Implementation of an America Reads Tutoring Program
Lesley Mandel Morrow
Deborah G. Woo
Adah Radzin
My name is Tamika. I'm in the first grade. I love my tutor Adalise. I like the games we play. She is fun to read with. She helps me learn to read better.
My name is Rosangela. I'm in the second grade. My tutor is Mary. She is nice and helpful. She helps me when I get stuck on a word. She even helped me color once when my hand got a cramp. I enjoy playing reading games with her. Sometimes I beat her! When I read she continues to tell me I'm doing a good job. That's because I'm reading well. I have learned a lot. I have learned how to read many important hard words.
My name is Juan. I'm in the third grade. I like when my tutor Carla works with me. She brings a lot of books. I like reading. I would read a hundred books if I could! Sometimes she tapes me when I am reading. I like being tape recorded. She makes me a better reader because there's a lot of words I don't know and she helps me figure them out. A lot of children should have America Reads tutors because they have trouble reading. If they had tutors, they wouldn't have to stay back.
Tamika, Rosangela, and Juan are just a few of the many students who have benefited from participation in The America Reads Challenge. This grassroots program was announced in 1997 by U.S. President Bill Clinton as a national, bipartisan strategy for improving literacy performance among children before they enter the fourth grade, at approximately 9 years of age. Families, schools, and the community form the foundation of this effort.
One ever-present issue in debates on educational reform is the plight of the struggling reader. Children who cannot read early and well are hampered from the very start of their education, and sometimes for the rest of their lives. Today, more than ever before, children need to develop high levels of literacy in order to take their place in society as highly skilled workers, to use technology effectively, or to find and apply information available on the Internet (Pearson, 1996). For some struggling young readers, involvement in a tutoring program can provide valuable support to classroom literacy instruction.
There are many tutoring programs that use volunteers from the local community or from service organizations. The Howard Street Tutoring Program, a small after-school volunteer tutoring project in Chicago (Morris, Shaw, & Perney, 1990), and Reading Together, a community-supported intergenerational tutoring program in Philadelphia (Neuman, 1995) are successful examples of this program model. America Reads also uses volunteer tutors, often university students, to supplement classroom instruction for at-risk students to increase their engagement in reading and writing. Tamika, Rosangela, Juan, and thousands of other struggling readers enjoy working with these tutors, who support classroom teachers and their literacy instruction programs.
Teaching reading is a complex process best undertaken by individuals who have had formal training, such as classroom teachers and reading specialists. However, the one-on-one assistance that a tutor provides can be invaluable for students, especially for those who need extra support when reading difficulties arise. When support is not available, children often give up and disengage from literacy tasks. Tutors can fill this gap, offering the personal contact and help that will keep students working toward independence in reading.
This article offers broad guidelines on organizing an America Reads tutoring program. This general information is then elaborated through a description of one program that used university work-study students as tutors. A study of this program was conducted, and results and implications for practice are reported, including information about students' levels of literacy achievement, interviews with participants, and strategies used by the tutors. In addition, resources that may be useful for starting a tutoring program or for supporting tutors are listed.
Starting an America Reads Program
Hiring a supervisor
The first step in organizing a tutoring program is to hire a paid supervisor for the tutors. Volunteering is wonderful, but the supervisor needs to be highly qualified and committed to working about 15 hours a week -- unreasonable to expect of an unpaid volunteer. The supervisor should be a reading specialist or an experienced teacher who has taught reading in kindergarten through third grade. Retired teachers or teachers who have taken time off to be at home with children or for other personal reasons are ideal candidates.
If the program and tutors are based in a university setting, an experienced teacher enrolled in the university's graduate program is another good candidate. In this case, funding for the supervisor's salary might be available through the university work-study program. The supervisor could also be a college professor who is given release time to assume the responsibilities. Likewise, in a school district, the supervisor could be a teacher or administrator who is given release time.
