How Can a Summer Tutor Help?

Here are some great things that a summer tutor from Tutors on Call can help your child achieve. These benefits are particularly important for students in grades 10 to 12. They are at a critical point in their academic careers and need as much guidance as possible to excel.

Summer preview programs for math and science courses

For many students, the most difficult subjects in grade school are grade 11 and 12 math, physics, and chemistry. In particular, grade 11 math is challenging for a lot of students as there seems to be a large gap between grade 10 and grade 11 math.  Similarly, students tend to really struggle during the transition from grade 10 science to more specialized science courses in grade 11. Specifically, grade 11 physics and chemistry are very difficult for many students.

What has proven to be a very successful strategy is to preview some of the most important topics of a particularly difficult subject during the summer before taking the course in September.  For example, if the student is going into grade 11 in September then it is strongly recommended that they preview grade 11 math and either physics or chemistry during the summer. The result is that the student will enter the course confidently, have some understanding of more difficult concepts, and would be able to achieve a significantly higher mark in the course.

Most of our students who take a summer program use a workbook that is linked with the curriculum and are assigned weekly homework and practice tests. This is recommended for best results but it is optional. Summer, however, is a busy time.  It is, therefore, possible to have a condensed preview program for one month or less. For best results, however, it is suggested that lessons would be throughout the summer to give the student more time to absorb the material.

Summer essay writing programs

Learning to write an excellent essay is one of the most important skills that a student can have during their academic career. Unfortunately, most students are not taught ‘the formula’ to achieve the marks required for university entrance.  Essay writing is introduced in grade 6 and it is a skill that is used in all humanity subjects from grade 6 to 12 and in college or university.  Even if your child plans on going into math or sciences during their post-secondary education they will still need to take English courses at university.  Unfortunately, about 50% of students do not pass first-year English due to poor essay-writing skills.

During the summer a tutor can work with your son or daughter to teach them strategies to write an excellent essay. Like cooking, there is a ‘recipe’ that needs to be followed.  Essay writing goes beyond grammar, vocabulary, and punctuation. Learning to express one’s ideas, writing a strong thesis statement, using transitions, having sentence variety, and having a thought-provoking conclusion are some areas that help transition an essay from a C to an A.

Learn strategies for academic excellence

A possible reason for a child struggling academically is not understanding the best studying and writing techniques. Our tutors can help your child learn essay writing strategies, reading comprehension techniques, and study strategies, and build a stronger foundation in math.

Learning test-taking strategies is also important. Your child is transitioning into a major test-taking year. Final exams are beckoning. We will help your child learn test-taking strategies that can relieve test anxiety and help him or her excel.

Retain past content for a smooth transition

Have you ever heard of the summer slide? The summer slide is the learning loss that occurs during the summer. Megan Kuhfield cites a study from NWEA revealing that

“Summer learning loss was observed in math and reading across third to eighth grade with students losing a greater proportion of their school year gains each year as they grow older- anywhere from 20 to 50 percent.”

Summer tutoring is, therefore, important for helping your child avoid the summer slide. At Tutors on Call, our summer tutors can reinforce math, reading, and writing concepts over the summer months to help them build their foundation in these core areas.

Putting it all together

It is fair to think that your child deserves to use the summer for relaxation after a grueling year. However, you want to be proactive rather than reactive to ensure that your child is ready for the next academic year.  The tutors at Tutors on Call can make this happen.