Teaching should be engaging, interactive, and interesting. I don't believe in assigning busy work that isn't going to further my student's skill or knowledge. Every assignment should be purposeful.

First and foremost, I want to know what they are struggling with and what their goals are. If they are looking to improve their writing, then I would ask them to provide a short writing diagnostic on something they find interesting and also tell me what they personally feel like they need to improve on. I would a similar thing for French. Learning is very personal, so I would also like to know what their learning style is. Are they visual or auditory learners, etc. so I can set up a good learning plan that will fit their needs. I also would like to know a little about them personally. Is there a particular subject in English they like, their favorite genre, favorite period in history, what music they listen to, etc. From there we can work on a current assignment or do some exercises in the subject they need tutoring in.

Give them the proper tools and inspire confidence in their learning ability. Assign a bit of homework or teach them coping and organizational skills. It is a balancing act on showing them what needs to be done and assigning homework that is challenging enough that they can figure it out themselves.

Focus on subjects that interest them. If they are struggling reading comprehension, I would use works of various levels in a genre they adore. If writing an essay, I would want them to focus on something that they find inspiring or interesting. I also don't believe in just lecturing for an hour and calling it good. My educational style includes interactive actives, videos, music, etc. If it is an in person tutoring schedule, I also don't mind providing rewards for improvement.

Take it slow, find exactly what they are struggling with, and break it down into more manageable parts. For instance, if they are struggling with French verb conjugation, I would break it into smaller sections with clear rules and plenty of examples and pictures. The same concept can be applied to writing, reading, or history.

There are a lot of strategies to tackle reading comprehension. First and foremost, I would want to find out what they are comprehending and what they are struggling with. Some students know what’s happening in the story but can't name characters, other students are struggling with the vocabulary within the story, etc. With a student that is struggling with vocabulary, you can teach them the context clue strategy as well as focus on expanding their general vocabulary. With a student that has a problem keeping track at what is happening within a story (which character is doing what, why is something important), I would ask them to physically map it out with a chart, story map, cause and effect, etc. While reading, I would also pause and ask students questions about the material they are reading to see if they really are understanding the material with the help of extra strategies.