poems that break from those forms.
In some cases, especially for students who take AP Language and Composition, I teach rhetorical analysis. In addition to elements and devices found in other text types as mentioned above, we examine essays and speeches in terms of Aristotle’s appeals (ethos, logos, and pathos), which are commonly brought up in class. We also examine the use of evidence, the assumptions behind the author’s arguments, and the way the author targets specific audiences.


Public speaking


One reason I have students read their writing aloud in class is to prepare them for public speaking. This gets them used to reading texts clearly and at an appropriate pace. 


When students have speeches, beyond helping them with the content, I coach them on enunciation, tone, pacing, eye contact, and memorization.


When they are giving a presentation, I explain the use of notes and slides. Often, students fill slides with too much text. I show them the optimal, efficient use of text and visuals. (However, sometimes teachers ask them to add a lot of text.) I have helped medical researchers cut down their slide text, too.


Test prep


The ACT and SAT


I regularly help students prepare for the verbal components of the ACT and SAT. I do not currently tutor on the math, but I do teach the ACT’s Science section, which does not test science knowledge but comprehension of scientific material. (The SAT does not have a separate section but incorporates these questions into the Reading and Writing section.)


I familiarize students with the tests’ content and format. The ACT and SAT cover many of the same skills but differ in crucial ways as well. Both tests have also evolved significantly over the years. 


I explain test-taking strategies, such as approaches to multiple-choice questions and time management, and cover grammar, reading comprehension, and other skills being tested. The College Board dropped the SAT essay, but the ACT still has an optional one, and I can prepare students for it if they plan to do it. The ACT Science section is also optional but recommended for potential STEM majors. Students should check out schools’ requirements for general admissions and specific programs.


Once I explain the basics, I walk students through sample questions. Then I have them do questions with me. For homework, I have them read prep books and do questions on their own. I then review with them questions they missed. I want them to master the content related to the questions and general strategies for multiple choice before practicing the tests timed. Because different time management strategies work for different people, I recommend options and have them try them until they find what is optimal for them.


APs


As with the ACT and SAT, I can teach general test strategies. Many of my students take the US History exam. Although I am not a history expert, I can give general tips and provide general feedback on their practice essays.


Many of my students also take the Literature and Composition test. The free-response questions are similar to the analysis questions they write in class but require a somewhat different approach. For example, the analysis often follows the flow of the narrative or poem rather than being organized purely topically. Additionally, the analysis often includes more quotations but shorter ones. I show them the differences, provide insights on the rubric, and review their practice essays with them. I also teach the multiple-choice section.
Some students take the Language and Composition test, which involves rhetorical rather than literary analysis. I teach Aristotle’s appeals (ethos, logos, pathos), which are commonly discussed in the class. I explain how authors target specific audiences, use evidence, and address objections. 


Study skills


Some study skills come up in conversations about other subjects. If students are writing a paper or studying for a test, I can give brief pointers about organization, time management, and effective learning techniques. I have also taught these skills as topics in themselves.


Many students are busy. They are studying multiple subjects, play sports and a musical instrument, participate in clubs, take classes outside of school, and may enter competitions throughout the year. Students need to learn how to break larger tasks, such as writing papers and preparing for tests, into smaller ones. I show them how to plan ahead and use their time economically. 


Students need to learn how to read a textbook efficiently (outside to inside rather than beginning to end), take good notes, and review effectively. Sadly, schools rarely teach time-tested efficient memorization techniques. Therefore, beyond the occasional mnemonic, students use repetition, the least efficient method in most cases. Yet time-tested methods like memory palaces and phonetic systems are well within reach. Students can even find scads of existing mnemonics in many subjects just through a simple web search, yet they are not aware of this.


Neuroscience and psychology have contributed tremendously to our knowledge of optimal educational performance. Students can learn to take advantage of these lessons.


ESL


As I mention above, I have helped international research fellows write natural-sounding English in their manuscripts. I have also practiced conversation with students.


Math


I have worked with elementary, middle school, and high school students up through Algebra I. Much like grammar, math involves stacking advanced concepts on foundational ones. I show students how math works, why it works that way, and how it applies.


Chess


I teach the basics: the rules and fundamental strategy and tactics. Beginning students need to know general principles about the opening, middle game, and endgame. They need to develop their observation skills and anticipate possible moves by their opponents.