Chris TS#4

Yesterday I had my fourth overall tutoring session, however it was the first session with my child tutee, Mathew. Marco and I are tutoring two twin brothers, so we coordinated with their mother to meet at the same time at the public library downtown.

Marco and myself got their a bit early and started talking about our strategy for the session. The boys are 10 years old and preparing to enter the 5th grade. Their mother Sara, arrived right on time. Sara and her husband are from South Korea, but the boys have been attending elementary school in the US. She brought with her some workbooks that she wanted us to work out of.

I sat down with Mathew in a different area than his brother to minimize distractions. Mathew's English was great and immediately realized that this was going to go much smoother than I anticipated. I had brought some worksheets for him to work on as a sort of, get-to-know-each-other activity. He answered all the questions and we talked about each one as he finished. I gave him my answer to each question out loud, that way he could learn about me as well.

Matt saw my motorcycle helmet and asked if he could wear it. Seeing an opportunity for an incentive, I told him, yes, but only if he finished all the work I had planned for us. He agreed and we began working in his level appropriate workbook. We did a lot of reading comprehension because it was something his mom said he needed the most help with. I was very surprised at how easily it was for him to answer the questions. We did a few grammar exercises after that and he was still doing very well.

At the end of the session I knew that he was a bright kid, but it is very hard for him to stay focused. The hope of being able to wear my helmet after he completed is work is what kept him going. Incentives will definitely be necessary in future sessions!