2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Schools of Hope

2019-20

TUTOR MANUAL

Schools of Hope

United Way of Racine County

Contents United Way of Racine County ............................................................................................................. 1 Schools of Hope overview .................................................................................................................. 2 Volunteer responsibilities and expectations ..................................................................................... 6 School information and procedures ................................................................................................ 10 Student binders and session materials ........................................................................................... 16 Schools of Hope tutoring session structure ................................................................................... 21 Connecting with and understanding your students ....................................................................... 38 Glossary of reading terms ................................................................................................................ 43 Notes .................................................................................................................................................. 46

United Way of Racine County Our credo United Way of Racine County fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in our community.

Our mission Mobilizing the caring power of Racine County to improve lives and transform our community.

Our vision United Way envisions a community where individuals and families achieve their potential through education, income stability and healthy lives.

Our core values Our core values provide the foundation on which we base our actions and decisions in order to fulfill our mission.

• Commitment to community success • Leadership • Inclusiveness • Integrity and accountability • Innovation Building an educated workforce United Way of Racine County is building an educated workforce by focusing on education, income and health: the building blocks for a good life. United Way funds more than 40 local programs and special projects led independently by local nonprofits, while also developing and facilitating systems-wide initiatives, to create long-lasting change. United Way works in partnership with other individuals and organizations throughout Racine County who bring the passion, resources and expertise to address the community’s most critical issues. By 2025, we will: • Build the workforce of tomorrow by increasing the percent of students who graduate and enroll in college, secure employment, or plan to join job training or the military to 75%.

• Help the workforce of today by increasing the number of financially stable Racine County residents by 2,000 individuals.

• Ensure wellness for today and tomorrow by reducing unhealthy behaviors and poor mental health days by at least 20%.

Racine County needs a workforce that is ready and able to work. This will make a huge impact on our economy, our neighborhoods, our students, on everyone. Together, United Way and our partners, volunteers and donors can make change happen.

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2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Schools of Hope overview Program mission Schools of Hope, a United Way-led initiative in partnership with Burlington Area School District, Racine Unified School District, local businesses, and community members, provides young children with tutors on a regular basis to increase reading achievement in the early grades.

Program model Schools of Hope recruits, screens and trains community volunteers to serve as reading tutors to students in first, second and third grade. Tutoring sessions follow a standard format and use evidence-based methods. Schools of Hope is a supplement to the daily instruction that students receive. United Way of Racine County is committed to the continuous improvement of Schools of Hope, driven by data, in order to provide a meaningful and impactful experience to the participating students, teachers and volunteers.

Program scope Schools of Hope partners with Burlington Area School District (BASD) and Racine Unified School District (RUSD) to provide tutoring at seven local elementary schools. At Waller elementary school, Schools of Hope will serve first and second grade students. At Giese, Julian Thomas, Knapp, North Park, Olympia Brown, and Wadewitz, Schools of Hope will serve first, second and third grade students.

Schools of Hope locations are selected in partnership with the school administrators and teachers. Schools of Hope schools must have the capacity to welcome and accommodate volunteers and actively assist with the implementation and continuous improvement of Schools of Hope.

Schools of Hope locations Burlington Area School District School Waller

Address 195 Gardner Avenue

Phone number 763-0185

Start and end time 8:15-3:20

Phone number 664-8250 664-8400 664-8000 664-6450 664-6650 664-6000

Start and end times 8:00-2:51 8:30-3:21 7:20-2:11 9:20-4:11 8:05-2:56 8:35-3:26

Racine Unified School District School Giese Julian Thomas Knapp North Park Olympia Brown Wadewitz

Address 5120 Byrd Avenue 930 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive 2701 17th Street 4748 Elizabeth Street 2115 5 ½ Mile Road 2700 Yout Street

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2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Participating teachers Participation in Schools of Hope is optional for classroom teachers. While having trained volunteers available to work with students is beneficial, it also requires extra work and preparation by the teachers. Teachers who choose to participate in Schools of Hope are required to attend an orientation session at the beginning of the school year. An accountability structure is in place to ensure teachers are able to continually meet the responsibilities of participating in Schools of Hope, with the goal of providing a positive experience for teachers and community volunteers, and to ensure students receive a meaningful and impactful intervention.

Tutoring session frequency Schools of Hope students receive three tutoring sessions per week. Each tutoring session is one-on-one and is 25 minutes long. The goal is to provide each Schools of Hope student with a total of 1,800 minutes of tutoring during the school year. Tutoring takes place during normal school hours at times identified by the classroom teacher.

Participating students Schools of Hope students are selected by their classroom teacher according to established selection criteria. Each classroom may have up to four students participate in Schools of Hope. In order to participate in Schools of Hope, students must: • Take the MAP or iReady reading assessment • Meet reading assessment criteria • Be available for tutoring during the times identified by the classroom teacher • Have regular attendance • Priority is given to students that participated in the program during the prior school year Student absences In the event of a student absence, one of the following situations should take place: 1. Work with your student who is present for 25 minutes and leave the school early.

2. With prior approval from the teacher, work with your student who is present for up to 3035 minutes.

3. Work with another already-active Schools of Hope student, thus giving that student an extra session that week.

Non-Schools of Hope students should not be substituted for absent program participants.

While we recognize that all students may benefit from working with a tutor, consistency with students is key to accurately measure program impact. If a teacher regularly asks you to work with a non-Schools of Hope student, notify Lori.

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Data collection and analysis United Way collects a variety of data throughout the school year in order to continually monitor the impact of Schools of Hope, identify areas for improvement, and determine best practices.

Measurement tools include student, tutor and teacher surveys, student assessments, and tutoring session records.

Program outcomes The following program outcomes are measured for the adults and students who participate in Schools of Hope.

Through effective adult volunteer engagement, children are better prepared for educational success and productive adulthood.

Child makes measureable gains in reading ability.

Adult makes long-term commitment to Schools of Hope.

Child increases confidence in reading ability.

Adult volunteer becomes effective in reading tutor role.

Child forms positive, trusting relationship with adult tutor.

Adult forms positive relationship with child and school.

Evidence of success • • • • •

55% of participating students will complete a minimum of 25 (1,500 minutes) hours of tutoring.

55% of participating students will meet or exceed their anticipated MAP or iReady reading growth target.

51% of participating students will meet or exceed year-end reading level expectations.

Tutors will used evidence-based practices with fidelity.

Stakeholders will feel they contributed to an impactful, high-quality program.

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2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Schools of Hope history United Way of Racine County began the research and planning necessary to bring Schools of Hope to our community in early 2011. Olympia Brown and Wadewitz were selected as the program’s pilot schools in fall 2012. Over the course of the first four years of programming, the Schools of Hope continued to increase the number of schools and students served. In 201617, an emphasis on increasing the number of tutoring sessions provided to each student led to a targeted number of participating schools, and resulted in a significant increase in the average number of hours of tutoring each student received. In 2017-18, Schools of Hope expanded to Julian Thomas in Racine and to Waller Elementary in the Burlington Area School District.

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

4

8

8

9

5

7

7

Volunteer tutors

168

231

292

253

161

206

228

Students

257

297

250

256

105

135

155

38

56

69

67

38

46

53

46

63

78

73

40

46

53

1,500+

3,370+

3,520+

3,400+

2,700+

3,249

3,847

4,850+

10,200+

10,320+

7,900+

6,300+

6,415

8,483

$63,232

$107,761

$107,345

$97,180

$86,763

$104,957

$118,653

Schools

Classrooms Classroom teachers Tutoring hours Tutoring sessions Value of volunteer time

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2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Volunteer responsibilities and expectations Volunteer tutor role A Schools of Hope volunteer tutor provides one-on-one reading tutoring to students with fidelity to the program model and session structure.

