Math and English are the two subjects that students would benefit the most from practicing during the summer to prevent “summer slide,” the academic ground a student loses during the summer months when not in school. Many reputable and frequently quoted studies in the academic world cite summer learning losses of up to “2 months of reading skills and 2 1/2 months of math skills over a single summer.” Without addressing these losses or doing little pockets of work throughout the summer to maintain rather than drain students’ pools of knowledge, students enter into the following school year already struggling to keep up with grade-level expectations. But the good news is it only “takes 2-3 hours of work per week to prevent learning loss over the summer!” (Source) We can help with that.
JB Tutoring offers tutoring in all levels of English & Language Arts. Whether your student is struggling with grammar, spelling, reading comprehension, or essay composition, we at JB Tutoring are here to help! Our tutors will teach your student skills and strategies that will help him or her become a competent writer and critical reader for the following school year, catch up on credits from failed classes, or complete any other summer school requirements.
No matter which level of English your student is struggling with, we have a knowledgeable, capable tutor ready to help!
JB Tutoring offers personalized assistance in the following levels of English classes:
Language Arts (K-8)
English I
English II
English III (Language and Composition)
English IV (Literature)
Writing (Creative and Academic)
Why Summer English Tutoring?
The skills from English classes (writing, reading, note-taking, vocabulary building, etc.) build on each other from year to year. To be successful in the subsequent year of English, students need to understand the concepts (like grammar, essay writing, narrative structure, persuasion, etc.) taught in the previous year.
If your student struggled with writing essays last school year, guess what next school year is going to have? You guessed it -- more essays! Plus, the skills students learn in English class for reading and writing are necessary for other classes (like history), so falling behind grade-level in those skillsets can be detrimental in other courses if not addressed as quickly as possible. Summer is an excellent time to receive one-on-one assistance and brush up on those English concepts and skills that your student feels less than confident about.
Writing Focus:
English is one of the most important, versatile skills that a person can cultivate. An individual’s ability to write and to write well can lead to success across academic, professional, and personal domains of life. The need for clear, written communication is present throughout our lifetimes, from essay assignments to business emails, from resume building to birthday cards, and so much more. Through your student’s English sessions, our tutors will help your student develop a stronger, clearer writing style. Depending on the level of English, your student will likely grow as an analytical reader, too.
Practice Essential Skills
Practice makes perfect! Summer tutoring allows students to practice fundamental skills that they will use later in school and the workforce, such as organization, critical thinking, listening, writing, reading-comprehension, note-taking, and more.
Whether your student is in elementary school, middle school, high school, or college, note-taking, acquiring new vocabulary from context clues, identifying the main idea in an article or piece of literature, and more can make a huge difference in their learning.
If your student needs help learning and refining skills like these, it will make a positive impact to practice these in summer tutoring sessions. That way, your students are more prepared and better able to absorb the knowledge they are taught at school in the fall.
Boost Performance
The summertime is a great opportunity to build students’ confidence, especially in reading and writing! Confidence is vital in a student’s success. Research shows that low self-esteem can decrease a student’s ability to focus, desire to study, stay organized, and more.
A JB Tutoring tutor works privately with your student to support their academic understanding and celebrate their achievements without the added pressure of deadlines, grades, and so on.
Bridge the Gap
Students tend to forget a good amount of what they learned in the previous year of school and our summer tutoring programs can help bridge the gap for success.
Instead of falling behind because your student does not remember how to pick up where their studies left off, JB Tutoring’s 1-on-1 summer tutoring will refresh their memory so they can thrive in their studies during the next semester.
Stay Focused & Overcome Test or Timed Essay Anxiety
Some students feel pressure and anxiety during exams and timed essay writing which ultimately distracts them from doing well on the test or essay.
A summer tutor can help students develop healthy habits and techniques to cope with stress and improve focus during an important test or timed essay.
Students who have trouble focusing (in general) could also benefit from these techniques.
What to Expect in an English Session
During the school year, students come to their tutoring sessions prepared with all necessary study materials from their classes, which may include class notes, reading assignments, study guides for upcoming exams, essay assignments, etc. During summer tutoring, tutors can help your student with materials from their school or provide supplementary study materials (readings, reading comprehension questions, and practice essay prompts, etc.), please let us know in advance. We are happy to provide these items- just let us know ahead of time so the tutor can plan accordingly.
To begin the session, the tutor will ask the student what he or she has been learning in class (ie. Literary Devices, Persuasive Essays, Research Project, Novel, etc.), how comfortable he or she feels with that concept or book, or what that student struggles with in English class the most during the school year.
If the student requires assistance with a persuasive or argumentative essay, the tutor will first lay out an effective format or structure for the paper. Then, the tutor and student can work on developing an outline for the essay.
For example, the essay should follow a predictable, academic format which consists of an introductory paragraph, 2-3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion paragraph. The tutor will closely and carefully walk through each of these sections with the student and ensure the student fully grasps how to craft an interesting, effective, and well-written paper.
The goal of this process is to create independence and confidence within the student so that he or she can write academic pieces with ease. Additionally, it is important for students to remember that first drafts are NOT final drafts. It’s called a ROUGH draft for a reason! Therefore, a student should ALWAYS leave time to revise their work and check the piece for grammatical/spelling errors, clarity, flow, etc. We can help with that, too!