COURSES AND SUBJECTS AVAILABLE

Tutoring K-12 Reading Comprehension, Writing & Literature

I work with your child to help them improve their reading, vocabulary and comprehension using work assigned by other teachers.
$55/Hour

Minimum 2 Sessions
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Teaching K-12 Reading Comprehension, Writing & Literature

K-8 Literature & Writing

Parents and students choose from these lists for novel studies.
We will work on reading comprehension, vocabulary, composition, grammar, and rhetoric.

Books to Read Before High School
Reluctant Readers

8-12 Literature & Writing

Parents and students choose a semester or year-long course of study using Excellence in Literature

We will complete the weekly lessons as listed in each volume of this college preparatory level curriculum using the books and assignments listed. Students are responsible to complete all assignments independently, but will attend one class weekly with me to discuss the readings, and get help with writing assignments. Student writing will be graded using the rubrics suggested in the curriculum materials, and upon completion, student will receive a certificate of completion and transcript.

From the EIL website:

Excellence in Literature is a literature-based high school English program for grades 8-12. It includes literature and composition, including essays, approach papers, author profiles, and several creative writing options.  Each year, there is an optional honors track with additional readings, writing assignments, and a research paper. A single study guide for each year contains everything — instructions for the student and parent, models for each type of paper assigned, and a rubric and instructions for evaluating essays.

Teaching K-12 American History and Civics

I keep content aligned with the student’s level of cognitive development. For example, middle school students write and speak as much as they read and listen, and high school students discuss and debate using the Socratic method.

Private Semester Courses
Choose from:
The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum
or
America the Last Best Hope, by William J. Bennett
plus readings from primary sources.

Private Custom Duration Courses
Choose from offerings at:
1776 Unites Black History Curriculum for K-12

Teaching Logic and Reasoning

Human beings have to be taught how to think properly, and yes, there is a correct and incorrect way to do it when we’re talking about using rhetoric, or persuasive speech and argumentation. Most schools are not teaching this, and are in fact using logical fallacies in their lessons, so students become masterful at using fallacies rather than recognizing and rebutting them.

Private Course
Ages 12 – 18
Duration: 8 weeks minimum

This course is for students who are motivated to learn how to argue logically and persuasively and follows this book:

The Fallacy Detective

Students will learn through a series of readings, discussions and quizzes.

COLLEGE ESSAY TUTORING

 Help your college-bound student put their best foot forward in writing! Even good writers sometimes struggle to write about themselves, and yet that’s what college essays require. Students today especially seem to have difficulty being both honest and persuasive, and need someone to coach them through every step of the process to avoid feeling overwhelmed, and stuck. When I work with these students, I make sure they are doing the following:

• Understanding the question: many problems can be avoided simply by checking that the student is asking the question being asked, not writing about something else entirely.
• Taking the time to brainstorm and outline: most students have limited experience with the writing process. They’ve been given formulas to follow while in school, and tend to jump in structuring essays before they really know what they want to say.
• NOT relying on grammar and spell-check: very often, students who rely on these tools will rewrite a sentence rather than correct their grammar if they can’t get the AI to cooperate, and they lose great ideas or resort to style that is dry and uninteresting.
• Reading aloud before editing: this is one of the best ways to catch errors, hear run-on, dull, or redundant sentences, and improve style. If they’re bored hearing their own work read to them, chances are the admissions officer will be bored too.
• Keeping it REAL: so many students work harder at imagining what others will be writing about so they can be “different,” and end up writing something that sounds as inauthentic as it is. They worry too much about impressing the reader, and not enough time communicating who they are, and why they are a good fit for that school (or even more important, that it is a good fit for them).

My goal is to help them write the best essays they’re capable of writing, but along the way I encourage them to think about the application process as a tool for evaluating the schools to which they’re applying! If they have to answer a question that makes them uncomfortable, for example, I encourage them to consider how they’d feel spending four years at an institution that places a high value on answers to questions like those? If they can’t think of specific reasons they would be a great fit for the school, or its community, perhaps that’s a sign too. In other words, they get more than just writing and editing help, they get college counseling and coaching too.

Minimum 2 sessions.

Save with prepaid packages!