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A photo of Tara, a tutor from University of Central Oklahoma

Tara

Certified Tutor

I have been a teacher for a total of 7 and 1/2 years. I first began teaching at a Head Start, starting out as an assistant teacher and moving my way up to a lead teacher. As a Head Start teacher, it was my job to teach students social skills, early literacy skills, and early math and science skills. I loved teaching this age group and only stopped working there in order to further my education.

After I decided to go back to school, I worked a substitute teacher. I have experienced subbing in grades 1st through 5th, as well as all Middle School and High School grade levels. I also worked as a lead teacher for a private Pre-K program for 6 months. I worked there until I was hired in the public school system. Currently, I teach kindergarten in for Oklahoma Public Schools. I have taught Kindergarten for 2 years. I work with students on phonics, letter name and sound recognition, recognizing high frequency words, and other emergent reading skills. I also work with them on early math and science skills.

I absolutely love to teach. I laugh every single day and learn something new each day. I am experienced with helping student a variety of subject matter, including reading, writing, math, science, and social studies. What I love about tutoring is that I can help students one-on-one and provide individualized lesson plans specifically for that student. Please contact me to help you with your area of need. I love finding fun and unique lesson plans to help students.

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Tara’s Qualifications
Education & Certification

Undergraduate Degree: University of Central Oklahoma - Bachelors, Elementary Education

Hobbies

My favorite hobby is reading! I take a book with me everywhere I go.

Tutoring Subjects
Elementary School Reading
Elementary School Writing
English
High School English
Middle School Reading
Middle School Writing
Phonics
Writing
What is your teaching philosophy?

To make learning enjoyable and meaningful.

What might you do in a typical first session with a student?

Try to help students laugh and smile to put them in a happy mood.

How can you help a student become an independent learner?

By modeling ways to study and search for answers.

How would you help a student stay motivated?

By providing positive encouragement and feedback.

If a student has difficulty learning a skill or concept, what would you do?

Perform a small assessment by using a game or fun learning tool to help me gauge where a student's misunderstanding is occurring, and then planning lessons to help teach that skill or concept.

How do you help students who are struggling with reading comprehension?

By asking them questions that help them to reflect on what they have already read and that helps them relate what they are reading to real life.

What strategies have you found to be most successful when you start to work with a student?

Creating an assessment and learning where a student needs help or is struggling with a certain concept, and then creating individualized lessons based on the results of that assessment.

How would you help a student get excited/engaged with a subject that they are struggling in?

I would find something that would hook their attention, such as an interesting fact about that subject or a game, that teaches that subject.

What techniques would you use to be sure that a student understands the material?

Reviewing the information with a student, asking them questions about the materials, demonstrating how to use it, and having the student demonstrate how to use it.

How do you build a student's confidence in a subject?

Through positive encouragement and feedback.

How do you evaluate a student's needs?

Through observations, questions, and assessments.

How do you adapt your tutoring to the student's needs?

I try to understand what their needs are, and I change the way I teach a lesson or approach a student based on their needs.

What types of materials do you typically use during a tutoring session?

Visual aids, reading material, and manipulatives.