Responsibilities • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Understand the Schools of Hope program structure Pass annual background check Complete mandatory training Attend Schools of Hope kickoff (not mandatory, but strongly recommended) Attend tutoring sessions as scheduled Follow tutor absence procedures as described in the tutor manual and tutor training Provide tutoring sessions according to the established tutoring schedule and session structure outlined in the tutor manual and tutor training Record tutoring session data according to instructions provided Work collaboratively and communicate regularly with teachers to ensure student success Respect individual differences in teachers’ methods and management strategies Respect the integrity of instructional time by never interrupting any other class in any matter at any time Be a positive role model for children in attitude, behavior and language Be respectful of children’s diversity of family, culture, religion, and background Complete electronic tutor survey at the end of each semester Respect and maintain the right to confidentiality of all students Address concerns with Schools of Hope staff and teachers immediately Respond to communication related to Schools of Hope in a timely fashion Meet established deadlines Contribute to the continuous improvement of Schools of Hope by providing constructive feedback, implementing best practices and fulfilling role with fidelity

Volunteer commitment The time commitment for Schools of Hope volunteers is one hour per week during the school year (October-May). Tutoring takes place during the school day, Monday through Friday.

Tutoring times are identified by the classroom teachers and volunteers are matched with students based on common availability. During the one hour per week, tutors work with two students for 25 minutes each. Tutors work with the same students each week for the entire school year. The goal is for all students to receive three sessions each week. This means that your students will work with other tutors on different days of the week. The other volunteers who are assigned to the same students as you are your co-tutors.

Some volunteers may partner with a friend or colleague to become part of a tutor team. A tutor team is up to three volunteers who share a tutoring assignment. It is up to the members of the tutor team to determine who is responsible for reporting to the school each week. www.unitedwayracine.org

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Periodically throughout the school year, tutors are invited to attend meetings, additional trainings and events related to Schools of Hope. Attendance at these opportunities is not mandatory. Each school hosts a celebration for students and tutors at the end of the school year. Tutors are strongly encouraged to attend the celebrations.

If you need to end your involvement with Schools of Hope prior to the end of the school year, please notify Lori immediately. It is important that your students understand that you have enjoyed working with them and are clear about your final date with them.

Volunteer attendance Volunteers are expected to be prompt and dependable. The school day is carefully scheduled.

Arriving early will not necessarily mean that you can start working with your student earlier.

Arriving late may mean that you have to shorten your tutoring sessions that day. Before exceeding the 25 minutes allotted to each tutoring session, secure express permission from the classroom teacher to do so.

Volunteer absences If you know in advance that you will miss a tutoring session, there are four options: 1. Work with the teacher to determine an agreeable makeup day/time. This would be a temporary change in place only during your absence.

2. Arrange for your co-tutor(s) to switch days and/or cover your session.

3. Arrange for a friend or colleague who is a tutor to cover your session.

4. Contact Lori to request a substitute. When requesting a substitute, please provide at least one week’s advance notice. Openings are sent to substitute tutors on a weekly basis.

In order to reach the goal of providing every student 1,800 minutes of tutoring during the school year, it is critical that each session be completed as scheduled. If you need to miss a session, please make arrangements on your own to cover your session (options 1-3 above), or contact Lori as soon as possible so that she can attempt to arrange a substitute. Providing ample advance notice of upcoming absences increases the likelihood that a substitute can be identified. If you make arrangements to cover your own session, notify Lori of the plan.

If you have to unexpectedly miss a session, notify the teacher and Lori as soon as possible. If possible, work with the teacher to coordinate a makeup session.

Communication Every problem can be resolved with respectful, honest communication. Ask questions, share ideas and get to know the school staff and other volunteers. Don’t hesitate to call, email or ask for a meeting to discuss any problems or concerns that may arise. Please do not wait to ask questions or voice concerns—we cannot help resolve issues that we’re not aware of!

Each tutor-teacher pair is responsible for determining the best way to communicate.

Suggested methods include email, periodic phone calls, text messaging, written notes, and/or www.unitedwayracine.org

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occasional in-person communications. Keep in mind that teachers may not have time to chat with you before/after the tutoring session. You should avoid interrupting a class to talk to the teacher about a non-emergency topic. Volunteers are encouraged to initiate email communication with teachers.

Tutors are provided with contact information for the teachers at the school where they volunteer. Teacher email addresses can also be found online: • BASD: www.basd.k12.wi.us/staffdirectory.cfm • RUSD: www.rusd.org/district/staff-directory Schools of Hope will provide regular communication via email, including Tutor Tip Tuesday and general tutor updates.

School staff are provided a Tutor Directory that includes volunteer contact information. Tutors are provided with the names and contact information of other volunteers assigned to the same classroom for the purpose of facilitating communication. This contact information should not be shared with others and should only be used for Schools of Hope-related communication.

Notify Lori immediately if your contact information changes.

Confidentiality and safety When a volunteer is working with students in a school, the basic right to privacy for each child and family must be respected at all times. Confidential information includes any personal identifiable data, information, observation, or records pertaining to a student or family.

Volunteers must treat all such information as confidential and should discuss it only with the teacher or assigned supervisor. The information should not be discussed with other volunteers, other teachers or staff, or with anyone outside the school.

The one exception to this rule is in the case of suspected child abuse or neglect. Any volunteer who has reason to believe that a child has been subjected to abuse or maltreatment must report it immediately to the principal or other school official. School personnel will proceed with contacting the appropriate authorities.

Do not ask for a student’s address, phone number or other personal information and do not share yours with the student(s). Maintain contact only in the school setting. Do not initiate contact with the students you tutor or their families outside of the school or program setting.

Do not post photos of or information about your students on social media. You can share United Way and school district social media posts.

Volunteers do not initiate physical contact with a child (hand-holding, hugs, lap-sitting), but may respond to child’s initiation of appropriate contact. Schools of Hope volunteer tutors should not discipline students, attempt to diagnose student needs or counsel students.

Volunteers who do not adhere to these confidentiality and safety policies will no longer be permitted to participate in school volunteer activities. www.unitedwayracine.org

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Dress code Dress appropriately for working with elementary school children. Do not wear clothing that advertises tobacco, drugs or alcohol. Do not wear hats in the building. Maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness. You are encouraged, but not required, to wear your Schools of Hope shirt or button while tutoring.

Personal belongings In most cases, there will not be a secure place at the school for you to leave your belongings.

Plan to keep your overcoat, purse, bag, etc. with you at all times, or secure them in your vehicle before entering the school.

Electronic devices Silence all cell phones, pagers, etc. when in the school building. Personal calls and text messages should be taken and placed outside of the school building to ensure privacy and avoid disruptions to teaching and learning. You may use your electronic device to keep track of time while tutoring.

Gift policy Schools of Hope tutors should not provide gifts to students. During the school year, Schools of Hope will provide bookmarks and stickers to be used during the tutoring sessions. Schools of Hope will provide tutors with books to present to the students at the end of the school year during the year-end celebration. Tutors who cannot attend the year-end celebration are encouraged to write a note to their students wishing them a happy summer.

If you feel compelled to give a gift above and beyond your time, please consider making a donation to United Way of Racine County to support Schools of Hope programming. If you are part of a group of tutors from a business, church group, etc. and you would like to do something for the school other than sponsor year-end books, please contact Lori.

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School information and procedures Emergency procedures The safety and wellbeing of the students, staff and visitors at each school are paramount.

Each school has safety procedures in place and regularly practices those procedures through drills. Because drills are meant to practice procedures that would be used in the event of an actual emergency, the timing of the drills are not generally shared with the teachers or volunteers.

In the event of a fire or tornado drill or an actual fire or tornado emergency, follow the directions of the nearest school staff person. Depending on where you are tutoring, this may be your classroom teacher, or another teacher. Do not try to return to the classroom if you are not near it.

In the event of a lockdown, teachers will close and lock the classroom doors. Students will be moved away from view of the doorway and the shades will be lowered. An announcement will be made from the office when the situation is resolved and the lockdown has ended. If you are in the hallway with a student when a lockdown is announced, quickly and quietly move to the closest classroom or office and follow the directions of the school staff.

RUSD utilizes ALiCE protocol in the event of an Active Shooter. This protocol includes options to Lockdown and Barricade in the room, or to Evacuate the building. ALiCE protocol also provides more information sharing than previous Lockdown rules. Current practice will include information being shared via the school intercom system to inform all in the school about the situation as it unfolds, providing adults and students the necessary tools to make the best safety decision for themselves at the time.

If a drill or actual emergency occurs while you are schedule to tutor, you may have to shorten or cancel your session that day. You should record the actual session lengths when submitting your session information.

