Clara James Tutoring
BLOG POSTS
How Tutors Tailor Maths Lessons
A maths teacher stands at the board explaining something:
”I have a plus here, so I need to subtract this.
Here it says divide so to counteract that, we will multiply.
It says to square here, so we need to square root.
If 10x = 56, that means 1x =”
They turn from the board and ask you for the answer.
Panic. What they have just been explaining makes no sense what-so-ever!
They repeat themselves: “I have a plus here, so I need to subtract this.
Here it says divide so to counteract that, we will multiply.
It says to square here, so we need to square root.
If 10x = 56, that means 1x =
Do you have an answer for me now?”
No, nothing’s changed. A roll of the eyes, a sigh…
“I have a plus here, so I need to subtract this.
Here it says divide so to counteract that, we will multiply.
It says to square here, so we need to square root.
If 10x = 56, that means 1x =”
So, what is the answer?
You feel the embarrassment, but you don’t know. It makes no sense.
Sadly, I think many of us have been in this scenario. For some reason the person explaining it seems to think that by repeating what they have been saying will suddenly make it crystal clear. However, most of the time it just gives the fear more time to wrap itself confidently around you.
The advantage most tutors have over classroom teachers is that they are working in much smaller groups, quite possibly 1-to-1. This means that they can work to the needs of the individual explaining the situation in a way that will make sense to them:
“Imagine I have a set of scales. I need to keep both sides balanced, but my goal is to keep all my ‘x’s and nothing else in this side, and when I finish have nothing but numbers in this side. Ok? So, now I have a +5 in this side. To remove that so I only have x’s on this side I will need to take 5 out from here. Then to keep my scales balanced, I need to take 5 from that side as well. Does that make sense so far?”
A new explanation taken one step at a time. This is so much easier to achieve when you are working in a smaller group and the student/child is less concerned about making a fool of themselves in front of their peers.
But tutoring maths goes deeper than just the explanation.
We all learn differently. However, what is unanimous is that if we just keep relying on worksheets, we are only placing the working out within one place in our brain. We need to offer a variety of resources so that we can cater for different learning styles.
Additionally, many people have a deep fear of the subject, so by making the lesson more interactive we can hopefully encourage the learner to relax and be in a better position to recognise and retain the relevant information.
This might be done by initially creating a bold, colourful mind-map or poster explaining the steps involved with easy-to-follow examples. By using 5 or more colours we are opening more neuropathways making recall more attainable.
Next you might run through a few examples, this might take the form of a worksheet, a code breaker, a game. The games might include a memory game or a game of bingo which requires you to match the corresponding questions and answers, or a board game which will requires you to answer the questions presented as you move around the board.
By offering the information like this you are getting the practice, but at the same time you are helping the child to relax, putting them in a better state of mind to learn.
However, what we need to remember is that every child is an individual.
We need to talk to them and understand how they learn best. I have learned that some children/students will never want to do a worksheet, even with their exams just days away. Others will never want to do anything but worksheets. That is their choice. We are there to guide, to encourage knowledge and hopefully a confidence in the subject.
I am a firm believer that the more we can boost someone’s confidence in a subject, the more willing they will be to have a go. With having a go comes practice and with practice comes confidence. With confidence comes a willingness to have a go. It become a positive spiral of success.
Obviously, every tutor, every child is different, and the lessons will need to reflect that even down to the learning environment that we provide for them: sitting at a desk, laying on our stomachs on the floor, a beanbag or a sofa. Sitting in the garden or at a desk. A tidy desk with minimal distractions, or the reassurance that we have everything we will need to hand with every spread around you.
Work with the child and work with what is best for them. Don’t presume you know their thoughts and answers. Ask them and actively listen to their answers.
If you have any questions or you, or your child is looking for a maths tutor, we can help. Get in touch at [email protected] and we can arrange to have a chat.
Happy New Year - Jan 2024
Happy new year!
I hope you’ve had a brilliant break over Christmas.
I know some people have been on holiday, others have been enjoying family time at home. Either way, I hope it was fantastic.
Someone sent me a Christmas present just before the bog day, but I have no idea who it was from, so I can’t say thank you. I feel really guilty as it seems like bad manners, but it was just in a box from M&S with no message attached.
This year, I have committed to send out the notification when the monthly membership bundle goes live, but I am also going to send out an (initially) fortnightly newsletter with suggestions for revision / secondary school Math / English, then in the alternate week a newsletter with suggestions for the primary subjects.
If either of them isn’t relevant, please either let me know and I will ensure you just get the primary or secondary newsletter if you want it, or just click unsubscribe (but then you also won’t receive the email about when the bundle goes live).
My goal is to keep you more in the loop as to what is happening. For example, we occasionally put free courses on Udemy – we’ve just done one on angles – here’s the link if wanted. It was created to promote the topic book we have also created; we’ve also got revision planners for students that might be suitable for some GCSE parents.
