How do you tutor a 5th grader in reading and penmanship?

You can find lots of free penmanship papers here:

http://www.donnayoung.org/penmanship/index.htm

Just choose the level, probably manuscript or cursive, that is the level you need. You may have to teach the student the correct way to form the letters, possibly more than once – if the student didn’t understand it the first time in elementary, it may be because they didn’t see the teacher, they didn’t understand how it was being taught, or they just plain didn’t see the point of it that early on.

Don’t have them do too much each day – when they start getting tired, let them take a break and do something else for a bit, then go back to it. Also, look at how they grip the pencil – if it’s really off, have them try it the correct way for a bit at a time, a little longer each time. Pencil pillows might really help, as this will hurt their hand and wrist muscles at first. These are about $2 at Walmart, you can ask their parents to supply the pillows.

For reading, talk with the student and see what they’re interested in. Get to know them a bit – what are their interests? Do they like adventure stories? Historical stuff? Animals? Talk with them to work out a game plan that they feel they can handle – otherwise, you’ll meet resistance. I require my 5th grader to read 30 minutes per day, and then I talk with him about it. When there’s something that really interests him, he’ll read it out loud to me.

If the student is having trouble with actually reading – decoding – the words, ask them what things they have trouble with. Some kids really have trouble with words they can’t place in context, while others just plain were never taught phonics.

I once tutored a 16yo who was in honors chem and honors algebra, but was dyslexic and had never been taught phonics. How the letters went together to form words just plain made no sense to him, but for some reason his teachers never figured that out.

If the student is having trouble with phonics, explain that a letter is a picture of a sound. Make them flashcards – one per letter – and on the back, list the sounds and the phonics rules. Then, make another set with vowel blends and consonant blends, and put their sounds and some example words on the back

Example:

str = /str/ as in “string” “straw”

ck = /k/ as in “back” “hack”

ou = /ou/ as in “loud” “about”

ow = /ou/ as in “brown” “down”

You can find books at the library that will have lists of these. Ask your librarian about phonics rules, or look in the 360’s. Have them go through the cards at a certain time each day, whenever they are most awake. Each time you meet, pull out 10-12 of the cards and randomly quiz your student. Praise them for what they get right and what they improve upon 🙂

If the problem isn’t phonics, it’s probably comprehension. This can only be taught through just plain doing it. This is where the interest questions come in – if the student doesn’t like the book, they’re not going to want to read it. Figure out what the student is willing to read about, or interested in reading about, and then get over to the library and pick the librarian’s brain. Find a couple of books that are printed in fairly large font, preferably double spaced, that are on reading level but not terribly overly-looking. You don’t want to hand The Hobbit to the kid right off, lol!

Check out the book and read it yourself. You should be able to do this in a day or two. Make a list of 3-5 questions per chapter to make sure that the student is understanding what they’re reading – why did the main character go to a certain location? Why did they feel bad when something or other was said? What dream did they have, and what did it convince them to do? Stuff like that.

The first day, go back and forth with your student, each of you read a paragraph. This should serve to get them interested in the book, and should help build their confidence. Assign your student a certain amount of pages or chapter each day – I assign my 5th grader 30 minutes every day, but you may want to start off with 10-15 pages, or 20 minutes. Tell them to write down any words they’re not sure of, or any questions they have (page numbers help).

Then, at your next tutoring session, go over their questions. Go to the page and show them how to figure out meanings of unfamiliar words from context. If they don’t understand why something happened, talk about it.

This is something that is taught heavily in most elementary schools, but if the student was sick, or didn’t catch on for some reason, they will really, really struggle with it and may be convinced that they’re not a good reader, or decide that they’re dumb. One of your main jobs is to show them that they’re not dumb – they just plain didn’t understand how it was taught the first time around. There’s nothing wrong with that, and now they have a chance to fix it.

Above all, if you come across something you’re not sure how to handle, come back and ask or ask one of your teachers how to handle it. Teachers are glad to help!

Good luck!

1

Make sure you are choosing books that she can identify with. Everyone finds it easier to get into a book when they can picture themselves as the main character. Go through the list of recommended reading for fifth graders at your local library, and read the summaries on the back of some of the ones you’ll think she likes with her. Don’t let her look at the book first, just let her pick based on what it’s about. If you can, get two copies of the same book and then both of you read them together. You read the first chapter while she follows along in her copy. Then you switch and have her read while you follow along. Pay attention to which words she is having trouble with and see if you spot a pattern. For example, if she gets hung up on neighbor, eight, and weight, you know that you need a mini lesson about what sound eigh makes. Work out a signal, like raising her pointer finger, that she can give if she can’t figure out a word after three tries. When she gives the signal you supply the word with a brief definition, and you take a quick break to brainstorm ideas on how she can remember that word next time. Then you go back and have her reread that sentence and pick up where she left off. Keep her going by reminding her that the next chapter is your turn.

Here is what you do: Pick a book a 5th grader would read (such as a Sammy Keys book) read it. Then on a peice of notebook paper write down questions (make sure you create the questions one chapter at a time) about the book. Read 1 chapter of the book a day with the kid. Have the child answer questions each day. Oh yeah you might want to read 1 chapter on Sunday so you have the questions ready.

You should get on his case about penmanship right away- if a child doesn’t learn early they will struggle to learn later on. Once their body has gotten used to writing neatly, it will do it almost automatically; however, if a child doesn’t get used to it, their body will be unable to move properly to write when they need it too.

Have him writing and correcting his mistakes, it doesn’t matter what he’s writing.

Actually, it may be best to have him read a bit and then write down what he reads- it’s a two-fo-one deal.

Hope this helps,

Brandi

I haven’t tutored penmanship, but for reading, you simply have to have the student read to you. Having him read out loud will help you find out where he’s stuck, and help him understand how to figure out the words.

on reading i advise you to select storybook.. than technical reading materials like math and science. becauyse they prefer it with less picture a nd they can relate because there are many emtions and characters who ar involved….

set the rules in reading… let him memorize and understand the rules in reading … what are these

1. i (the child) will not add or omit words in the paragraph.

2. i will read fast but i am surely undeerstand the message of the story or the subject.

3. i will read with emotion or feelings.

on your part teach him also the diferent variation of pronoun ciation.. especially in “vowels” like long or short sounds of “a.”

give him also of incentive, appraisal or reward like 1-5 stars or candies etcetera. correct him during the reading as he mispronounce the words. it should be deliver in a nice way. then at the end of the reading reread only the words he mispronounce….

i n penmanship

what are the rules for the child.

1. i (the child) will imitate what my tutor write in my notebook… without adding or ommitting the words or lines.

2. i will write clear, legible, cursive, and less erasure.

3.i will read the words that i write…

4. at the end i will write some words that starts with the a vowel or consonant that i practiced before.

for your side fist focus on introduce what is big letter and small letter.. then the parts of notebook… what i men the lines… where does the big letter and small letter should begin and end… i hope you understad what i am saying… the lines in pad or notebook… then proceed to circle with tail and inverted circle with tail.. then proceed to zig zag that goes up a nd down… then on c with circle which is continious…. and letters on big and small.. and practice a words in cursive. it should be related on what yo teach… example on “letter a” then pracitce on writing apple, alligator… the letter should start on the letter you practice….

remember to check always during the practice of writing…. you need more patience…. and pray first before you start… pray that your tutee will learn.. and guide him by the holy spirit… also give him a break…. before going to another task reding then break before writing… the interest of c hild to learn is very short.. and much more short in special child…..

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Here are some sites for you to work on (both free and not free).

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