Dennis TS#1

On June 20^th I had my first tutoring session with Matthew. I was excited to meet him and when he appeared with his mother, he unexpectedly knew a considerable amount of English. He and his twin brother were to be separated for their tutoring, according to the mom. You could see why, they wanted to tussle and push each other around whenever they were near each other. I could see that I had a limited window to keep him focused before he began to drift off and wonder what time it was. The materials I prepared were for a lower level, but I found a book in the library that told the fable of The Pied Piper that I thought was a good fit for a reading assessment. Using that and a more science-focused book about animals, I used these materials and some other worksheets I had printed from the Fun With Grammar! series to assess his levels in reading, writing, listening, and comprehension. I had him read a portion, and he read well but not perfectly. Then I had him write down something I read from the same book. He listened well, but his spelling needed work. Then I read some more from the book and would ask him questions about the text. Through this I was impressed by his intelligence and quick-mindedness. At one juncture, we paused the story so I could have him come up with a what-happens-next scenario for the tale. I was impressed with his creativity and it seemed that he was having fun and enjoying his time. I thought it was a good introductory/assessment session, but I felt that for the next one I would need to bring more advanced materials, as it became clear that he worked best when he had challenges.