Inclement weather If weather conditions make it unsafe for you to travel, please contact the teacher to cancel your session. In the event of a school cancellation, early release or delayed start, Schools of Hope tutoring will be cancelled. School closings, delays and early dismissals will be communicated to tutors as quickly as possible. They are also broadcast over the following media. If RUSD is closed, United Way of Racine County is closed. www.basd.k12.wi.us

www.rusd.org

www.journaltimes.com

TMJ4 (Channel 4 or 83)

CBS 58 (Channel 58)

91.1 FM WGTD

WISN 12 (Channel 12)

Fox 6 (Channel 6)

AM 1400 WRJN

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2019-20 Schools of Hope Tutor Manual

Sources of information United Way of Racine County website – www.unitedwayracine.org United Way of Racine County Facebook page – www.facebook.com/UWRacine United Way of Racine County enews – sign up on website Burlington Area School District website – www.basd.k12.wi.us Burlington Area School District Facebook page – www.facebook.com/BurlingtonAreaSchoolDistrict Racine Unified School District website – www.rusd.org Racine Unified School District Facebook page – www.facebook.com/racineunified Racine Unified School District enews and emergency notifications – sign up on website School calendar Occasionally, Schools of Hope tutoring will be cancelled due to field trips, assemblies, testing, or other school activities. Every effort will be made to notify tutors in advance of such occurrences. When this happens, you are encouraged to work with the teacher to make up the missed session if your schedule allows and the students are available.

The calendars on the following pages are current as of September 10, 2019.

The most current school calendars are available online: • BASD: www.basd.k12.wi.us/calendars.cfm • RUSD: www.rusd.org/district/calendars

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Parking Generally, two hour parking is allowed on the side of the street opposite the school building.

Always check the posted parking regulations.

In addition to street parking, the schools offer these additional parking accommodations: • Giese – Limited visitor parking is available in the lot on Byrd Avenue.

• Julian Thomas – Limited visitor parking is available in the lot accessible via Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.

• Knapp – Visitor parking is available in the staff parking lot behind the building.

• North Park – Limited visitor parking is available in the lot off Elizabeth Street. Note that the parking lot traffic is one way and that only school busses are allowed through the lot during drop off and dismissal.

• Olympia Brown – All volunteers should park in the angled visitor spots in front of the building. Volunteers should not park in the lot behind the school.

• Wadewitz – Very limited visitor parking is available in the lot on the west side of the building; volunteers should not park in non-visitor spots, spots reserved for specific individuals, or in the east lot.

• Waller – Limited visitor parking is available in the lot located behind the school.

Entering the building Schools of Hope volunteers should enter the school through the main door (usually the door closest to the flag pole). Ring the doorbell to be buzzed in to the building and then proceed directly to the office to sign in.

Signing in/out and recording session data Upon arriving in the school office, sign in on the school’s visitor log and put on your Schools of Hope ID badge. Tutor ID badges are kept in the tutor supply box and are alphabetized by last name. Wear your ID badge the entire time you are in the building and leave your badge in the tutor supply box when you sign out. If your ID badge is missing, ask the secretary or clerk for a visitor’s pass and contact Lori to request a new ID. After tutoring, sign out on the school’s visitor log and use the Schools of Hope tablet to record that day’s tutoring sessions. It is critical that each session be accurately recorded. Although each session should be 25 minutes, there may be times that you work with a student for a longer or shorter period of time. In those cases, record the actual session length. You should submit session information for all assigned students every time you are at the school to tutor, even if you do not work with your student(s).

To record your session data on the tablet: 1. Answer the question at the top of the form. The question changes periodically.

2. Select your school.

3. The date should default to the current date. www.unitedwayracine.org

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4. Select your name. If you are a substitute tutor at that school, select substitute and enter your name.

5. Enter the time you arrived and the time you are leaving.

6. Select your first assigned student’s name.

7. Enter the number of minutes you worked with the student. If you did not work with your first assigned student, enter 0 minutes and select the reason (absent, field trip, testing, other).

8. Select your second assigned student’s name.

9. Enter the number of minutes you worked with the student. If you did not work with your second assigned student, enter 0 minutes and select the reason (absent, field trip, testing, other).

10. If you are assigned to work with more than two students, or if you worked with an alternate student because your assigned student was absent, answer “Yes” to the question, “Did you work with other students?” Repeat steps 3-6 for the additional students.

11. Touch submit. You will be taken to a screen that says, “Your submission has been received. Thank you.”

12. Touch “Click here to be taken back to the form.” This will display a blank form for the next tutor to use.

Fields marked with a red asterisk (*) are required. You must fill in that information in order for the form to submit successfully. As we work towards the goal of providing each student with 1,800 minutes of tutoring, it is critical that session information be recorded accurately.

If there is a technical issue with the tablet, use the paper record form in the tutor supply box.

Never leave the school without recording your session information.

Tutoring locations Tutoring locations are identified by the classroom teacher and school site coordinator.

Tutoring locations vary by classroom and are dependent on the space available, but all locations should have ample light, sufficient seating and a desk or table.

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Student binders and session materials Student binders Each Schools of Hope student has their own binder that contains session materials. The binder is labeled with the student’s name, grade, room, and teacher.

You are responsible for returning the materials to the binder at the end of the session. The binders are kept in a location designated by the teacher. Students should not keep the binders in their desks or backpacks and you should not take the binders home with you.

Each student binder contains the following materials. Please be sure all materials are returned to the binders after each session.

• Pencil pouch o Pen and pencil o Bookmark o Stickers • Session structure/letter sounds chart • Quarterly tutoring session focus sheet • Student interest inventory • High frequency word lists • Book logs • Writing paper • Comprehension question flip chart Bookmarks and stickers The bookmarks and stickers are intended to be an incentive for the students. They can place a sticker (or two or three) on the bookmark to indicate an achievement—finishing a book, doing a great job using a specific skill (using pictures as a clue, getting their mouth ready to say a word, rereading a sentence correctly, etc.), staying on task, etc. You can determine when and how to use the bookmarks and stickers.

Additional bookmarks and stickers are available in the tutor supply box in the office. When a bookmark is filled with stickers, the student can take it with them and you can place a new one in their binder.

Student interest inventory The student interest inventory is an optional activity designed to help you and the student get to know each other. Each student binder contains one interest inventory. If the sheet is already in progress/completed when you meet with your student, use the information to begin a conversation.

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Book logs The book log is completed by the tutor during and/or after each session, for each text that your student reads. Note that the book level and notes/comments are optional. If the book is not clearly labeled with a book level (A-Z), leave that box blank. You don’t need to spend time figuring out the level of the book.

The book log is designed to serve primarily as a communication tool between the student’s tutors. Because the student receives three sessions per week, it can be useful for you to see at a glance what the student worked on during previous tutoring sessions. Keep this in mind as you write notes/comments.

Teachers are encouraged to review book logs on a periodic basis, but are not required to initial and/or respond to questions via the book log. If you have a question or concern that you would like the teacher to respond to, email is the best communication method.

Book logs are kept in the student’s binder for the entire school year. There is a place at the bottom to note the page number. Do not remove completed book logs from the student binder.

Additional blank book logs are available in the tutor supply box in the office.

Date/Tutor name

Book title and difficulty

Notes/comments (optional)

Book level (A-Z)

Example: Ended on page 14/great fluency/ success with main idea questions/etc.

(optional)

 Too easy  Just right  Too hard

Book levels Adapted from Dr. Richard Allington, What Really Matters for Struggling Readers.

What are book levels?

Books are organized from easier to harder in the order of the alphabet. Each level is labeled with a letter from A to Z. At each level, there is a cluster of characteristics that helps us think about the texts at that level and how they support and challenge readers. The level designation is only an approximation; within each level some books will be easier and some harder. The figure shows the entire range of texts from kindergarten through eighth grade. Levels are related to approximate grades, but it is more important to see the gradient as a continuum of progress for readers. Notice that there is no rigid division between grade levels.

Individual students should not be categorized as, for example, “level M readers.” Their background knowledge varies widely according to the experiences they have had at home, in the community and in school. Their reading ability develops along many dimensions. As they gain reading experience, they learn how texts are organized; they also develop content www.unitedwayracine.org

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knowledge as part of their experiences and study. All of this knowledge has an impact on the level of text a student can read, and it does so in a differential way. No gradient can be absolute because readers’ background knowledge, habits or attention, and prior reading experiences are so diverse. There is a range of levels any given student will feel comfortable reading, based on their general understanding of vocabulary, experience in reading texts with different structures, experience in reading different genres, and interests.

