Lesson of the Week

In an effort to give those interested in learning more about Tutor Wise, and how my approach differs than others, I developed this blog.  Each week a new lesson will be spotlighted.  This spotlight will allow further clarity as to how my educational philosophy and practice come together in lessons.  Whenever possible I have provided photographs to illustrate student excitement and motivation.  After all, my lessons are developed as a catalyst to bring out the best of each of the students I guide.  Thanks for your interest in learning more about my services and how they can enhance your child’s current educational program!


Week of January 13

This semester I have the wonderful opportunity to work with several Kindergarten students!  I love this age as I am able to lay the foundation for their reading and writing skills.  Beyond this, however, I am able to guide these students into understanding more about themselves and how they can use their gifts and talents to become life-long learners.  One of these Kindergarteners has been working on digraphs.  She has displayed an excellent grasp of all digraphs this far.  Therefore, I wanted to add a lesson previously implemented.  She had the basic understanding of the soft th sound, displayed in the words thumb, think, and thing.  Therefore, the hard th sound was introduced during our lesson this week.  In an effort to engage and inspire, I dressed up as Super Mrs. TH!  I explained that my magical powers included being able to say two sounds both the hard and soft sound for th.  She then had the opportunity to wear my glasses, cape and special badge.  She “flew”, and as she did so, she made both the hard and soft sound for th.  With the increased demands of the common core curriculum, I wanted to make sure to include a writing component in our lesson.  Therefore, after being introduced to the sounds, she had the opportunity to practice this is writing.  This was followed by the opportunity to read words and sentences containing the hard and soft th sound.  Her performance on each of these tasks was simply exemplary.  Next week, I will further this lesson by including a th sound sort.  This will allow me additional insight into her ability to distinguish between these two sounds.  Beyond the academics, during the lesson, I saw her display a deep sense of confidence and engagement.  At the conclusion of the lesson, she proudly shared with her mom these sounds, and the activity that helped foster her understanding.