Tutoring
Adolescent Literacy Learners:
A Guide for Volunteers.
Kelly Chandler-Olcott and Kathleen
A. Hinchman. New York: The Guilford Press, 2005. Pp. 176, $25.00, paper. ISBN:
1-59385-129-4. TEL: 212-431-9800, ext. 257 • FAX: 212-966-6708
Authors
Chandler-Olcott and Hinchman wrote this book to serve two categories of potential
tutors: university students enrolled in courses with a service learning component,
and volunteers working in schools and community-based organizations. We include
this book in this month’s offerings because it complements Diane Schwartz’s
book on children with special needs. Because some of those children (many
across the country) have various kinds of language impairments, we thought
this tutoring guide could be helpful for teachers and tutors working with
some special needs students.
Since the authors directly address their readers in this text, the book has
an informal, sometimes conversational tone. Perhaps the best way to give our
readers an understanding of the book’s content and the authors’
tone is to quote from the introduction:
“The book is organized into three parts. Part I, Getting Started, includes
four chapters, Chapter 1, ‘Contexts for Adolescent Literacy,’
and Chapter 2, ‘Literacy Processes,’ are meant to give you some
background information about adolescent students and their needs as well as
develop your understandings of what literacy is and how it develops over time.
Chapter 3, ‘Defining Your Role as Tutor,’ and Chapter 4, ‘Assessing
Your Tutee’s Strengths, Needs, and Interests,’ will help you think
through the complex issues related to being a tutor and provide you with strategies
for getting to know your student. They should be of most use to you at the
very beginning of your tutoring experience.
“The five chapters in Part II, Tutoring, address the ‘nuts and
bolts’ of what tutors do, with an emphasis on planning your sessions
(Chapter 5), selecting and evaluating materials to use (Chapter 6), promoting
students’ comprehension (Chapter 7), supporting their development as
writers (Chapter 8), and promoting their word study and fluency (Chapter 9).
Each of these chapters should provide you with a number of different strategies
you can adopt and adapt for your sessions, depending on your tutee’s
needs, and we expect that you will revisit them for new ideas or clarification
as your tutoring progresses.
“Part III, Follow-up and Reflection, includes Chapter 10, “Dealing
with Common Problems,” and Chapter 11, “Reflecting on Your Tutoring
Experience.”
The book also contains reproducible planning and evaluation forms. This is
a practical book on the basics of tutoring students who need help in improving
their literacy skills.
Click below to buy this book
