First Grade Tutoring: How to Help Your 1st Grader Succeed in School

What Can I Do To Help My Child Succeed in the 1st Grade?

Setting a precedent for academic success in 1st grade may affect your child's educational experience in subsequent years. It can therefore be very important to steer your child in a positive direction as well as make sure that he or she is absorbing the necessary information. Hiring a tutor can help your child develop a strong work ethic and study skills as early as possible. Below are a few tips for hiring a tutor.

Where Can I Find a 1st Grade Tutor?

There are a number of different kinds of tutors and, therefore, different ways to find them. A good starting point can be to ask your child's teacher or fellow parents of children your child's age. Before hiring a tutor, be sure that you know exactly what kind of help your child needs. The needs of a child with a serious learning disability will differ greatly from a child who simply needs to overcome a minor speech impediment.

You can find a local tutor who specializes in 1st grade tutoring by browsing the classified ads in a local newspaper or online. Alternatively, some national tutoring companies will provide you with a pre-screened tutor who matches your requests. Another option is hiring an online tutor, but a group or one-on-one tutor often may be more effective at the 1st grade level.

How Can My Child Benefit from 1st Grade Tutoring?

Since classroom teachers often have to teach more than 20 children at once, it can be difficult for them to match their instruction to the specific needs of your child. In contrast, a one-on-one or small-scale group tutor can pinpoint your child's needs and provide targeted instruction.

First grade tutoring in reading will probably focus on basic conceptual awareness and phonics skills. A tutor will work with your child on sounding out words, learning sight words and improving reading comprehension. In math, a tutor will be likely to help your child on basic number sense skills and provide practice for addition and subtraction. If your child has special needs, your child's tutor will of course focus on these.

What Else Can Help My First Grader?

Get in touch with your 1st grader's teacher, school counselor or other education professionals working with your child to find out what specifically is available in your area that will be useful. Many schools, libraries, youth centers and learning facilities offer resources for 1st graders. There are also a number of websites with fun, educational games and activities that may help your 1st grader as well as provide entertainment and healthy stimulation.