Tutoring Elementary Writing: Help for Elementary Students

Tutoring Elementary Students in Reading

Types of Writing Tutors

Because there are a number of different skills and levels that must be taught in elementary school, there are also different kinds of tutors. If you're teaching kindergarten or 1st graders, you'll likely focus on letter recognition, letter writing and beginning to form simple words and phrases. By the 5th grade, you might be teaching students writing techniques for stories and essays. As an English As a Second Language tutor, you'll be using visual aids during instruction and you may teach older students.

General Writing Skills

Your approaches to teaching writing skills will vary based on the level of the child and what he or she's working on. When teaching general writing skills, it can often help to focus on writing traits, such as the message or idea the student wishes to convey. Before writing, figure out the structure, and help him or her organize the piece. Determine the appropriate voice (e.g., formal or informal), and how the sentences need to be structured in order to create a fluent reading experience. After your student writes a piece, go over the writing together, and ask your student to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the piece.

Creative Writing

Tutoring creative writing can be an opportunity to have fun. Let your student choose a topic. If he or she is struggling, put a number of topics into a hat, and have the student pick one. Let your student's imagination run wild when writing the first draft, disregarding grammar and punctuation. Then, review this draft with your student and help him or her correct any errors.

Essays and Research Papers

Use a topic from school or let your student pick an interesting topic. Demonstrate how to research using reliable and credible sources. After taking notes together, show your student how to write an outline. Then, he or she can begin writing. This activity will often take several tutoring sessions to complete, so make sure to start the process early if the assignment is for school.

Essay prompts define the guidelines, terms and rules of any essay a student will be required to complete. Help a student prepare for essay prompts by bringing several sample prompts to a session. Have your student write an outline for each prompt, including a thesis and at least two topic sentences. More detailed outlines may also have a hook and conclusion. Between sessions, have your student write an essay for one of the prompts.