Certified Tutors From United States Naval Academy

We went over the Problem of the Day. The importance of doing these problems in this way is to really understand how problems are solved and the different ways that they can be solved. Once he gets used to these ideas I think he might find it more interesting. Again, I'm so impressed with his reading skills and his comprehension. He has a good understanding of vocabulary. His strategies for breaking new words apart are strong. We also went over meters, measurements, kilometers, etc. He catches on very quickly when it comes to conversions.

Student did a good job today. We worked on his math worksheet for his test on Tuesday. He still needs a little help with telling time. We also worked on his new spelling list and we had to write sentences for them. He also had to read for 25 minutes. We also studied for some science terms that he just received on Tuesday.

Tonight, the student and I checked his writing assignment one last time. It was now complete, so I gave him a new assignment to describe three different types of cars. We also finished defining the newest vocabulary list. He already knew several of the words, fortunately, and it appears learning this new list will not be too difficult.

The student and I covered her biology notes. We focused on pulling apart key information, thinking critically about the text, and how to tie the information to real life. I also showed her a graphic way to take notes.

We spent the first hour working through a lab report that was due tomorrow.  The student had performed a lab on the difference between endothermic and exothermic reactions, and he plotted his data on two line graphs.  We also reviewed the analysis, conclusion, and questions for the lab report.  The student seemed to have a good understanding of the lab and had little trouble answering the questions and analyzing his data.  We spent the remainder of the session reviewing material we went over on Sunday in preparation for the student's quiz tomorrow.  In particular, we discussed the important elements for each A group on the periodic table, along with the properties characteristic of each A group.  Otherwise, we reviewed Mendeleev's conception of the Periodic Table and went through the review questions at the end of the chapter, numbers 1-35.  I think the student is quite prepared for his quiz, though I advised him to look again at the last section of the chapter before he takes his quiz.

The student and I worked together through the English sections of some practice SAT exams. We spent the first hour on reading comprehension and the second on synonyms and analogies. Along the way we discussed strategies too, such as reading the passage before the questions, marking key words, and paying special attention to the first and last sentences of paragraphs. We picked apart words that he didn't recognize and I shared with him any information I had about etymologies and roots of those words. He also wrote down any unfamiliar words to make flash cards later.