School's Out for Summer!....Except for Summer School....

I wanted to take some time to share about an awesome program that I have the opportunity to be apart of at my school. During the school year I tutor for the C-21 program. This is an after school program that focuses on students who qualify for free and reduce lunch. C-21 is funded by the Washington Alliance for Better Schools and there are about 10 schools in my district who are apart of this enriching experience.Basically, it is a grant that funds after school tutoring with a focus on reading and math interventions for grades 3-6.

During the summer, we have the opportunity to work with these kiddos on their reading and math interventions for 4 weeks. We call it "summer school" although this is not what you typically would think of as summer school, where students did not meet the needed requirements during the school year and needed to make up the time. The four weeks I get to spend with these kiddos is really beneficial to both them and me. It's a time for us to be more casual, get to know each other, have fun, and get learning done. These kids are bored out of their minds at home throughout the summer and they literally show up earlier and earlier each day to start our sessions!

Here is an example of what my half-day schedule looks like and the goals that I have focused on with my kiddos (per their next year's teacher's request).

9:00-9:45 Ms. Carlyle Planning
9:45-11:10 5th Grade Reading
11:10-11:20 Recess! (It wouldn't be school without a little recess!)
11:20-12:05 3rd Grade Math (3rd graders are a stretch for me, but they keep me on my toes!)
12:05-12:50 4th Grade Math
12:50-1:15 Lunch (provided by the free lunch program) and recess :)

5th Grade Reading Goals
-Independent reading stamina (20 minutes)
-Comprehension Skills (summarizing, identifying literary elements, questioning)

To reach our goals, we spend time with me doing a read aloud (My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville). Then my students complete 20 minutes of independent reading with their "just right" novels. When finished I ask 3 comprehension questions that relate to the previously mentioned reading skills, the students write their answers in a reading journal where we also keep track of the minutes they read to help them complete the principal's summer reading challenge. I model how to answer the questions based on My Teacher is an Alien, and they write based on the story they are reading. Finally, we finish up our time reading The Mouse and the Motorcycle by Beverly Cleary. We do this as a group read, where I will read a few paragraphs, then ask for volunteers or select a specific student to read to the group. We write a one paragraph summary each day on that reading as well.

3rd Grade Math Goals
-Master addition facts
-Master subtraction fact
-Multiple digit addition and subtraction with regrouping
-Using clocks and calendars

4th Grade Math Goals
-Master multiplication facts (0-10)
-Master division facts (0-10)
-Multi digit multiplication
-Area and perimeter of quadrilaterals

For the math goals, many of the students have had the basics in these areas during the school year. I focus on one skill each week. I do direct instruction of the skill at the beginning of each day, then we do skill practice with worksheets or whiteboards. I adore the website Super Teacher Worksheets. I swear I am not a teacher that is ALWAYS handing out worksheets, but this website has a lot of great resources (puzzles, games, basic practice problems, challenge problems, etc) based on any elementary math skill!