Why match books to students? Why is it important to have books at the just right level for students?

No matter how interested students are in the topic, the text must be accessible to them. An engaging plot or attractive character may help, but students must be able to read the words and understand the text. Conversely, no matter how well they are able to read a text, it must be relevant or interesting.

It is important to match books to struggling readers very carefully. The reader must be able to read the words in the text. The majority of the words in a text will be recognized immediately, often without conscious effort. If more than five to ten percent of the words require effort to decode, the text is too difficult for the reader.

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Tutoring session focus sheet The tutoring session focus sheet is completed by the classroom teacher on a quarterly basis.

The sheet is designed to help you understand student growth and identify specific skills that you can emphasize during your tutoring sessions. It uses a strength-based approach and helps deepen the alignment between classroom instruction and tutoring sessions.

Incorporating the tutoring session focus sheet The information on the tutoring session focus sheet is not meant to replace the standard tutoring session structure. Rather, it helps you, the tutor, maximize the limited time you have with the student by fine tuning the session to hone in on one or two skills the teacher has identified as a current priority for the student. Depending on the student’s needs, the teacher may select a skill that the student is doing well with, and needs to continue to strengthen, or they may select a skill that is very challenging for the student knowing that your support with help the student make progress.

How you incorporate the tutoring session focus sheet skills will depend on the skills identified by the teacher.

For example, if high frequency words is checked, you may review the words during the warm up, then again after reading, and then challenge the student to incorporate a high frequency word when writing.

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If defining main idea is checked, you may pause more frequently to specifically ask questions from the Main Idea section of the comprehension question flip chart.

If fluency is checked, you may choose to reread a book that the student is familiar with so that they don’t have to expend as much effort on decoding and can focus on reading fluently.

Skill Decoding Defining main idea Drawing conclusions Fluency High frequency words Making connections Making inferences Predicting Retelling Summarizing Visualizing Writing

Possible strategies See pages 26-28/Prompts on back of flip chart See page 35/Questions from flip chart See page 34/Questions from flip chart See page 31 See pages 22-23 See page 31 See page 31/Questions from flip chart See page 33/Questions from flip chart See page 32 See page 23 See page 35/Questions from flip chart See page 36-37

Books The student’s classroom teacher is responsible for ensuring properly leveled books are available for each tutoring session. The books may be at the child’s independent or instructional level. The teacher may also allow the student to select a higher level book that the student is very motivated to read, knowing that having the support of a tutor will increase the student’s success at reading the challenging text.

The teacher may choose to provide books specifically for Schools of Hope tutoring sessions and keep those books with the student binder, or they may direct the student to bring their book bin to the tutoring session.

Books should be changed at an appropriate rate and should be selected before the session begins. The frequency with which books are changed out is dependent on a number of factors, including the length/complexity of texts, the reading level of the student, and the skills the teacher has identified as a priority. Rereading a text is a valuable and valid experience, so the teacher may choose to have a student reread the same book during multiple tutoring sessions.

If the student has reread the available books multiple times, email the teacher to request new books. Copy Lori on the email.

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Schools of Hope tutoring session structure To have the greatest impact, the following activities should be completed during each 25 minute tutoring session. You are encouraged to be flexible in the flow of your sessions and to adapt the activities to meet the needs of the students while completing the activities outlined below with fidelity.

Activity Warmup: 3-5 minutes • Greet student and have conversation to build relationship.

• Review set of high frequency words.

• Summarize a text that each of you read recently.

Reading and comprehension: 15-19 minutes • Student reads to tutor; tutor provides support using techniques presented in training.

• Tutor asks comprehension questions using flip chart. o Before reading = blue sections o During reading = prompts and red and orange sections o After reading = red and orange sections

Writing: 3-5 minutes • Student writes 1-3 sentences with support from the tutor.

• Focus on: 1. Capitalization/punctuation/ spacing 2. Stretching sounds/encoding (emphasize stretching sounds over spelling) 3. Vocabulary (using robust words) www.unitedwayracine.org

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Skills • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Interpersonal skills Conversation skills Oral communication Activating background knowledge Retelling Sequencing Paraphrasing High frequency words Automaticity Decoding Defining main idea Drawing conclusions Evaluating Fluency High frequency words Making connections (text to self, text to text, text to world) Making inferences Phonemic awareness Problem solving Predicting Recalling Retelling Rhyming Summarizing Synthesizing Visualizing Phonics Encoding Capitalization Punctuation Vocabulary Summarizing

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Warmup (3-5 minutes) Greeting and relationship building Begin your session by greeting the student and having a conversation to build your relationship. You might ask about something they did over the weekend, what they’re learning in class, something that they’re looking forward to, etc. Use the time spent traveling to your tutoring location and setting up your tutoring area to have this conversation.

High frequency words High frequency words are a small group of words that account for a large percentage of the words in print. They are often referred to as sight words because automatic recognition of these words is required for fluent reading. High frequency words are often words that cannot be decoded or sounded out, and cannot be easily represented by pictures. Recognizing high frequency words automatically allows the student to concentrate on meaning and comprehension as they read rather than having to stop and decode every single word.

Each student’s binder contains a series of high frequency word lists. The lists progress from pre-primer through third grade. Each level is numbered and printed on a different color paper.

Standard high frequency word activities During the warmup, ask your student to read through one high frequency word list. Place a tally next to each word that the student can read instantly and automatically. Once each word has five tallies, move on to the next level of high frequency words. If a student masters nearly all words in a column/on a page, move on, but continue to revisit the particularly challenging words until the student masters them.

Use your knowledge of your student to determine how many words are an appropriate target for each session. Younger students might only have the stamina to complete one column of words; older students may be able to finish the entire page.

This portion of the warmup is not meant to take more than a couple of minutes. If a student is struggling with a word, tell them the word, ask them to repeat it, and move on.

Once a student has mastered all the words on each list, this portion of the tutoring session no longer needs to be completed during each visit. Tutors are encouraged to use high frequency words with their students during the writing portion of the tutoring session.

Additional high frequency word activity options • •

Choose five high frequency words to focus on. Ask the student to read the word, spell the word, write the word, and read what they wrote.

Choose five high frequency words to focus on. Ask the student to use the words in sentences. Challenge the student to use two or three of the words in the same sentence.

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• •

Discuss the possible meanings of words that are homographs (can/can, right/right) and homophones (know/no, to/too/two). Ask the student to use the words in sentences that demonstrate the possible meanings.

Make a note of the words that are challenging to the student. As you come across the words in the texts you read, point out the words to the student.

Summarize a previously read text Next, transition to each of you summarizing a recently read text. Briefly tell the student about what you’re reading, whether it’s a novel, an article, a blog post, an instruction manual, etc.

Through your conversation, show the student that you read for both work and pleasure, and that you read a variety of media (magazine, book, e-reader, newspaper, web page, etc.).

Ask the student to summarize something that they have read recently. If that day’s book is a text that the student has already started, you may ask them to summarize what they’ve read so far. This will provide you some context and help the student get ready to continue reading.

Summarizing requires the student to recall the main points of the text and put them in their own words. It may be helpful for you to model the summary the first few times and/or help the student create the summary.

•

A fiction summary should include statements about the beginning, middle and end of the story, the conflict solution, the characters, and the setting.

Example: Harry’s House There was a momma and a little girl and they had a dog named Harry. They worked together to build Harry a dog house. The girl got to paint the house red and Harry was happy because he liked his house.

•

A nonfiction summary should include statements about the main idea and a few supporting details.

Example: The Life of a Butterfly It starts out as an egg on a plant. A caterpillar hatches from the egg. It eats and eats and eats and gets big and fat. Then it makes a chrysalis. A butterfly comes out of the chrysalis. Then the butterfly lays more eggs on plants.

