READING TUTORING
Reading is the single most important skill that students learn in school. If students cannot read effectively, they are likely to encounter difficulty with social studies, science, and even math. Reading is a complex task involving two abstract skills: decoding, the ability to convert written symbols into words, and comprehension, the ability to gain meaning from these words. At the Center, we will determine a student’s decoding and comprehension ability, and design a program to remediate or to excel. The following areas may be components of a reading tutoring program:
- Decoding (includes Phonics Help & Word Analysis Skills)
- Reading Comprehension Strategies, Recall & Reading Rate
- Vocabulary Instruction
Decoding
Students obtain decoding skills by beginning at a comfortable level, which is established during our Skills Assessment. The rules of phonics are then taught explicitly and systematically; as one skill is mastered, a new one is introduced. The cumulative effect is a child who can read and whose confidence soars. As appropriate in reading tutoring, sight words are incorporated, structural analysis of words is stressed, and word families may be utilized. A multi-sensory approach is utilized to help students with different learning styles. Instruction for students with learning difficulties is based on the research-proven Orton-Gillingham method for teaching reading and spelling.
Reading Comprehension Strategies
A student is started with material he can read successfully. Critical reading comprehension strategies are then taught explicitly to the student, including finding the main idea, making inferences, drawing conclusions, finding facts, detecting the sequence, etc. Throughout reading tutoring, the student is taught strategies such as visualization, using context clues, and scanning for information. As a student's ability and confidence grows, so do the lengths of the passages and the complexity of the reading material. Students can also learn strategies for approaching different reading tasks such as literature and textbooks.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary development is critical for middle school and high school students who are college-bound and will be taking the SAT. At the center, vocabulary instruction is based on the Greek and Latin roots that our language is grounded in. Students learn the Greek and Latin "building blocks" of words, as well as specific vocabulary derived from such roots, and are routinely tested on their progress. Students learn word meaning and relationships, and gain the skills they need to decipher an unlimited amount of words.
Spelling
Spelling instruction is approached phonetically, focusing on the structural principles of words most needed in writing. The instruction is systematic and direct, with attention also given to high frequency words that do not follow specific patterns.