Finding tutors
America Reads tutors can be university work-study students or student volunteers, or volunteers from the community. When an America Reads initiative is university based, the university work-study office can recruit students by sending out a questionnaire to determine interest and time available to participate. Based on the applications received, individuals in the work-study office, along with reading faculty at the university, select the tutors. In addition, letters of recruitment can be sent specifically to students enrolled in early childhood and elementary education programs.
When the initiative is based in a school district, a partnership with a local university can be established to recruit tutors through these same avenues. If a partnership cannot be established, tutors can be recruited from churches, synagogues, or local community service organizations. Senior citizens and parents at home are also a wonderful resource.
Training the tutors
Tutors should have 10 to 12 hours of training, spread over a few weeks. Training sessions should include the following components:
The supervisor trains the tutors and, after tutoring begins, is available for consultation (by telephone or in person) as necessary. Monthly group meetings for tutors and supervisor provide a good opportunity to discuss the tutoring and to continue the learning process.
The supervisor also observes each tutor at work about once every 2 weeks, to ensure that good tutor-student rapport is established, the tutor is prepared for the tutoring sessions, and he or she is doing a good job. At least once during the tutoring period, the tutor, the supervisor, and the child's teacher should meet to discuss progress.
Selecting students to be tutored
Classroom teachers and reading specialists select students for the tutoring program. Typically, students identified for tutoring struggle more with reading than do their peers. Note that children with severe difficulties are more appropriately taught by trained reading teachers and specialists than by tutors.
Organizing tutoring sessions and materials
The teacher, reading specialist, and tutor decide how often and when tutoring should occur. It is preferable for sessions to last 30 minutes and to take place three to five times a week. The America Reads project suggests that tutoring take place in summer programs and after school. However, some teachers are happy to have tutoring occur during the school day, in the classroom or in a quiet spot in the school building. Tutoring should continue as long as it seems necessary, which could be an entire school year.
It is important to note that tutoring is not intended to replace regular reading instruction or any special reading programs in which the child may be involved. Rather, it is intended to supplement these programs.
Tutors should use a quality tutoring handbook and other resources suggested by the supervisor. In addition, tutors will need two notebooks -- one for the child they work with and one to serve as their tutoring log. They also need a wide variety of texts for student reading and manipulative materials for skill building, such as magnetic letters and a slate to build words or board games that deal with letter-sound relationships. In the school setting, these materials can often be provided by the teacher. Tutors need access to children's books that are familiar to the students, as well as to new books and to a variety of other texts that students can choose to read for pleasure.
Outline of One America Reads Tutoring Program
In one America Reads tutoring program, work-study students from Rutgers University, located New Jersey in the northeastern United States, served as tutors in an urban school district.
The training program Tutors attended four 3-hour sessions to review tutoring techniques and materials. Sessions were led by the tutor supervisor, a certified teacher who has taught reading to children in kindergarten through third grades. In addition to instructional strategies, the training included suggestions for building rapport with the children and their teachers and parents. After the first week of tutoring sessions, the supervisor met with the group to discuss questions and concerns, offer guidance, and continue training as needed. Whole-group meetings with the supervisor took place again during the fourth week of tutoring and once a month thereafter. The supervisor observed each tutor early in the tutoring period to determine the quality of the interaction between tutor and child. The supervisor also held office hours twice a week, when tutors could come for individual appointments or reach the supervisor by telephone. Tutors also met weekly with graduate assistants. The graduate assistants, whose role as project leaders was supported financially through a federal work-study grant, were either studying in the field of education or had participated previously in an America Reads program. Besides holding weekly meetings with the tutors to talk about successes and concerns and to model new strategies, the graduate assistants maintained close contact by observing the tutoring sessions to determine the quality of the rapport that was developing between tutors and students. Tutors' materials During the training sessions the work-study students were introduced to The Reading Team: A Handbook for Volunteer Tutors K-3 (Morrow & Walker, 1997). The were also provided with books to read with children, notebooks to be used as journals for writing by students and tutors, index cards for building sight and writing vocabularies, and folders for creating portfolios of student work samples for the purpose of assessing progress. The tutoring program Tutoring sessions lasted 30 minutes and occurred three times a week from mid-October through April, for a total of approximately 60 sessions per child. Tutoring took place during school hours but never during regular periods of reading instruction. To support the work of the classroom teachers, tutors were instructed to prepare lesson plans before working with a child and to keep records after each session; they also met with teachers to ensure coordination of their tutoring with the classroom instruction. Strategies used in tutoring sessions were designed so that students would experience success. For example, when young children read the same books many times, fluency increases -- as does enjoyment, which is why favorite books are often read over and over again. Children in this program therefore read and reread an abundance of easy material, working with their tutors and discussing each selection. The instructional framework used in each 30-minute session included six elements (not all of which had to be included in every session), each with a specific purpose for developing fluent reading with understanding: Evaluation of the Program
Reading familiar texts is fun and provides opportunities for developing fluency, practicing reading skills, and noticing things about print -- all of which lead to successful reading experiences. Familiar texts, selections that children have already read and know well, should be the first thing read in the tutoring session.
