1:1 Reading and Writing Through the Lens of Social/Emotional Learning
Literature and writing are avenues for personal growth.
Ages 10+
Cost $60 per 25 minute session
This ongoing class offers individually tailored one on one reading and writing instruction. I’ll start our first session with a reading interest inventory in order to learn about your specific student. I’ll also have them perform a couple of reading and writing exercises to learn where their skills level is at (and report this back to you). I love providing thorough class write-ups after every lesson. Communicating promptly and clearly with clients is a top priority of mine.
There are several different directions we can go based on your student’s needs. (Along with general ELA teaching experience, I have professional experience as both a special education reading teacher and talented and gifted reading teacher along with a master’s thesis on the research behind bibliotherapy.)
Some students need direct guided instruction in the area of fluency. Our time together can be spent immersed in a step-by-step curriculum. Other students may need assistance finding books that pique their interest (I also love to help students find books that address social and emotional needs). In addition, some students only work with me to address essay writing or creative writing.
Concerning homework, some students may read the majority of their books outside of class but come to me for book projects and comprehension exercises that include writing. Sometimes students may need help sorting through all of the awesome resources online related to reading and writing. I’m happy to facilitate sessions around exposing students to IXL, free audiobooks in the public domain, and numerous other fun tools available online.
I have over one hundred lessons designed covering everything from writing five paragraph essays to inferencing (see sample topics/lessons below). With all of these options, my top priority is to find out what interests young readers and increase their skill base, all while having fun. To help students feel at ease, short talking breaks and friendly activities are sprinkled throughout our intense 25-30 minute sessions. Trained and certified in both special education and talented/gifted education, I know growth in reading and writing can be stressful for students of all abilities. Most of all, I hope families feel like they have a supportive and enthusiastic literary coach alongside them on their student's educational journey.
Students and parents often request lessons on specific books. I am very open to this. I have a lot of experience guiding students with numerous books (full list available here). While meeting the needs of my various clients, I'm always adding to this list!
RELEVANT CERTIFICATIONS
- Department of Education, PK-12 Talented and Gifted
- Department of Education, K-8 Instructional Strategist I: Mild/Moderate
- Department of Education, K-6 Elementary Education
RELEVANT EDUCATION
- Masters of Arts in Teaching
- Morningside College, Sioux City, IA
- Doctoral Student
- Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity, Studio City, CA
I spent several years as a public school teacher providing specialized reading services to middle school students. I enjoy utilizing technology-based learning management systems to administer academic material and academic tests online. In addition, I've served as a co-teacher in mainstream ELA classes and constructed instructional plans for individual student needs.
I've also served as a K-8 enrichment coordinator/talented and gifted coach, implementing various assessment strategies while providing specific feedback on student work. In addition, I have extensive experience working with Davidson Young Scholars in the profoundly gifted population and with learners who identify as twice-exceptional.
Each lesson is designed to take 25-30 minutes. Students leave the lesson with a summary that includes a clear list of additional activities to complete before the next lesson. More or less homework is available upon request.
Creative Writing
- Narrative Writing
- Design a character
- Design a world (paracosm)
- “Show, Don’t Tell” writing style
- Descriptive writing with the five senses
- Word variation (other words for "said")
- Writing as a creative process (FOFE framework - Fluency, Originality, Flexibility, and Elaboration)
- Using advanced vocabulary correctly
- Using complicated sentence structures
- Journaling for idea fluency/higher word count
- Revising for precise word choice
- Revising for clear descriptions and imagery
- Revising for consistent voice and tone
Research Writing
- Essay writing (outline formation)
- Essay writing (thesis statements)
- Essay writing (developing strong introductory, body, and closing paragraphs)
- Transition words and transition phrases
- Understanding what reliable sources are, especially when researching online (i.e. not just assuming everything on the internet is true)
- The writing process
- Retelling/summarizing scientific and historical information
- Common errors in writing
- Moving a good answer to great answer
- Executive functioning and writing
- More upon special request
Reading
- Book talks/book reports
- Fluency activities
- 100 Common New Words to master at each grade level
- Making predictions
- Inferencing
- Vocabulary (using context clues)
- Vocabulary (using root words)
- Determining text importance
- Text-to-self/text-to-text/text-to-world connections
- Common text structure
- Nonfiction text structure indicators
- Bloom’s taxonomy question stems
- Monitoring for meaning
- Fix-up monitoring strategies
- Questioning the text
- Questions to ask before, during, and after reading
- Visualizing to aid comprehension
- The hero's journey/common plot structures
- Analyzation skills (applied to plots)
- Author’s message analyzation
- Habits of good readers
- Character analyzation
- Self-reflection prompts for discovering a love of reading
- Book projects (9+ fun projects to choose from with a book of your choice)
Scheduling concerns?
Feel free to try out one session to see if I am a good fit. I can accommodate a variety of M-Th 8:30am - 2:30pm CST schedules consistently with request and communication. I have several students interested in lessons two+ times per week. My personal policy is to charge for missed lessons with less than 24 hour notice. Rescheduling is difficult with my often busy schedule. Also, please note, I observe popular holidays in the US (see policy). I communicate scheduling issues on my end with plenty of notice. Communication is the key to helping your student.
Interested in joining Michelle’s waiting list?
This assessment was exactly what I was looking for, in order to determine how best to support my daughter in the areas of fluency, comprehension, and writing. I received a detailed report describing her current level in each area as well as feedback, tips, and links to various interventions, to help improve her areas of weakness. My daughter really enjoyed her time working with Ms. Michelle and didn’t feel rushed or pressured, which is really important to me. Overall, I feel that this was a high quality assessment and I plan to have Michelle reassess my daughter again next year.
Kimberly F.