Welcome to the weekly Tutor Tuesday blog!
This week we have both a literacy lesson and a read aloud. We hope you enjoy both!
Literacy Learning
Sequencing refers to putting events or information in a specific order. It helps readers understand the order of events and deepens comprehension. Students who struggle with traditional strategies used to teach sequence seem to succeed with creating and using comics to develop this skill. We invite you to preview the links and documents below to learn more about using comics with your student. We think you’ll both enjoy these activities.
Classroom-Friendly Websites and Apps for Making Comics
Use these great creation tools to help students learn cartooning and sequencing fundamentals, or just express themselves and demonstrate learning. Tutors might also create comics to put a fun, accessible spin on a new book. As always—make sure you practice creating before your tutoring session.
How to Create a Comic Strip With Your Students in 7 Easy Steps Creating comics may help your student develop a love of reading and improve their handwriting, without them even realizing it! This link includes a quick one-minute video on the process.
Great links for using comics as a tool for teaching sequencing:
Facilitator Shout Out
Oasis School District Facilitators are important partners in the Oasis Tutoring Program. Each week we will highlight one of them.
Dr. Stefanie Steffan is Coordinator of Elementary Literacy and Title Program for Rockwood School District. Rockwood provides students with Oasis Tutors in all nineteen elementary schools. Stefanie has been an Oasis District Facilitator for nine years. She loves how positive tutors are about their students and how much they enjoy being in the school buildings. During the Covid-19 break from school, Stefanie says she misses her colleagues and visiting schools. She was also very disappointed that it was necessary to cancel the tutor appreciation/recognition luncheon. It is Stefanie’s favorite lunch of the year and she enjoys choosing a new, creative theme each year.
Like many other school districts across the country, Rockwood School District is connecting to students through emails, Zoom video conferences, Google classroom, and old-fashioned phone calls.
Stefanie has this special message to Oasis tutors,
“Please take care of yourselves! We want you to be healthy and able to return to tutoring in the future. I’m sure your students miss you as much as you miss them. This is such a difficult time for everyone but we are all in this together.”
Book Section
“Sometimes love looks like braids, puffs, and twists.” – Matthew A. Cherry
Melissa Rumph, Oasis RSVP Grant Coordinator – St. Clair County, Illinois shares the book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry.
The film “Hair Love” won an Oscar in February 2020 in the category of Best Animated Short Film. Here is the link to watch the film: https://youtu.be/kNw8V_Fkw28
If you would like to learn more about Matthew A. Cherry, here is his website: http://www.matthewacherry.com/
Healthy Mind and Body
This week we direct your attention to an online resource Oasis is offering while Oasis centers nationwide are closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Oasis proudly offers is a FREE online Tai Chi for Arthritis for Falls Prevention program facilitated by none other than Craig Miller, Tai Chi for Arthritis and Fall Prevention Senior Trainer.
Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese tradition, is practiced as a graceful form of exercise. Learn Sun Style Tai Chi utilizing a series of slow, focused movements and deep breathing to relieve pain, reduce stress, and decrease fall risk while improving balance, muscular strength, coordination, confidence and mood. In this class, you will learn the Basic 6 and Advanced 6 forms.
You can participate by registering for class Oasis #1445, and we will email you instructions for immediate access.
Share with friends and family. Everyone is welcome to join in on the fun.
Oasis is committed to staying connected. So, let’s keep moving and learning together!
Check out the St. Louis Oasis website for more information on Tai Chi instructor Craig Miller or for highlights on Oasis happenings, st-louis.oasisnet.org.
Are you looking for something to do while you are at home?
Lutheran Senior Services has reached out to Oasis and shared a need their sites have for face masks.
As you have most likely heard, there continues to be a shortage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as goggles, gloves, gowns, and especially face masks. One solution that has been identified to help healthcare personnel is homemade face masks. At LSS communities, these homemade masks would help to conserve commercially made masks for staff caring for residents and will provide an emergency supply should we need it.
This YouTube video (www.lss.today/masks) is a face mask tutorial created by one of our communities. Labeled boxes are outside of each community’s main entrance where you can drop off face masks. Community staff will ensure the face masks are appropriately sanitized for use.
If you have any questions or would like to coordinate someone to pick up face masks, please contact Gina Timme via email or call 314.373.4094
The Oasis tutoring staff is enjoying hearing how you are utilizing the Tutor Tuesday resources both now with your grandchildren and in the fall with your students. Please keep the comments and suggestions for future content coming! Share your comments or thoughts below in the comments section.
See you next week!
Oasis Tutoring Team
I am still reading with one of my students. I have two books(one of which i dropped in his mailbox) and we read together on M/W/F at 3pm. we do not facetime or zoom just read together. Its been fun and whold family sometimes joins in for a listen. Of course I spoke to his mother before i initiated contact.
Sarah Striler
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for reading the blog and commenting. Everyone loves a great read aloud.