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Reading and comprehension (15-19 minutes) The majority of the tutoring session should be focused on reading and comprehension. The two go hand-in-hand. It’s not uncommon for tutors to report that their students read beautifully, but when asked questions about what they’ve just read, the students are unable to recall facts and think critically about the text. One of the benefits of working with a tutor is that the student receives instant feedback, encouragement and accountability. During the tutoring session, focus on quality over quantity. It’s better for the student to read one chapter and fully understand it than it is to read three chapters and have no clue what they just read.

Ways to read with a student The goal for Schools of Hope tutoring sessions is for the student to read independently and the tutor to offer support and engage the student through questions and discussion to further explore the text.

During the reading portion of the tutoring session, there are a variety of ways to read with your student: • Independent reading – The student reads a book that is at their level, with little need for help from the tutor.

• Shared reading – The student and tutor take turns while reading together and/or saying the words together. You may alternate who reads each page, or the tutor may read the more difficult words while the student reads the easier words.

• Echo reading – The tutor models fluent reading while reading a paragraph or page and then the student reads the paragraph or page.

• Choral reading – The student and tutor read aloud together.

• Read aloud – The tutor reads aloud to the student. Engage the child by letting them hold the book, turn the pages and tell you about the pictures/illustrations. Ask questions throughout the story.

Comprehension Comprehension is the process of making meaning from written text—it’s what reading is all about! There are several comprehension strategies that readers use to understand what they are reading. Asking questions during and after reading will help develop your student’s understanding of the text and practice higher order thinking skills.

Higher order thinking Higher order thinking is thinking on a level that is higher than memorizing facts or telling something back to someone exactly the way it was told to you. Higher order thinking takes thinking beyond restating the facts and requires students to do something with the facts — understand them, infer from them, connect them to other facts and concepts, categorize them, manipulate them, put them together in new or novel ways, and apply them as we seek new solutions to new problems.

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Preview-pause-prompt-praise Preview-pause-prompt-praise is an easy-to-use strategy that will help guide the reading portion of the tutoring session.

Preview A student will be much more successful reading a book for the first time if they know where the story is headed. Previewing a text creates an opportunity for the student to use prior knowledge and prediction skills to start to understand the story and determine what will happen. It’s important to note that your students may not have the prior knowledge needed to fully understand a text. Doing a preview can alert you to that situation and allow you to provide context that will help the student be successful. A preview is also known as a book walk or a picture walk.

Conducting a preview before reading a story allows you, the tutor, to: • Create interest in reading the story and activate prior knowledge about the topic.

• Learn about a child's experience related to the story.

• Practice using visual cues (pictures) as a reading strategy.

• Think about questions to explore while reading.

You can use the blue Prior Knowledge/Prediction section of the comprehension flip chart during the preview.

Statements and questions you may use during a preview: • Let's look at the front cover. The title of this book is _____. What do you think this story is about?

• Do you have any experience with _____? An experience I had was...

• Turn the page. What do you see? What do you think is happening?

• Use and locate difficult vocabulary words during the activity. By pointing to and saying words that may pose a challenge, you are helping the student be prepared to successfully read those words.

• What do you think will happen next?

• We are almost at the end of the book. How will the story end?

• What are you curious to know more about in the story? I wonder if...

As you preview an informational text, draw the student’s attention to the title, headings, captions, etc. and ask the student what the text is about and what they will learn by reading it.

When previewing an informational text, you may choose to limit the preview to a page or two, read those pages, discuss, preview the next page or two, read those pages, discuss, etc.

If your student is reading a longer text, use the cover, title and blurb on the back cover to begin your preview. Flip through the text to get a sense of the format. Do the chapters have titles?

Are there any illustrations? Do you notice any names that may be difficult to pronounce or words that the student may not know?

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Pause When the student comes to a word they don’t know, or when the student makes an error and goes on, pause.

• Wait and give the student time to problem solve in order to figure out the word and/or allow the student to discover the error independently.

• Count slowly to yourself for 5-6 seconds before saying anything. This sends the message to the reader that they are capable and you believe in their abilities to problem solve on their own.

• It is not important to stop and correct a word if it doesn’t affect the meaning. Words such as it, was, the, and is are not often important to make meaning. In fact, as fluent readers, adults often skip over these words themselves when reading.

• Resist the temptation to constantly interrupt the student and supply the correct word when they struggle or makes a mistake. Frequent interruptions prevent the student from identifying their mistakes and make comprehension difficult.

Prompt Students use three cueing systems to unlock meaning when reading.

• Meaning – knowing about words and the world o Does it make sense? o Uses context clues and/or background knowledge.

• Structure – knowing about language o Does it sound right? o Uses understanding of the way in which language is put together into sentences, phrases, paragraphs, etc.

• Visual – knowing about print and phonics o Does it look right? o Uses knowledge of what letters and words look like and breaking words down into sounds, syllables, chunks, etc. o Often identified as sounding out words.

When the student is struggling to decode a word, make suggestions to help support the student and lead them to success. You will become a good judge of what questions you need to ask and when to ask them. Use prompts to help the student develop independence. If the student cannot decode the word with the help of one or two prompts, simply supply the word and move on.

Strategies to help students decode unknown words • • •

Tracking – Point to each word with your finger as you read it. “Try that again and touch each word.”

Chunking – Break the word into smaller pieces. Use your finger or a piece of paper to cover/uncover the word segments. st/an/ding sh/a/ke de/tec/tive Point out prefixes (beginnings like re-, pre-) and suffixes (endings like -ed, -ing). Discuss the meanings of the prefixes and suffixes. Have the student read the root (base) word by covering the prefixes and suffixes.

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Letter sounds When helping a child decode a word phonetically, it is important to be sure you are using the correct letter sounds. This chart offers images that represent words that contain each letter sound. It is based on the Fundations phonics and spelling program. Alphabet Chart designed by thephonicsphenomenon.blogspot.com.

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When the student is stuck on a word, encourage the student to…

Use meaning. Say, • Look at the picture to help yourself.

• Does that make sense?

• What word would make sense here?

• Start that sentence again.

• Make a good guess and then go on.

Use language structure. Say, • Does that sound right? Does it fit?

• Can we say it that way?

• Give the student two possible choices for what the word could be. Talk about which choice is correct and why.

• Check to see if what you said makes sense and looks right.

• It could be _____, but look at _____.

Use visual information. Say, • Read all the words up to the tricky word and start it.

• Say more of the word.

• Does that look right to you?

• Get your mouth ready to say it.

• Look at how the word begins. Do you know another word that starts that way?

• If that was _____, what would you expect to see at the beginning? At the end?

Problem solve independently. Say, • What can you do to help yourself?

• Good readers… (praise the behavior) • Good readers keep trying – good for you!

• I like the way you noticed that and fixed it yourself.

When the student makes a correction, say, • Were you right?

• I like the way you fixed that.

• How did you know that the word was _____? That’s a good strategy!

• You figured that out yourself! I saw you getting your mouth ready to say that word and it worked!

• Good work using the picture for a clue.

• You got it. Read it again.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is just give the word and move on!

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Praise Praise and encouragement are very important to learning. Specific praise will help the reader to know what they are doing correctly!

Praise the reader for: • Using pictures • Using letter sounds • Noticing mistakes • Rereading • Fixing mistakes • Maintaining meaning • Reading smoothly with expression • Staying on task • Completing activities • Persevering Praise the process, not the person Focus on acknowledging a student’s efforts, strategies, perseverance, and progress, not their intelligence or person. Using “I” statements (rather than “you” statements) is a great way to effectively praise a student’s efforts.

Intelligence praise (“You are a genius!”) makes kids feel good in the short term, but can make them afraid to face challenges and unable to cope with setbacks. When something is difficult, they might see themselves as “too dumb” to succeed.

On the other hand, effort praise (“I like how you took time to get your mouth ready to say that word.”) helps students realize that success is tied to effort. When something is difficult, a student’s growth mindset and willingness to persevere is more critical to success than the student’s skill.

What factors help striving readers?

• • • • • •

Adult enthusiasm for books is highly motivating for students.

When an adult consistently compliments and encourages student effort, behavior, and strategy use, it helps to build confidence in the reader.

Striving readers need opportunities to read a lot.

Striving readers need to be highly engaged in reading. o Having conversations about books promotes engagement. o Providing lots of time to read in school facilitates engagement.

Striving students need opportunities to read books that they can read with accuracy, fluency and with strong comprehension.