At Christmas we also had some free times-tables colouring sheets which you may not have been aware of, so like I say, it may not be of interest to you, but if it is, at least you’ll be aware of it. I have 3 revision planners and 3 angles topic books to give away if you’re interested. Let me know and I’ll happily pop one in the post for you (or give it to you if I’m likely to see you…).
If you do have one, if you could give it feedback on Amazon (I’ll send you the link) that would be hugely appreciated.
Happy new year for now and warm wishes,
Dawn
Times Tables - Jan 24
Hi,
Last week I sent out an email saying I was going to try and commit to sending out an email at the beginning of each week on ideas to support primary school children, then later in the week about supporting secondary school children.
As a result, I was asked if I could also send out some ideas to support the 11+.
(Again, if this doesn’t concern you let me know and I’ll try to ensure that you don’t receive them).
I’ll send the 11+ emails on an alternate Wednesday as I normally have Alfie, my grandson on a Tuesday and the odds of getting much done with a lively 2-year-old for company…
There will be some cross over between primary school and secondary school subjects, but at any stage there is something you specifically want me to help with, please do shout.
So, back on subject, sorry…
Times tables have always been one of the key subjects that I work on with, specifically primary aged children, but also secondary school children, and often the parents say they’re awful at them as well…
I don’t suggest learning them in chronological order.
If you do, you’ll hit some of the much harder ones before you get to some of the easier ones.
Instead, what I suggest (and you’ve probably heard me say this before) is that you start with the 10’s, 11’s, 2’s and 5’s as they do in school.
Then deviate across to the 9’s as there are so many tricks to help you to learn them.
Then the 6’s or 7’s. Crazy I know! But they are quite simple if you split them so that 6x8 becomes: 5x8 + 1x8 = 50+8 Or 7x8 becomes 5x8 + 2x8 = 40 +16 = 56.
From there you can pretty much work in any order.
The 12’s is also straight forward as we can split it into 10x + 2x which would give us the same answer as 12x.
There are more suggestions on the times tables over in the Clara James Approach, or I have a sequence of emails which sends out once a month with suggestions on how to learn each of the times tables with some resources. If it would help, the link is here: Support your child with their times tables - The fun way! (sendfox.com)
I hope that’s helpful and not just waffle.
Like I say if there is anything specific you would like us to focus on, please do give me a shout.
Have a great week and warm wishes,
Dawn
Hand Writing Support
Hi,
I hope you had a good weekend.
Something I am often asked about is supporting hand-writing skills.
At a young age this may relate to the hand muscles in the hands not yet being fully developed and I have a few suggestions that may help.
As the child gets older, you may want to find the support of an occupational therapist to provide some suggestions.
1. Start big: I guess it’s a bit like parking a car. When you are first asked to park a car, you wouldn’t want to park in a narrow gap, you’d hopefully save that until you were more confident, more skilled. Handwriting practice is the same, using a big piece of paper is far better than trying to squeeze your imperfect shapes between two narrow lines. Even better, (if the weather is more forgiving) start by using water to paint on the side of the house, a patio or footpath). Use large movements and as these improve start to shrink it down to what is expected inside a school exercise book.
2. Jenga: I love this game and we’ve adapted it by writing numbers of the bricks so that we can practice number bonds or the times tables, we’ve also got grammatical terms on others so that we can also practice those. But the skill and care needed to remove the brick from the tower without it all tumbling is a great way to practice the fine motor skills which will in turn support handwriting.
3. Colouring is another suggestion: keeping the colouring inside the lines is another skill that requires practice and patience. Again, the strokes used in colouring can further aid the shapes created when writing letters.
4. Sewing again requires the use of the fine motor skills needed for neat handwriting. You may just do a normal running stitch on a square of fabric, or you may decide to make something or use a more elaborate stitch. Either way I hope this helps.
5. Playdough and clay are other great early interventions to building up the muscles in the hands. The stronger and more developed the muscles are the more precise we can be with our writing.
To be honest, anything that needs to be precise will help. Many crafts and building activities help.
For some people, messy handwriting is always an issue.
There are a couple of members of my family whose handwriting I always struggle to read, yet they are so intelligent. It doesn't seem to add up. But my daughter says, if she doesn’t write quickly, she can’t remember everything her brain is throwing at her. Her brain works at such a speed.
I used to tutor a girl a couple of years back. I hadn’t realized her mum was an invigilator for the A’ levels at the school my youngest went to.
Not long after Hay sat her history the mum asked me if my daughter was doing her exams now.
Yes.
Does she do History?
Yes. Is she called Angel?
Yes.
She said, I thought it must be your daughter.
I have never seen anyone writing so quickly. I expected sparks to come off that page!
There are many reasons why people have scruffy handwriting, sometimes it needs to be investigated and like I say, if you are worried about it, it might be worth while trying to get in touch with an occupational therapist.
Sometimes, practicing using the suggestions above will help. Sometimes, like with Hay, it’s just one of those things that make them, them.
I hope this has helped a bit.
Have a great week and warm wishes,
Dawn