...I love to sing and dance with the smaller children but also equally enjoy having thoughtful conversations with my older students. We connect over books, animals and hobbies. I have learned that even as we grow up and mature we can still find things that we are good at. I have discovered that even though I have worked in the professional legal and accounting fields for many years that I was able to try something...
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...years in the beautiful state of VA. I have taught several grades from 2nd to 8th grade. I love to teach and I think the best part is sharing my knowledge over a variety of subjects and making connections to previous experiences or existing background knowledge. I tutor in all subjects: math, history, science, and language arts - in grades K-8th. I believe that teaching includes building interest and engagement with students. When they are...
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...continued to teach in MA at middle school in the public and private sector and followed Masters programs at Boston College in Evaluation and Assessment, and at UMass Boston in Instructional Design which led to a period mentoring teachers at a charter school in Worcester. In recent years I have been an adjunct professor of Developmental Mathematics at both Bunker Hill, and Roxbury Community Colleges, working with an adult population. Throughout my career, I have...
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...a wide range of assessment opportunities. I have gained skills in building effective and constructive relationships with children in difficult socio/economic conditions in an inner-city situation. These involved using consistent behavior management strategies. My ethos for the classroom strongly encourages children to express their ideas and suggestions as I believe it is extremely important for them to have control over their learning. It is important to create an atmosphere which encourages children to ask questions...
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...University. In the past, I have tutored students in reading and math. I have been a Special Education Teacher for 13 years. Before returning to school, I worked as a Teacher's Assistant as well. I have a vast array of experience with different individuals. My favorite subject to tutor is math because there are many manipulatives and different ways to teach math concepts. It is not a one and done subject. Setting high expectations for...
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...contributing to their dream of academic success. That is my inspiration. My interests in learning and teaching can also be attributed to the fact that I grew up on three continents and view myself as an internationalist. I've been exposed to people and places that remain culturally rich and varied, and I love connecting with people from other parts of the globe. Travel and participating in cultural exchanges have played an equally important part in...
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...Math Fellow for the Puget Sound Region and currently hold a Washington State Teaching Certificate as well as working towards a National Board Certification. My passion lies in building foundations for students, regardless of their station of understanding, so that they have the confidence and drive to accelerate their achievement. Every child deserves access to an equitable education and as an educator, I strive to provide quality support to every student. Above all, learning should...
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...course with measured progress reports as we move through each section. I attended a competitive university and I know what it takes to make a student a contender at the highest level of admissions. I keep the material fresh and memorable through a variety of audiovisual approaches and real-world examples. One-on-one learning should never mean lectures, and I like to hold an ongoing conversation so students use their own learning skills in new ways to...
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...new tools to help them grow as a writer. Writing is more important today than ever before. Almost everything we do is typed in some sort of format, by email, text, or essay. This is why writing is so important to me. I want the student to come away with a strong understanding of writing so they can properly communicate in the world today. My hobbies include restoring classic cars and building things around the...
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...to read, and to enjoy reading enough to discover the world of books on his own. I also tutor a great deal of math, enjoy it, and consider it my strongest subject. After living and studying in Costa Rica, I also tutor Spanish. In addition, we use an excellent English program with my kids, so that I have become rather an expert of grammar. When I am not teaching, I enjoy gourmet cooking, vegetable gardening,...
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...the teachers' Praxis tests. Although I like math because numbers are exact, and challenges are fun, I prefer reading and writing, because I am the creative type. I am an author and publisher, and I have written and published nine books of my own since 2014. I have six authors that I have helped to get published. Aside from writing and producing stage plays and books, I like to crochet when I can find time....
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...and math. I enjoy working with Special Education students due to the fact I parented two children with learning disabilities. I believe all children are capable of excellence in their studies and just need extra guidance in some areas of their instruction. My passion for education and exuberance for teaching will provide your child with a great learning experience. My past times include cooking, hiking, fishing, reading, watching classic movies, gardening, dancing, exercising, walking, and...
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...to address and solve complex real-world issues. I studied at Florida International University, receiving two Bachelors degrees in Psychology and Religious Studies. I went on to receive a Masters of Science degree in Psychology, specializing in Mental Health Counseling . During and after my masters degree, I interned as a staff clinician, working to provide one-on-one mental health counseling services to children ages 6-18, as well as to college students attending FIU. After completing my...
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...to meet their specific needs. I have been very successful with my previous and current students, helping them to significantly increase their grades, test scores, and self-confidence levels. I also help students with their applications for middle school, high school, and college, many of whom have received thousands of dollars in scholarship. In my free time, I enjoy writing songs, playing guitar and piano, and going for a run in the park with my black...
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...experiences. To me, the most important part of tutoring is helping children to understand material in ways that allow them to learn to recognize their strengths and apply them to their studies in ways they may not immediately see. Some keen-eyed students can understand abstract subjects through visual aids, while some may work better with quantifications and variables, even when studying literature. It is important to me that students understand that their unique ways of...
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...can get lost in the chaos of it all, but with tutoring, the focus is solely on one student and their specific needs. I look forward to discussing in depth what your student's challenges are, as well as their strengths. We then will set goals off of some baseline data and work from there. My ultimate goal for your child is for them to feel safe and successful with tutoring, a time to look forward...
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I am a certified teacher in the state of Washington. I graduated from Eastern Washington University with an Elementary Education Degree and a minor in math. After graduation,I moved to South Korea to teach English for a year and...... I believe that students don't truly learn the material unless it is presented in a way that is engaging and fun. Therefore, teachers need to put in extra effort to help students understand that material by not...
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...working with all students. I use a highly structured, yet also highly positive approach because my first and foremost goal is motivation. Most kids who are struggling know that they are struggling and as a result they have lost their love of learning. My goal is to show each student I work with that whatever they are struggling with can be fun and exciting once they find a way to connect to the material. I...
