Encourage children to learn for themselves.  Ask how they learned what they know and show them that they have already taught themselves to accomplish tasks and goals.

Encourage children to record their own ideas. If you are unable to read their words ask them to read their writing to you.  Offer to write with the child or record what they are telling you.

Let the child see you write.  Demonstrate writing with purpose and meaning. Let them see you write the teacher a note, or write something down for yourself.

Reading for Clues.  Read the pictures for clues that help you make sense of the words, then read the words.

Seeing the whole.  Look at entire words: first, last and middle letters.

Seeing the parts.  Find the little words and parts you know within words.

Using what you know.  Read all the words you know and skip the ones you are not sure of.  Reread.  There may be words you can now figure out.

Gathering clues.  Get help from another reader.  Ask them to tell you or explain a word, or write a word out the way it sounds so you can read it.

 The Tutor's Relationship to the School or Community Agency
Your College/University is paying your salary through the America Reads government grants, though your immediate focus is on your work site; it is they who hired you and who will train you to meet the needs of their classrooms or programs.  Your time-sheets are the connection between your two employers, as the sheets need to be signed off by your work site and returned to your Financial Aid/Student Employment office. This process may work a little differently for each tutor depending on which College/University you attend. 

It's not teaching reading, but BUILDING READERS

Someone said you can't teach anyone anything, only get them excited to learn it for themselves.  Your creativity, imagination and experience are the most effective tools you have to communicate the joy and wonder reading can bring to our lives. Reading is much more than an acquired skill, but a gateway to learning about oneself and the world that surrounds us. As the saying goes: give someone a fish, feed him for a day; teach someone to fish, feed him for life. Good Readers are able to relate books and stories to their own lives, they read fluently and make associations within the text and to the people and objects around them, moving beyond simply sounding out the letters and words.  The goal of the tutor is to build good readers, by example, by instruction, by correction. 

Blue Prints for the Tutor

Professionalism
Be on time.  Notify your employer in advance if you cannot keep your scheduled hours (the teacher as well as the child depends on you).  Be aware of your appearance; use common sense. You are entering a professional arena; take it seriously, the teachers and administration do.  Be aware of your language: kids tend to parrot what they hear, and inappropriate speech reflects badly on you personally, and as a representative of your college or university.

The Language of the Classroom
More than likely it has been some time since you were in an elementary classroom.  Allow yourself time to observe and learn, watching the teacher's interaction with the students, and the students' interactions among themselves, the tone of the teacher's voice and the manner in which he/she presents information to the students. Your role as a tutor is to guide, coach and encourage. LISTENING is a fundamental tool for successful tutoring and communication, and is essential to your goal of building better readers.

Communicating Effectively
Both you and the children you tutor should enjoy the cooperative reading experience.  Let your responses to the child and the tone of your voice be positive and genuine as well as constructive.  You are there to help them improve, and correction is a necessary part of the process.  Your comments should lead readers first to self-correction. When students learn strategies to self-correct, they become self-learners, a quality of good readers.  And remember most of all to HAVE FUN while you're tutoring.  Your energy can work as a catalyst towards an improved learning environment.

Modeling A Good Reader
As you interact with children, provide a model of a good reader.  It is your example that can have the greatest impact on the child.  Sharing what you like to read and why can serve to strengthen tutor/student relationships and aid in building the trust and assurance necessary to stretch and challenge readers.  This sharing should be reciprocal: find out about the child's interests and background.   A Good Reader is able to relate the material to his or her own life, create links from the stories and characters to how they feel about the world around them, when such associations may not be obvious.  For example, how the child may empathize with a story of a lost dog, as one time he was sad when he became lost.  The ability to find relevance and connections with what we read is an acquired skill, and one you can demonstrate by sharing books, newspaper articles, etc., that affect you, whether making you laugh or upset or challenge you to think.  Use discretion, though, with materials you bring into the classroom, check with the teacher first.

 All Shapes and Sizes
Discovering the children's interests can also help you meet the specific needs of a student.  You will find that what teaching style feels most comfortable for you will work for most children.  A child who challenges your creativity and resources, and at times your patience, may need a varied approach.  Look to your experiences as a student, and you may find a part of yourself that is like some part of the child you are trying to reach.  This coupled with your creativity and patience (don't let them run out) can solve many communication barriers and keep child-interest and participation while you are tutoring.  Note, there are situations that call for outside assistance, namely the teacher.  He or she will be a great resource in these circumstances. Use them!

The Role of the Teacher/Supervisor

Training
The school/community agency should provide adequate training and supervision for your position.  Training will vary depending on the school/community agency, and may range from a class that includes all of the tutors they've hired, to a one on one meeting going over policies, procedures and guidelines, etc.

Position Clarification
America Reads is constructed to give autonomy to the school/community agencies employing you, with the understood goal that you, as a tutor, are there to help improve the reading levels of children. You are not there to make copies for an hour, to run errands around the campus or town, to assist in administrative or clerical responsibilities, or to participate in activities unrelated to developing reading or language skills.  But be smart. There's a difference between the infrequent and the habitual.  If ever you are in doubt of a task, better to do it and discuss it afterwards.  First with the teacher (if you are in a classroom), then the site supervisor.  If confusion persists, contact your campus Student Employment/Financial Aid office for help. Try to resolve any difficulties through these avenues first; if issues remain, contact our Program Coordinator, Deirdre Bairstow.

Documentation
Your campus will provide you with a time sheet, which you will return to your Student Employment/Financial Aid Office.  All work-related disciplinary actions will be documented (i.e. verbal warnings, written warnings, college notification, etc.). We encourage you to also document any such circumstances yourself.  At the end of the semester you will be asked to complete an evaluation form to help us improve the program for future years.