Mrs Amy P. Tutor Profile

Tutor Personal Information

I am especially good at finding what makes a learner "click." I'm fun to work with and I believe in positive reinforcement. Everyone can learn; it's a matter of understanding learning styles and building confidence. A smile goes a long way with an uncertain student!!

Math: I was an especially bad math student when I was young, so I really understand where kids "go wrong" with concepts and applications. Many "math experts" are, in fact, not great teachers because they lack an understanding of how children misunderstand and mangle various concepts.

Reading comprehension: I believe in teaching reading comprehension via the practice of explicit and separate reading strategies, including questioning, sensory imaging, inferring, and others. I was mentored by a dedicated literacy expert and my experience and training (including Columbia University Teachers' College in NY) matches current best practice teaching in many public school systems, including Deerfield and Northbrook.

Remedial Reading and Phonics: Making letter-sound connections and automaticity with sight words are the basis for sound reading and decoding skills. I have worked in a variety of tutoring, substitute and teaching assistant positions that called for remediation of reading deficits, and am familiar with many techniques and materials that assist in building fluency and phonemic mastery.

Writing: I am an excellent writer with a firm understanding of grammar, writing conventions, and style. I excel at helping students understand how to organize thinking, expand vocabulary, and translate what's going on in their brains into logical sequences on paper.

Science: I started out as an Environmental Studies major and have an excellent understanding of Earth and Biological Sciences.
(See State endorsement info, below.)

Social Studies: By far my favorite subject! I have a deep love of history, politics, civics, and current events. I read widely and, when my children were young, worked as a legislative aide for my state representative. (See State endorsement info, below.)

I have State of Illinois endorsements to teach Language Arts, Biological Sciences and Social Studies at the Middle School level. This means that I have a minimum of 18 undergraduate credit hours in each subject area.

I can provide references, if you wish.

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Tutor Background