Everybody -- including young readers -- loves to learn from new challenges. New selections stretch students' learning. In this phase of the session, the tutor and student select something new to read together. Before beginning to read, the tutor guides the student with some discussion to develop interest, elicit background knowledge, and set a purpose for reading. The tutor then begins to read the story aloud, inviting the child to follow along. Tutor and child share their ideas during pauses in the reading and discuss various aspects of the text after the story is finished. Eventually, the student reads the new selection alone.
It is important for the tutor to work with the child's teacher concerning the strategies and reading materials used in the classroom reading program. The tutor can then work with the child to reinforce understanding of such things as rhyming words, initial consonant sounds, compound words, or word endings.
Tutoring materials should include a notebook for the child to use as a journal for story writing and other entries. Writing requires students to think about the ideas they want to express and how they will do so, and about the letters and sounds in the words they will use. It encourages students to look at how words are put together, which reinforces their growing ability to decode and understand words they read. The tutor can help the child brainstorm writing ideas and strategies, and can point out spelling patterns in our language. The tutor and student could jointly write a story, deciding on a topic and taking turns writing sentences. They could also write their own stories, sitting side by side. Sharing the writing is an important part of the task.
Good readers become good by reading. Class time is often not allotted to reading for pleasure, but tutoring sessions can provide a chance for children to read self-selected materials silently for their own enjoyment. At all sessions, tutor and student should set aside some time to read their own books. After the designated time for pleasure reading, they share what they have read.
Students begin to take charge of their own literacy development when they describe and evaluate what they are learning. Each session closes with a time for the tutor and student to review what was accomplished during the session. They discuss the activities that went well and what they will do at the next session. They end by discussing activities for the student to do before the next meeting, both in class and at home with family.
To determine if students' achievement in reading and writing was enhanced as a result of tutoring in the America Reads program described above, a study was conducted. The researchers also hoped to determine attitudes of teachers, tutors, and children concerning the tutoring program, and to identify the literacy strategies used by tutors to help with the children's literacy development.
Thirty-five undergraduates and 10 graduate students in the work-study program participated. The elementary school in which the study took place serves a population of Hispanic (55 percent), African-American (35 percent), and Caucasian children (10 percent), at least 75 percent of whom receive compensatory education services under the Title I program. There were 80 children in the study, 40 in the experimental group (tutored students) and 40 in a control group (nontutored students), distributed equally among kindergarten and first, second, and third grades.
Children were selected for the study based on a list compiled by their teachers of students most in need of help, based on the teachers' judgments. Children on the list for each grade were randomly assigned to the experimental or control groups.
Children were assessed individually with pretests in September and posttests in April. Tests included
In addition, audio- and videorecordings of five tutoring sessions conducted with each of four pairs of tutors and children over a 6-month period were made and analyzed to determine types of literacy strategies used. Further, teachers, tutors, and children were interviewed to determine their attitudes toward the tutoring program before and after the intervention.