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...Math and ELA state tests, respectively. In addition to teaching, I have spent the last 1.5 years working on ELA curriculum design and teacher development for a network of schools in NYC and CT. I am also currently pursuing Master's degrees in Children's Literature (M.A.) and Library and Information Science (M.S.). I love tutoring many subjects and students of all ages, but I am especially passionate about reading. Struggling or reluctant readers often see reading...
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Receive personally tailored ISEE- Lower Level lessons from exceptional tutors in a one-on-one setting. We help you connect with the best tutor for your particular needs while offering flexible scheduling to fit your busy life.
ISEE- Lower Level Tutoring FAQ
The Independent School Entrance Exam (or ISEE) is an accurate and widely accepted assessment available in Lower, Middle, and Upper levels. All forms of the exam include multiple-choice questions and a writing assignment. The number of questions and the amount of time a child has to finish the test varies by level. Varsity Tutors can help you connect with an experienced tutor who can help your child with all areas of the ISEE Lower Level exam.
The ISEE Lower Level is for students who are entering fifth or sixth grade. Your child will have two hours and 20 minutes to complete the exam. The test itself is made up of five different sections, including Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Mathematics Achievement, and the essay.
The Verbal Reasoning portion of the exam is broken down into two types of questions: sentence completion and synonyms. Both are designed to test your child's vocabulary knowledge and ability to reason. There are 34 questions in this section of the test, and students have 20 minutes to complete it. Your child's ISEE Lower Level tutor can work with your child to determine if his or her verbal reasoning skills are at or above grade level. If they are not, your child's tutor may use flashcards or word games to improve his or her ability in this area.
The Quantitative Reasoning portion of the exam has 38 questions that students must answer in 35 minutes. The specific mathematical concepts that are tested are designed to determine your child's understanding of math and problem-solving. It does not assess the amount of math he or she has learned, but instead how well he or she is able to think in a mathematical context. To help improve your child's score in this area, your tutor will help him or her with test-taking strategies such as reading questions carefully and identifying exactly what information is being asked for, along with crossing out information that is irrelevant.
The Reading Comprehension and Mathematics Achievement portions of the exam measure your child's ability to correctly answer grade-level appropriate curriculum-based concepts. The Reading Comprehension section has 25 questions, and students are given 25 minutes to answer them. The Mathematics Achievement section has 30 questions, which students have 30 minutes to answer. Your child's tutor can work with him or her to develop reading strategies and proficiency in mathematical operations in preparation for the test.
The final portion of the test is an essay question. Your child will be given a writing prompt that is appropriate for his or her grade level. ISEE does not score this portion of the test; it is sent to the designated school(s) along with the scores for the rest of the exam. Your child's personal tutor can work with him or her to develop writing strategies and the ability to quickly and concisely write responses.
The Varsity Tutors live learning platform enables you to schedule your child's private ISEE Lower Level tutoring session at a time and place that's most convenient for your schedule. Sessions can be held in a virtual environment or in person. Varsity Tutors can help you connect with an expert ISEE Lower Level tutor who is able to work with your child. To get started, contact Varsity Tutors today.
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Recent ISEE- Lower Level Tutoring Session Notes
Today we continued where we left off after skipping our session last week. The student's score on the practice test was great. His only real avenue for improvement is the vocab and essay sections of the test. Today we primarily worked on the essay portion. I decided to work on some prompts together in session. I want to get him to a point where he feels utterly comfortable and actually has fun with the essay. For homework I assigned one essay.
The student has shown how bright he is, so we are working on the best strategies for him to avoid making simple mistakes and how to go from "educated guess" to undoubtedly correct answers. Each section is very solid right now so it is just a case of building on a solid foundation and having him be prepared for anything that might get thrown his way.
Today we worked on sentence completions, synonyms and reading comprehension. The student is doing well practicing these sections of the test and we are continuing to work on learning new vocab words. We also started working on finding percentages of numbers and he is doing very well with this concept.
The student and I spent our time going over some concepts from the quantitative section of the test. He was very strong in his recollection of simplifying fractions. We built on this to go over ratios and proportions, which he picked up very quickly. We also discussed measures of central tendency. He needed a reminder about the formula for mean, but after this, he had no trouble finding mean, median, mode, or range. We finished by looking at some simple algebra problems and went over ways to solve these by substitution or estimation on the actual test. Next time we meet, we'll go into more detail about algebraic word problems and will reintroduce the verbal section.
This was my first session with this student, and I thought it went very well and ended up being even more productive than I had hoped for. Initially, my plan was to simply introduce him to the concepts, format and overall structure of the test so as to open his mind up to what sort of things he was going to be dealing with. After explaining the five sections and essay portion of the test, and what will be expected for each of them, I decided I could go ahead and go through some sample questions from each section with him. It gave him a clear snapshot of what the exam questions will look like, and he was very receptive to the information and took it in very well. We went through each question and I explained the answer and the reasoning behind it in detail so that he could see why the test material is the way that it is, in a sense.
I also had the student write a paragraph or two -- just about what his favorite thing he did over the summer was -- to gauge how he writes and see some of the areas he may need more attention with. I also spent some time asking him what are his strengths and what are his weaknesses to see what he said with regards to that. We discussed how to proceed best and what he would need support in with respect to any subject/ curriculum/ test-taking areas. I look forward to subsequent sessions with this student. He takes in information very well, so next week I feel I can begin assigning more practice work and doing more practice tests.
We went over basic math and algebraic concepts. We went through fractions, decimals, multiplication, addition, and subtraction. I look forward to our next lesson. We will review any homework given and move on to the next portion to assess his skills in the next category.
