How to Be an Effective Elementary School Tutor

Many times, there are students who get lost in the day-to-day classroom procedures. In other words, they aren't able to get the amount of attention they truly need. This isn't necessarily the teacher's fault, however. Instead this can be due to many factors such as crowded classrooms or even limited time. Whatever the case may be, the good news is that there are people who can provide struggling or even overlooked students with the help they truly need.

Even though these specialists provide a great service, there are still things they can do to help improve their effectiveness, especially when it comes to tutoring young students. For example, elementary school students tend to have a shorter attention span than older students. Therefore, if someone is trying to assist them with their work, they will have to find ways to get and keep their attention. If not, it will be almost impossible to give them the help they truly need.

So, one thing a tutor can do to help young students is to incorporate visuals. For instance, if they are teaching multiplication, the best thing probably wouldn't be to go to a chalk board and try to write out the problems there. That's because after a while, the child will either be asleep, daydreaming, or getting into something else.

One visual that could be incorporated is large, colorful math problems made out of poster board or construction paper. The tutor could have the child draw and cutout the numbers and number signs themselves. After that, they can mix the numbers up so that they can be in random order. Then, the student would have the task of putting the correct numbers together that would represent a multiplication problem and solution set.

Another visual activity that could be incorporated into the session could be a short video. This would definitely catch the student's attention, because many children like television and video games. Therefore, this particular method would most likely remind them of something more entertaining. This is due to the fact that most people, especially children, watch television for entertainment. So, there's a better chance they won't see the session as strictly school work. Therefore, they might be more interested and willing to learn.

So, being a tutor for a young student is much different than being one for a middle or even high school student. That's because tutoring small children usually requires much more physical energy, creativity and patience. Although it may seem like a lot of extra work, everything pays off when the specialist sees just how much their efforts have helped their student.