Literacy achievement results
A t test conducted on each pretest score revealed no significant preintervention differences between tutored and control groups (p > .096). A repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analyze the data to determine whether there were statistically significant differences between the tutored and control groups' performance on the literacy measures.
Table 1 presents the pre- and post-test means and standard deviations for the literacy measures that were administered to all grades. Repeated measures analysis of covariance showed that the tutored group performed at a significantly higher level on the oral retelling measure than did the control group. The tutored group also obtained significantly higher scores than the control group on the probed comprehension test.
| Measures | Tutored Group (n= 40) | Control Group (n= 40) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretest | Post-test | Pretest | Post-test | |||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
| Oral story retelling | 5.75 | 4.22 | 8.97* | 2.94 | 4.94 | 3.64 | 6.78* | 2.97 |
| Probed comprehension | 15.50 | 7.49 | 23.90* | 4.38 | 12.95 | 5.97 | 19.28* | 4.96 |
Tables 2 and 3 present the results for kindergarten and Grade 1 children, who completed a writing development task and concepts about print test, and for the Grades 2 and 3 students, who completed a written retelling. The tutored group achieved higher mean gains than the control grop on each of these literacy measures, but the mean differences did not reach significance.
| Measures | Tutored Group (n= 20) | Control Group (n= 20) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretest | Post-test | Pretest | Post-test | |||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
| Oral story retelling | 3.66 | 4.03 | 7.29 | 2.58 | 4.57 | 3.84 | 6.82 | 3.00 |
| Probed comprehension | 11.50 | 6.76 | 24.45 | 4.66 | 11.15 | 5.75 | 20.55 | 4.17 |
| Writing development | 4.25 | 1.86 | 5.40 | 0.82 | 4.70 | 1.53 | 5.15 | 0.88 |
| Concepts about print | 21.75 | 9.60 | 32.65 | 4.68 | 20.70 | 9.63 | 29.25 | 4.82 |
| Measures | Tutored Group (n= 20) | Control Group (n= 20) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pretest | Post-test | Pretest | Post-test | |||||
| Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | Mean | SD | |
| Oral story retelling | 7.84 | 3.33 | 10.66 | 2.26 | 5.32 | 3.48 | 6.75 | 3.01 |
| Probed comprehension | 19.50 | 5.99 | 23.35 | 4.12 | 14.75 | 5.78 | 18.00 | 5.44 |
| Written retelling | 5.05 | 2.56 | 9.69 | 3.19 | 5.42 | 3.54 | 8.68 | 3.01 |
Given the relatively small sample size at each grade level, inference statistics were not used to analyze performance by grade. However, examination of students' average total literacy mean scores by grade suggests that the tutored students in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade averaged more improvement than did their counterparts in the control group (see Figure 1). In contrast, the third-grade students did not appear to follow this trend.
When looking at the oral retelling data by individual grade, the greatest differences in gains were in kindergarten, first, and second grades (see Figure 2). This pattern is consistent with that obtained for the overall scores.
The tutored group in grades K-2 also obtained higher scores on the probed comprehension measure, while the third grade tutored group achieved a lower mean gain score than the control group (see Figure 3). On all measures, the third graders in both the tutored and control groups tended to make smaller gains than students in the earlier grades.
In the concepts about print (CAP) test, given only to kindergarten and first-grade children, the tutored group scored slightly higher than the control group (see Figure 4). Not surprisingly, kindergarten children in both groups made strong gains on this measure. By the beginning of first grade, many children have learned the skills on this assessment, leaving less room for improvement.
