So-- What's a Tutor to Do? [Paperback]

Cathy M. Roller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 1998 | ISBN-10: 087207191X | ISBN-13: 978-0872071919

This complement to Cathy M. Roller's "Variability Not Disability" provides both a general outline of how a tutoring session should be structured and specific suggestions and strategies for each segment of the session. The author's concise description of the tutoring session and the principles of good tutoring will guide even the most inexperienced volunteer tutors. Although the book is intended for tutors, it will be most effective if it is used under the direction of a qualified reading specialist. "For the Supervisor" sections at the end of each chapter provide tips for the reading specialist who is training the tutor.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Most volunteer tutors are skilled readers who want to share this skill with someone else. But what does it take to be an effective tutor? Can tutors teach children to read? Cathy M. Roller argues in her introduction to "So... What's a Tutor to Do?" that the goal of having every child read by the end of third grade can be realized only if tutors are trained properly. The author who designed this book to complement her 1996 book about teaching struggling readers, "Variability Not Disability", describes best practices based on her own years of tutoring experience.

Calling for tutor training programs to "do it right," Roller outlines research in reading and writing development as a basis for the tutoring session. Her concise description of the tutoring session and the principles of good tutoring will guide even the most inexperienced volunteer. She also provides specific suggestions and strategies for each segment of the session and reassures volunteer tutors at every stop. In addition, a section at the end of each chapter titled "For the Supervisor" explains how trainers best can teach tutors to use the strategies. The concluding chapter, also designed for tutoring supervisors, describes how to establish a tutoring program locally.

This accessible text, full of solid information and tips for tutoring, will appeal to volunteer tutors and the reading specialists who train them.

About the Author

Cathy M. Roller is a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: International Reading Association (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087207191X
• ISBN-13: 978-0872071919
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #830,533 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Disappointment., January 9, 2006

By 

James B. Johnson (HUDSON, FL United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: So-- What's a Tutor to Do? (Paperback)

My chief problem with this book is how the author seems obsessed with protecting the child's self-esteem from failure and "peer review." Self-esteem is her destination, not literacy. Roller, if youre reading this, the kid already knows he's a loser-frog, and his peers merely confirm his beliefs. As if the need for a tutor doesnt get the idea across with a bull-horn and searchlights. Competence takes care of self-esteem. Teach a kid how to spell the 50 most common words, and his problem is half-whupped. Increase his vocabulary to the 3000 most common words, and he's good to go 98 to 99 percent of the time....for life. It's that simple.