Success-based reading builds confidence and motivation to read.

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Informational texts Students need to read a combination of fiction and informational (nonfiction) texts to develop their reading skills and be prepared for real-world experiences. There are specific conventions that are unique to informational texts. When reading informational texts with your students, help them use the conventions of nonfiction to determine importance in the text.

Stephanie Harvey (Strategies that Work) writes, “Determining importance means picking out the most important information when you read, to highlight essential ideas, to isolate supporting details, and to read for specific information. Teachers need to help readers sift and sort information, and make decisions about what information they need to remember and what information they can disregard. Readers of nonfiction have to decide and remember what is important in the texts they read if they are going to learn anything from them.�

Convention Captions Chart or table Close-ups

Purpose Help the reader better understand a picture or photograph.

Provides a compact, orderly arrangement of text and/or numbers, usually in columns and rows.

Cutaways

Help the reader see details in something small.

Help the reader understand the size of one thing by comparing it to the size of something familiar.

Help the reader understand something by looking at it from the inside.

Glossary

Helps the reader define words contained in the text.

Headings

Help the reader identify the title of a page, section or chapter.

Provides an alphabetical list of almost everything covered in the text, with page numbers.

Comparisons

Index Labels Legends Maps Photographs or diagrams Table of contents Types of print

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Help the reader identify a picture or photograph and/or its parts.

Help the reader understand the information contained in a map, chart, graph, or table.

Help the reader understand where things are in the world.

Help the reader understand exactly what something looks like.

Helps the reader identify key topics in the book in the order they are presented.

Help the reader notice important words. Types of print include bold, italics, underlined, and CAPITAL LETTERS.

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Making connections When we read, our brains naturally make connections, and we are reminded of our own background knowledge and experiences. Our background helps us relate to characters and settings, visualize what is happening and stay interested in the story. There are three types of connections that your student can make: • Text-to-self (connecting what she is reading to personal knowledge) • Text-to-text (connecting one text to another) • Text-to-world (connecting what she is reading to real-world experiences) The key to students making connections is for them to understand how their prior knowledge adds to their understanding of the current text. When helping a student make connections, use questioning and conversation to determine what prior knowledge and experiences the student has. Help the student connect the dots by asking how the current text reminds them of something that they know, another book they’ve read, or something they’ve done. When a student does not have background knowledge and experiences related to the text, they may struggle to make connections and will benefit from having you there to explain and help bridge the gaps.

You can model making connections by sharing your thinking out loud: “Oh! This character is feeling left out by his friends. That’s happened to me before. It made me feel sad. Has that happened to you?”

Fluency While reading, your students will be developing their fluency. Fluency is a reader’s ability to read readily and effortlessly, and is an important factor in gaining control over the reading process. Fluent reading sounds natural and more like speaking. Less fluent readers tend to struggle, read very slowly, and focus their attention on decoding and sounding out words, often without understanding what they are reading.

Fluent readers are able to: • Recognize words automatically.

• Group individual words into meaningful phrases.

• Apply quick strategies to read unknown words.

Fluent readers read accurately and quickly, but accuracy does not mean reading perfectly.

When fluent readers make mistakes that interrupt meaning, they are able to detect and correct those mistakes. Children become fluent readers by reading and listening to fluent readers.

Fluent readers read with natural intonation, rhythm and pacing.

Rereading a familiar text can help a student practice fluency. If a student needs to focus on fluency, the teacher may choose to change books less frequently. Echo reading (with you modeling fluent reading of a sentence or paragraph) is one way to model fluency.

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Retelling Asking a student to retell the story is a good way to quickly check for basic comprehension before moving on to higher order thinking questions. Retelling is using the author’s words to tell the story again, using as many details as possible, and keeping them in order.

Vocabulary development A child’s receptive vocabulary consists of the words the child understands when she hears or reads them. A child’s productive vocabulary or expressive vocabulary consists of the words the child uses when she speaks.

A child’s receptive vocabulary exceeds their productive vocabulary. That is, a child knows much more language than is reflected in what he says. As you talk with your student, don’t attempt to “dumb down” your vocabulary. If the child doesn’t understand you, he will give you a cue, or just ask what something means. Strive to have deliberately literate conversations with your students and turn questions or mistakes into teaching moments.

Research shows that vocabulary strongly relates to reading comprehension, intelligence and general ability. As children learn to read, they must learn to decode print, but they also must have a vocabulary base in order to make sense of what they decode.

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Comprehension questions flip chart Each student binder contains a comprehension flip chart with a variety of questions that you can ask before, during and after reading. Many of the suggested question prompts encourage higher order thinking. You do not have to ask all of the questions during each session. Rather, use the question stems to help assess your student’s understanding of the text and spark conversation.

The back of the comprehension question flip chart lists the prompts you can use to help students problem solve as they’re reading.

Prior Knowledge (Before reading) • • • • • • • • • •

What do you know about _____?

Have you ever ______? Tell me about the experience.

Do you know a person who______? Describe him or her.

Share something you know about ______.

How would you feel if _______?

What would you do if ______? Why? Describe something you might do if _______.

If you were ________, how would you (act, feel, look like, etc.)?

When you are (angry, frightened, surprised, bored, etc.), what do you do?

Did you ever feel like ______? What was it like?

Prediction (Before reading) • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Look at the cover of this book. What do you predict it will be about?

Scan this (story, chapter, book). What do you predict it will be about?

What does the title tell you about the story?

What do chapter headings tell you about this story?

Do you think this story will be (funny, sad, interesting, etc.)? What makes you think so?

What do you think ____ will do next?

What do you think ____ looks like?

Where do you think ____ will go?

How do you think (a character) will (accomplish something)?

What do you think ____ will do (if, when) ____?

How do you think ____ will solve ____?

If (an event happens), what do you think will happen?

How will (a character) feel if (an event happens)?

Did what you think was going to happen actually happen?

What was the difference between what you thought would happen and what actually happened?

How did the author make you think that (an event was going to happen) instead of what actually did?

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Inference (During and after reading) • • • • • • • • • • •

The author didn’t tell us ____, but from what you’ve read, what do you think ____?

When the author says ____, what do we know about ____?

What does ____ mean when they say ____?

Why did (an event happen/a character do something)? How do you know?

When does this story take place? How do you know?

Why does ____ (do, say, go, have, etc.) ____ in this story?

If the character ____, what does it tell us about him or her?

What does the author’s description of ____ tell you?

What do you know from the (sentence, paragraph, story) that the author didn’t tell you directly?

What clues tell you ____?

How will you know if (an event will happen)?

Drawing conclusions (During and after reading) • • • • • • • • • • • •

How does the character feel about____? How do you know?

What did the author mean when ____?

Do you think ____ was a good idea? Why or why not?

What is the reason____?

Why did _____?

Can you explain to me the part of the story where ____?

How would you summarize _____?

What examples prove ____?

What leads you to believe ____?

What justifies ____?

Was it a good decision to ____? Why or why not?

Who is the most important character? Why?

Synthesis (During and after reading) • • • •

How would this story be different if ____?

Retell one event from ____ point of view.

Make up another ending to the story that still fits the details.

Rename this (story, book, chapter). Why is that fitting?

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Main Idea (During and after reading) • • • • • • • • •

What do we know is important (on this page, in this chapter, in this book)?

How do you know ____ is important?

What is an important detail from this (paragraph, page, chapter, book)?

What examples can you give to explain ____?

What facts tell you ____?

Tell me what you think ____ means.

How would you compare ____ to ____?

Interpret the reason the author ____.

What is this book MOSTLY about?

Visualize (During and after reading) • • • • • •

Can you describe, in your own words, what the setting (time and place) might look like?

Describe the picture you saw in your mind of one of the problems identified in the story.

Show me the look the character had on his or her face when (an event happened).

When a person feels ____, how do they look?

What do you picture in your mind when you read about the description of the (character, object, setting, etc.)?

Describe a picture you would draw (of an action from the story).

Evaluation (During and after reading) • • • • • •

Was the main character in this story good or bad? Why? Which is better ____ or ____?

Would you agree that ____?

What is your opinion of ____?

Were they right to (action)? Why or why not?

Compare two characters in the story. Tell which one you think is better and why.

Nonfiction (Use these questions before, during and after reading informational texts.)