Responses of teachers, tutors, and children
The interview data collected from teachers, tutors, and children were particularly interesting. Twelve teachers who had tutors working in their kindergarten through third-grade classrooms were interviewed to determine their perceptions of the benefits of the tutoring program, what they liked about the program, and what they felt could be improved. Teachers thought the most important accomplishment of the tutors was in helping children who were struggling with reading and writing. Teachers felt these children had benefited from the individualized attention, and that gains in literacy development had resulted. Teachers also appreciated the warm rapport the tutors had established with their students, believing that this raised the children's self-esteem and contributed to their developing a more positive attitude toward reading.
Teachers believed that the program could be improved by having more tutors available to accommodate more children, and more materials for tutors to use. They also would have appreciated more interaction with the tutors to discuss the children's needs and progress. Some teachers noted that scheduling tutoring sessions during the school day had sometimes been difficult and recommended that a special time during the day or after school be set aside for the tutoring program.
When asked who could most benefit from the tutoring program, teachers listed children with the following characteristics:
Teachers also indicated that they believed children with behavior problems might benefit particularly from one-on-one work with a college student.
Teachers perceived the following strategies used by the tutors as being particularly helpful:
The 35 tutors were interviewed to determine their attitudes about tutoring in relation to perceived benefits to the children, their evaluation of their tutoring, materials used, what they liked about the program, and what they felt could be improved. Strategies, materials, and activities tutors reported as valued for the tutoring sessions included
Tutors were also asked, “What is the most difficult part of tutoring?” Their responses are instructive for anyone planning a tutoring program. The tutors expressed concern about their ability to keep students' attention, motivate the children, determine the children's specific needs and ways to address them, obtain appropriate materials to work with, and avoid frustration when children seem not to understand what is being taught.
It is also interesting to note tutors' responses to what they saw as the difference between the role of the teacher and that of the tutor. They indicated that tutors can be less formal and have more fun with children than teachers can, and they are able to reinforce what the teacher has taught. One said, “As a tutor I can meet individual needs since I'm working one on one with the child.” And another accurately noted, “The tutor does not have the experience or knowledge of a classroom teacher and should provide support for them.”
Although the formal experimental group for the full study included only 40 students, a total of 91 children in the school district participated in the America Reads project during the study period. All were interviewed to determine their attitudes toward the tutoring program and their tutors. When asked if they would like to have a tutor at school, 96 percent of the children said yes. When asked why, children responded with comments such as “Because I can't read very good,” “Because I want to read better,” “To help me when I don't know stuff,” “I want to learn more,” “I want to get better grades,” “I like to get help when I need it,” and “The tutor makes me feel good and smart.” Children thought that tutors should be friendly, helpful, and gentle, and able to listen well.
When asked, “What did your tutor help you with?” children's responses included
Tutoring strategies
Tutors in this America Reads program exposed their students to a wide variety of reading experiences and used a range of strategies, including the following:
Was the program successful?
Children in the experimental group did benefit from being tutored. On two of the four literacy measures they scored significantly higher than the children who did not receive tutoring. On two measures administered across grade levels, the most signifcant improvements were noted in kindergarten and first grade; improvement was less marked in second and third grades. There could be several reasons for this. It may be easier to show gains with younger children than with those who have been struggling longer. It was also apparent from interview data that the kindergarten and first-grade teachers liked having the tutors and provided them with more support than did the second- and third-grade teachers. They discussed with the tutors the help the children needed, they gave tutors materials, and they set aside time for the tutoring to take place in the regular school day. At the second- and third-grade levels, some teachers expressed frustration with scheduling difficulties and a sense that the tutoring program had interfered with regular instruction.
Interviews with teachers, tutors, and children suggest a very positive outcome overall from the program. A review of the responses of children indicates that they were motivated by tutors to read and to read well. And, despite the problems that occurred, especially in second and third grades, interview data demonstrate that teachers, tutors, and children enjoyed the experience, and all wanted the program to continue with some modifications. The participants felt that the tutoring was of great value for literacy improvement. These data are validated by the fact that at the beginning of the academic year following the study, all teachers who participated previously asked for America Reads tutors again.
