The snow is melting, LC tutors! There’s light at the end of the (muddy) tunnel. I think many of you have been hibernating, but I hope to hear from and see more of you as we begin to warm up soon.
I’ll start our February newsletter by sending you to take a look at our Facebook page. If you haven’t yet, please like and follow the Literacy Council of Carroll County so you can check out what our brilliant office volunteer, Vicky, has started: a new series called “Meet the Tutors”. Vicky will be profiling a Literacy Council tutor periodically and posting the profiles on both our Facebook and Instagram accounts. The first profile, featuring ESOL and citizenship tutor Susan Schubert, is already up!
Some of our newer tutors have had trouble locating the Tutor Report Form that we ask you to fill out and submit at the end of the month, so I thought I’d link it here (https://carrollliteracy.org/tutoring-report-form/), while also pointing out that on this same page, you will find a list of tutor online resources that you can use with your students. I’ll highlight News in Levels from that list as a great place to start if you’re unsure how to work reading into your lessons or don’t know the reading level of your student. News in Levels posts new articles most days, and each article is leveled 1, 2, and 3 with varying difficulties in vocabulary and sentence structure. Students can also listen to the articles as they read along. Level 1 is still too high for most lower-level students, so I’d recommend this site for a student who is an intermediate learner or above.Two other sites that will be added to the resource list shortly areVocaroo (https://vocaroo.com/), where students can record themselves reading aloud, and Reading Rockets (https://www.readingrockets.org/helping-all-readers/why-some-kids-struggle/target-problem), which helps you diagnose any reading problems your student may be having and provides suggestions according to your student’s need(s). Reading Rockets is geared towards children, but much of what is covered can likewise be applied to adult students with specific reading issues (phonological and phonemic awareness, word decoding and phonics, vocabulary, fluency, comprehension).
I also wanted to point out that we have a great series of books from New Readers Press on our LC bookshelf that is often overlooked: “Building a Strong Vocabulary”. There is a book focused on life skills vocabulary, another on work readiness vocabulary, and a third on academic preparation vocabulary. Great for intermediate students! Stop by and take a look if you think it would benefit your student(s).
My last bit of news is a Tutor Meetup here at the Literacy Council on Thursday, March 19 from 10-11:30 a.m. I wanted to provide you with a time to get together and share ideas/ effective practices with each other since I’ve had a few newer tutors ask for practical activities they can implement with their own students. This meeting will be geared towards tutors who are currently working with English learners (or who have in the past/ would like to in the future). Please RSVP so we know how many to expect since there will be refreshments. 😊 And bring an activity or two to share with your fellow tutors.
Thanks, everyone, for the care you put into your tutoring. Like the quote over Janice’s desk says, “Volunteers are not paid – not because they are worthless, but because they are priceless.” (Sherry Anderson)
~Erin