• • • • • • • • • •

What do chapter headings tell you about this story?

How do the illustrations/photographs help you know what the story might be about?

What did you learn that you didn’t know before?

What fact(s) did you enjoy learning about the most? Why? What pictures did you find the most interesting? Why? What text features (pictures, diagrams, labels, captions, etc.) helped you understand the reading more clearly? Tell how it helped you.

What was the most interesting thing you learned?

What questions do you have now after reading this material?

Was there anything the author didn’t tell you that you really wanted to know?

What do you think is most important about what you just read?

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Writing (5 minutes) The following information is based on Swartz, et al.’s Interactive Writing and Interactive Editing (2001).

Interactive writing is a cooperative event in which the tutor and student jointly compose and write text. Not only do they share the decision about what they are going to write, they also share the duties of scribe. Interactive writing can be used to demonstrate concepts about print, develop strategies and learn how words work. It provides children with opportunities to hear sounds in words and connect those sounds with corresponding letters. Students are engaged in the encoding process of writing and the decoding process of reading.

Interactive writing is a unique opportunity to help children see the relationship between reading and writing. During the interactive writing process, the tutor and student talk about what they are going to write. The tutor serves as the facilitator of the discussion—guiding, modeling, adding, summarizing, confirming, combining, and synthesizing the children’s ideas. As the actual writing begins, many opportunities for specific teaching are available. The goal is to get the children’s thoughts on paper, discussing the topic and the process of writing, dealing with the conventions of print, and working on grammar, spelling, punctuation, letter formation, phonics, and voice.

Interactive writing is: • Negotiating the composition of texts • Collaborating in the construction of text • Using the conventions of print • Reading and rereading texts • Searching, checking and confirming while reading and writing Uses of interactive writing: • Direct and explicit instruction in phonology and word analysis • Teach children how written text works • Teach children the connections between what we write and read Values of interactive writing: • Demonstrates concepts about print, early strategies, and how words work • Provides opportunities to hear sounds in words and connect sounds with letters • Helps children understand the decoding and encoding process in reading and writing • Increases spelling knowledge

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Writing overview and goals Each student binder contains lined paper to be used for writing throughout the course of the school year. The goal is to write one sentence during each session. If time allows and the student is interested, they can write additional sentences and/or illustrate their sentence.

Steps to writing 1. Put the date at the top of that day’s writing. You can do this, or the student can.

2. Ask the student what they would like to write about. The go-to prompt is, “what was your favorite part about what we read today?” If you have a different prompt, or the student has a different idea for what they want to write about, that is fine.

3. Have the student say the sentence they want to write. Repeat the sentence back to them so that you are both clear on the sentence to be written.

4. Have the student begin writing. As with reading, resist the urge to constantly interrupt the student to correct spelling, handwriting, etc.

5. As the student writes, you can assist by keeping them on track, anticipating struggles (a silent e at the end of a word, a word that cannot be sounded out) and supplying words that you know the student will not be able to encode.

6. When the student gets to a word that is challenging to spell, you have two options: 1. Write the word for the student.

2. Encourage the student to stretch the sounds to encode the word.

7. Even if the student asks, do not just spell each word for the student!

8. After the student has finished writing the sentence, ask them to read it back to you.

Encouraging good writing Because of the short amount of time available, it will likely not be possible to correct every mistake that the student makes while writing, nor is that the goal of this activity. Instead, focus on one specific skill set at a time. Once a student has mastered the first level, move on to the next.

1. Proper capitalization, punctuation and spacing. i. Each sentence should begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark. Proper nouns should be capitalized; other words should have lower case letters. Each word should have a space between it.

2. Stretching sounds/encoding. i. Emphasize stretching sounds over spelling. Help the student hear each individual sound in the word. Invented spelling is okay. You may want to write the correct spelling under the word.

3. Vocabulary. i. Encourage the student to use robust words and new terms learned from that day’s reading.

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Connecting with and understanding your students Developing relationships and trust with your students is key to the success of your tutoring sessions. Schools of Hope is meant to help students develop into confident, capable readers.

Striving readers may be reluctant at times because reading is challenging for them. Your consistent, positive support is very powerful.

Tips for working with young children • •

• • • • •

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Be warm and friendly. Set a positive tone and a mood that promotes good feelings and excitement for learning.

Be positive and strength-based. Your student will likely be more engaged if you are eager and enthusiastic. Positive reinforcement, such as a smile, a high five, or other nonverbal cues, can do a lot to fuel a child’s desire to participate. When your student is discouraged, reinforce their strengths and successes. Our brains are muscles and they have to work hard to get stronger.

Be a good listener. Show that you are genuinely interested in what the student has to say. Young people love to voice their opinions and know that they are heard.

Be patient. Sometimes progress is slow, but all students have the same need for your attention and interest in their accomplishments.

Be fair, consistent and impartial. Treat students with the same courtesy and respect you would afford to an adult. If you do not get the desired responses from a student, try not to take it personally. Assume that the child is having a problem that is unrelated to you.

Encourage students to do their own thinking. Give them plenty of time to answer a question. Silence often means that they are thinking and organizing their thoughts.

Give honest, specific and deserved praise for student effort. Success breeds success.

Focus on a student’s strengths and positive behaviors. Avoid negative praise. Saying things like, “You knew this word last week. Why can’t you do it today?” implies criticism of the student’s ability and is detrimental to their progress.

Encourage students to persevere when they are having difficulty.

Realize that most young people have short attention spans. Make every effort to respond to a child’s need for movement and variety. If a student is restless, disinterested, chatty, or misbehaving, she is probably not learning much and you may end up frustrated.

If you don’t know an answer or are unsure about something, admit that to the student. If possible, work out a solution with the student.

Model proper language usage; children learn language from the language they hear.

Expect to hear some fantasies, tall tales, and incorrect or unacceptable language. Some children hear language and see behavior outside of school which is not acceptable in the classroom. Instead of criticizing a child’s home, model the type of language and behavior that are appropriate for school use.

Establish and maintain expectations for how you’d prefer students to address you.

Choose your battles. For example, if your student wants to write with the pen instead of the pencil and doing so makes them excited to write, let them.

It is okay to end a session early if the student refuses to participate. Do so with no judgment of the student’s worth as a person. Let them know you’re looking forward to your next session with the hope that it’s more productive.

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Developmental characteristics of primary grade children From Big Brothers Big Sisters of America’s Volunteer Education and Development Manual.

Kindergarten-first grade (ages 5-6) • Eager to learn • Easily fatigues General • Short periods of interest characteristics • Self-assertive, boastful • Less cooperative, more competitive • Very active; need frequent breaks from tasks to do things that are energetic and fun for them Physical • Need rest periods with quiet activities characteristics • Large muscles are well-developed; developing eye-hand coordination • May tend to be accident prone • Enjoy organized games and are very concerned about following rules • Can be competitive, which may lead to cheating at games Social • Very imaginative and involved in fantasy-playing characteristics • Self-assertive, aggressive, boastful, want to be first • Enjoy exploring new materials • Eager to engage in new activities led by involved adult • Alert to feelings of others; unaware of how their own actions affect others • Very sensitive to praise and recognition • Feelings easily hurt Emotional characteristics • Inconsistent in level of maturity and may regress when tired • Often less mature at home than with outsiders • Can be easily frightened by novel or strange events • Like responsibilities they can handle • Very eager to learn • Like to talk • Understand language better than they speak • Can be inflexible about their idea of fairness Mental • Difficulty making decisions characteristics • Are interested in the present; have vague concepts of past/future • Ask many questions • Define things by their use • Developing a sense of humor

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Second-third grades (ages 7-9) • Interested in people; aware of differences • Willing to give more to others, but also expect more in return • Busy, active, full of enthusiasm; may try too much • Interested in money and its value; developing a sense of time • Sensitive to criticism and recognize failure General • Have capacity for self-evaluation; decisive, dependable, reasonable characteristics • Capable of prolonged interest; may make plans on their own • Strong sense of right and wrong • Spend a great deal of time in talk and discussion • Often outspoken and critical of adults; still dependent on adult approval • Very active; need frequent breaks from tasks to do things that are energetic and fun for them • Early matures may be upset about their size and need an adult supporter to listen and explain Physical characteristics • May tend to be accident prone • Enthusiastic about games, especially those that allow for comparison of skill or that allow for self-improvement • Experiencing improvement in both gross and fine motor skills • Are choosy about their friends; like to have a best friend; develop a strong sense of loyalty to friends Social • Acceptance by friends becomes very important characteristics • Need help accepting peers who are different or left out of a group • Often idolize heroes, television stars and sports figures • Very sensitive to praise and recognition; feelings easily hurt Emotional • May experience conflicts between adult’s rules and friend’s rules characteristics • Strong drive towards independence • Like to take on responsibility • Can be inflexible about their idea of fairness • Eager to answer questions; very curious • Collectors of everything, but may jump to other objects of interest Mental after a short time characteristics • Want more independence; know they need guidance and support • Like to talk and use language to express feelings/tell stories • Better able to understand and appreciate differences of opinion

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Working with students living in poverty Adapted from Ruby Payne’s A Framework for Poverty (1996) and Donna M. Beegle’s “The Poverty Training.”

