Don_M_TP #9 (Child)

My child tutee showed up in an unusually hyper state.  Literally running around and climbing on everything.  Our last lesson was my week 3 Reading Lesson, which both professors criticized as being to advance.  So I started this lesson with Grade 1 and Grade 2 Reading Comprehension Assessments from http://englishforeveryone.org/Topics/Reading-Comprehension.htm.  He blew through both of them.  I did not give him the Grade 3 Assessment, because I had used its format and a similar word count for my previous lesson plan.  Instead, we worked on two Vocabulary - Meanings from Context worksheets (http://rhlschool.com/read12n6.html and http://rhlschool.com/read12n5.html) with the goal of using Predictive Reading to determine the meaning of words.  This is a skill that I had introduced him to in our second session.  Each worksheet has 4 items with multiple-choice question.  Each item is one to two sentences with the new word in bold type.

I explained the skill to be learned, and then we worked through each item.  I initially had to remind him to reread the sentence to find the meaning instead of trying to guessing.  The first was the word "daunting".  He had trouble making the "aun" sound.  After multiple attempts of listening and trying to reproduce the sound, he finally mastered it.  Another new word that he had trouble pronouncing was "controversy".  So I underlined each syllable (con-tro-ver-sey), and he immediately pronounced it correctly.

After each correct answer, I asked him to use the new word in a sentence.  He never produced a good sentence.  Perhaps this was due to him being unable to think of a correct example or because he felt on the spot.  So, instead, we talked about scenarios that illustrated each new word.  For the new word "controversy", I explained the disagreement between Georgia and Florida over the amount of water allowed to flow down the Apalachicola River which directly affects the population of shrimp and oysters in Apalachicola Bay and Franklin County.

I wrote each new word and its explanation on the back of his worksheet.  His penmanship is poor, and his attention span today was short.  I then quizzed him repeatedly on these new words throughout and after our session.  Dana and I finished tutoring at the same time, but we could not find the tutees' mother.  To keep my tutee from running off and climbing all over everything, I kept reviewing our new words.  When we found his mother, I reviewed the lesson with her, and then I gave her his worksheets.  As I was walking away, I turned to my tutee and asked, "What does the word daunting mean".  He did not hesitate when he replied, "Daunting, something that scares you."  And indeed, this was a daunting session.