In this preliminary study of the effects of a volunteer tutoring program on literacy achievement and attitudes there are indications of modest, and in some cases statistically significant, gains. Further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm the impact tutors can have on student achievement and to determine the best way to prepare and supervise tutors.
Lessons learned Program participants learned many important lessons about starting and maintaining a tutoring program from this research study. Following are several suggestions for colleges and universities and school districts:
Final Thoughts
No matter what the tutor's age or experience, she or he has the potential to help students who are struggling with literacy acquisition. The personal, one-on-one support that tutors can provide motivates students as they experience success. Work-study students from universities or colleges, as well as other interested members of the community, can make valuable contributions to ambitious and important efforts to assist struggling readers. As one tutor in this America Reads program stated, “Each child I work with has his or her own special and unique gifts. Finding their strengths and using them to overcome their weaknesses is the rewarding challenge that comes with being a tutor.”
References
Clay, M.M. (1985). Early detection of reading difficulties (3rd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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Morris, D., Shaw, B., & Perney, J. (1990). Helping low readers in grade 2 and 3: An after-school volunteer tutoring program. Elementary School Journal, 91(2), 132-150.
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Morrow, L.M. (1992). The impact of a literature-based program on literacy achievement, use of literature, and attitudes of children from minority backgrounds. Reading Research Quarterly, 27(2), 250-275.
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Morrow, L.M., & Walker, B.J. (1997). The reading team: A handbook for volunteer tutors K-3. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
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Neuman, S.B. (1995). Reading Together: A community-supported parent tutoring program. Reading Teacher, 49, 120-129.
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Pearson, P.D. (1996). Conclusion: Reclaiming the center. In M.F. Graves, P.W. van den Brock, & B.M. Taylor (Eds.), The first R: Every child's right to read (pp. 259-274). Newark, DE/New York: International Reading Association/Teachers College Press.
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About the Authors
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Lesley Mandel Morrow chairs the Department of Learning and Teaching and is a professor of early childhood and literacy at the Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, United States. She has published widely in both journals and books and is a frequent conference presenter. Her next book, the fourth edition of Literacy Development in the Early Years: Helping Children Read and Write, will be published by Allyn & Bacon in 2001. She has served on the Board of Directors of the International Reading Association and is currently on the board of the National Reading Conference, and she is the recipient of numerous awards, including the International Reading Association's Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading award; Rutgers University's Research, Teaching and Service award; the Fordham University Outstanding Alumni Achievement award; and the New Jersey Teaching Association's Distinguished Service award. She can be reached by e-mail at lmorro@rci.rutgers.edu. |
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Deborah Gee Woo is a doctoral student and teaching assistant in the Department of Learning and Teaching at Rutgers University, where for 3 years she was program coordinator for the America Reads project. She taught in Montessori preschools for 6 years and is coauthor of Literacy Instruction in Half- and Whole-Day Kindergarten (with Lesley Mandel Morrow and Dorothy S. Strickland). Deborah was engaged by the National Research Center on English Learning & Achievement to assist in the investigation of the practices and beliefs of exemplary first-grade teachers. She has been a contributor to the Highlights for Children parent involvement newsletter and a presenter at conventions of the International Reading Association and National Reading Conference. Her doctoral research focuses on early literacy tutoring. Reach her by e-mail at DebWoo@aol.com. |
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Adah Radzin is a doctoral student at Rutgers University and a reading specialist at Delaware Township School in Sergeantsville, New Jersey. She is currently continuing research on the America Reads tutoring program, and is particularly interested in the interaction between tutor and tutee during the tutoring session. She can be contacted at radzin@ptd.net. |
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Citation: Morrow, L.M., Woo, D.G., & Radzin, A. (2000, October). Implementation of an America Reads tutoring program. Reading Online, 4(4). Available: http://www.readingonline.org/articles/art_index.asp?HREF=/articles/morrow/index.html
Reading Online, www.readingonline.org
Posted October 2000
© 2000 International Reading Association, Inc. ISSN 1096-1232