Families and children living in poverty are unable to achieve a minimum, decent standard of living that allows them to participate fully in mainstream society. The basic material necessities a person needs vary by time and place. In today’s society, a minimum, decent standard of living requires consistent access to: • Material resources o Sufficient, nutritious food o Clothing o Safe shelter with running water, electricity, indoor plumbing and telephone access • Human and social capital o Education and employment experience o Basic life skills o Social networks, including friends, family, resource people available in times of need, and appropriate role models o Access to civic institutions Regardless of race or ethnicity, children living in poverty are much more likely than non-poor children to suffer developmental delays, to drop out of school and to give birth during the early teen years.

Students from families with little formal education often learn rules about how to speak and behave and acquire knowledge that conflicts with how learning happens in school. They also come to school with less background language and fewer family supports.

To survive in poverty, one must rely on nonverbal, sensory and reactive skills.

To survive in school, one must rely on verbal, abstract and proactive skills.

In general, for children living in poverty, • The noise level at home is higher.

• The lighting level is dimmer.

• Important information is given nonverbally. o Younger students may miss verbal instruction because they are focused on nonverbal cues.

• Eye contact that is maintained for too long indicates a threat or danger.

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Characteristics of life experiences labeled “poverty” Generational poverty • Family has never owned land • Never knew anyone who benefited from education • Never knew anyone who moved up or was respected in a job • Highly mobile • High family illiteracy • Focus is on making it through the day Working-class poverty • Working, but rarely have money for extras • Most do not own property • Live paycheck to paycheck • Few have healthcare • Focus on making it two weeks or through the month • Poverty seen as a personal deficiency Immigrant poverty • Have little or no resources • Face language and cultural barriers • Seem to have a stronger sense of self and often do better than those born into poverty in America Situational poverty • Surrounded by people who are educated or able to earn a living wage • Attends school regularly and has health care • Income drops due to crisis (health, divorce, etc.)

• Generally is able to make it back to middle class • Has not internalized the poverty as a personal problem • Does not recognize the advantages of growing up middle class

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Glossary of reading terms Adapted from the Florida Center for Reading Research.

Accuracy (part of fluency): Reading words in text with no errors.

Alliteration: The repetition of the initial phoneme of each word in connected text (e.g., Harry the happy hippo hula-hoops with Henrietta).

Analogy: Comparing two sets of words to show some common similarity between the sets.

When done as a vocabulary exercise this requires producing one of the words (e.g., cat is to kitten: as dog is to _____?).

Antonym: A word opposite in meaning to another word.

Automaticity: Reading without conscious effort or attention to decoding.

Background knowledge: Forming connections between the text and the information and experiences of the reader.

Chunking: A decoding strategy for breaking words into manageable parts (e.g., yes/ter/day).

Comprehension: Understanding what one is reading, the ultimate goal of all reading activity.

Comprehension questions: Address the meaning of text, ranging from literal to inferential to analytical.

Context clue: Using words or sentences around an unfamiliar word to help clarify its meaning.

Decoding: The ability to translate a word from print to speech, usually by employing knowledge of sound symbol correspondences; also the act of deciphering a new word by sounding it out.

Fluency: Ability to read text quickly, accurately and with proper expression. Fluency provides a bridge between word recognition and comprehension.

Frustrational reading level: The level at which a reader reads at less than a 90% accuracy (i.e., no more than one error per 10 words read). Frustration level text is difficult text for the reader.

High frequency words: A small group of words that account for a large percentage of the words in print and can be regular or irregular words. Often, they are referred to as “sight words” since automatic recognition of these words is required for fluent reading.

Homograph: Words that are spelled the same but have different origins and meanings.

They may or may not be pronounced the same (e.g., can as in a metal container/can as in able to).

Homonym: Words that sound the same but are spelled differently (e.g., cents/sense, knight/night).

Homophone: Words that may or may not be spelled alike but are pronounced the same. These words are of different origins and have different meanings (e.g., ate and eight; scale as in the covering of a fish; and scale as in a device used to weigh things).

Idiom: A phrase or expression that differs from the literal meaning of the words; a regional or individual expression with a unique meaning (e.g., it’s raining cats and dogs).

Important words: Unknown words that are critical to passage understanding and which students are likely to encounter in the future.

Independent reading level: The level at which a reader can read text with 95% accuracy (i.e., no more than one error per 20 words read). Independent reading level is relatively easy text for the reader.

Informational text: Non-fiction books, also referred to as expository text that contain factual information and the relationship among ideas. Informational text tends to be more difficult for students than narrative text because of the density of long, difficult and unknown words or word parts. www.unitedwayracine.org

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Instructional reading level: The level at which a reader can read text with 90% accuracy (i.e., no more than one error per 10 words read). Instructional reading level engages the student in challenging, but manageable text.

Invented spelling: An attempt to spell a word based on a student’s knowledge of the spelling system and how it works (e.g., kt for cat).

Irregular words: Words that contain letters that stray from the most common sound pronunciation; words that do not follow common phonic patterns (e.g., were, was, laugh, been).

Listening vocabulary: The words needed to understand what is heard.

Main idea: The central thought or message of a reading passage.

Narrative text: A story about fictional or real events.

Oral language: Spoken language. There are five components of oral language: phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.

Phoneme: The smallest unit of sound within our language system. A phoneme combines with other phonemes to make words.

Phoneme isolation: Recognizing individual sounds in a word (e.g., /p/ is the first sound in pan).

Phoneme manipulation: Adding, deleting, and substituting sounds in words (e.g., add /b/ to oat to make boat; delete /p/ in pat to make at; substitute /o/ for /a/ in pat to make pot).

Phonemic awareness: The ability to notice, think about, or manipulate the individual phonemes (sounds) in words. It is the ability to understand that sounds in spoken language work together to make words.

Phonics: The study of the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent; also used to describe reading instruction that teaches sound-symbol correspondences.

Prefix: A morpheme that precedes a root and that contributes to or modifies the meaning of a word as “re� in reprint.

Prior knowledge: Refers to schema, the knowledge and experience that readers bring to the text.

Prosody: Reading with expression, proper intonation, and phrasing. This helps readers to sound as if they are speaking the part they are reading. It is also this element of fluency that sets it apart from automaticity.

Rate: The speed at which a person reads.

Reading vocabulary: The words needed to understand what is read.

Receptive language: Language that is heard.

Retelling: Recalling the content of what was read or heard.

Rhyming: Words that have the same ending sound.

Schema: Refers to prior knowledge, the knowledge and experience that readers bring to the text.

Speaking vocabulary: The words used when speaking.

Speed: The rate at which a student reads.

Story elements: Characters, problem, solutions, themes, settings, and plot.

Suffix: An affix attached to the end of a base, root, or stem that changes the meaning or grammatical function of the word.

Summarizing: Reducing large selections of text to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and remembering.

Synonym: Words that have similar meanings.

Vocabulary: Refers to all of the words of our language. One must know words to communicate effectively. Vocabulary is important to reading comprehension because readers cannot www.unitedwayracine.org

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understand what they are reading without knowing what most of the words mean. Vocabulary development refers to stored information about the meanings and pronunciation of words necessary for communication. Four types of vocabulary include listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Writing vocabulary: Words that a student might use while writing.

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