Middle School Tutoring

6th-8th Grade

Middle school is a time of transition. When students move from grade school to middle school, they frequently switch from having one teacher to many teachers, the same classmates to different classmates in every class. On the educational side, concepts build upon each other more quickly than they did in grade school. For some students, this may be the first time they become frustrated with school and start to view their academics as a challenge. My goal is to help students succeed during this transitional time.

Middle school may be some students’ first exposure to independent learning. It’s natural to need some help with figuring out this new way of thinking and learning. For example, the review of arithmetic becomes less frequent each year as your child is being prepared for algebra. If either the new concepts or the arithmetic is a struggle, it can make math class feel impossible. To help make math less intimidating, I help students identify their struggles and assist them with breaking down new ideas into concepts that are easier to understand. During the tutoring process, I encourage students and help them see that they can succeed.

Math Vocabulary

When students transition from grade school to middle school, they go from having lots of practice time to needing to be able to problem solve. Assignment instructions make you think a little harder and story problems appear more frequently in math homework. Though the words are the same as in English, how they’re used in relation to the math problem can be different. During tutoring sessions, I make sure students can put the math problems into words. In my years of experience, I’ve found that many students struggle with the vocabulary more than the actual computation.

Confidence

Confidence is a key ingredient in a middle schoolers’ success when they’re preparing to become independent learners. During some tutoring sessions, I’ll ask students to teach me a concept. This allows them to demonstrate proficiency which gives them a strong dose of confidence. They CAN do it!

Engaging

I try to make activities fun and engaging. Mixing colors to see what happens can sometimes be more impactful than memorizing information. Creating and making messes can be a key part in the learning process.