Tips for tutoring a gr.1 child? Concentration problems. Please help...?

Question

I´ve been asked to help a neighbour´s child in Gr.1, who is having troubles at school. She already took a pre-gr.1 preparation class (here in Germany) because she was considered to be "behind" other kindergarten kids. She still has great trouble remembering things taught, can´t sit still for more than 2 minutes and has trouble concentrating. She also learns more slowly than others, but tries hard.

She is usually able to do her homework fairly well, but is a disturbance to the class. Other than obvious ADHS-considerations, how could I help her besides reviewing school work? Any suggestions for concentration excersices? Other ideas?

I think I will offer to help her 2 times a week, 1/2 sessions. Any good warm-ups etc?

Thank you so much?

Answer 1

Most big towns have stores for teachers, visit and ask They have great programs and advice.

Answer 2

To start with her, you have to figure out her level, and work a little below it so she doesn't get frustrated. For her sitting, try having lay on her belly on the floor while writing. Sometimes different types of pressure helps. In school, she can try a Movin Sit cushion. It helps so many kids. It's a rubber, air filled wedge, and it gives kids a little room to wiggle without disturbing others.

Take movement breaks. Have her do jumping jacks, roll her up in blankets like a taco and "squeeze" the sauces out (pushing on her body up and down the blanket). Large excersize balls are also good for sitting still. When using the ball, she has to pay more attention to her body, while doing her work, and usually helps keep focus longer.

When my daughter is way too hyper for sitting (she has Autism and serious sensory issues) I let her sit on stacked bean bag chairs at the table, or she can do her work on a platform swing. I let her write her spelling words with different colors to keep her interest. I also quiz her while she's on a swing. Some kids can think and focus better while moving. You could also put spelling (or vocabulary, or numbers) words on paper (one word per paper) and have her jump on the word you said.

You just have to keep her moving and reward her every couple of minutes with a movement break, and a short fun game. Gradually increase the time she has to spend in the chair before she gets a game. You could also get a timer that's visual. Each block of a few minutes lights up in a different color, making it easier for her to see how much time is left before a game.

Answer 3

A short attention span suggests changing topic regularly, every ten minutes, but you can cycle topics.

Also it will help immensely if you can find something the child can relate to and make associations between the two topics.  If you can make associations between what you are teaching and her daily rituals she will be reminded of the lesson every day.

Answer 4

make it fun. she might just be a slow learner it might help to repeat grade 1. try singing or acting out the work she wont have to sit still and will remember the work if its a song good luck

Answer 5

You will need to make her your friend... once she is comfortable with you, she will relax and do her work.

The tip here is to not make her anxious or stressed in any way, as that will lead to concentration problems.

Play a game involving her school work and small pop quiz that you know she knows to boost her confidence with a few questions in between about things you want to check her on.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Fun, fun fun. Play games but keep them short. Put a few items on a tray let her study them cover them and ask her to name the items. Then take one away and see if she can guess what is missing.

Building towers with blocks give her a pattern to follow 2 blue 1 red etc. Make it simple at first so she had to remember just a few instructions and build on it when her concentration gets better.

Story telling, you start and let her give a sentence then you repeat your and her sentence untill you have a little story.

Make a star chart and decide how long she must concentrate to get get a star. Start with the minimum and work up. Then every say 20 stars she gets to choose an activity she like.

Praise and encouragement will soon have her on track.

Answer 7

I agree with the previous answers that making it fun is the way to go.However, if you could talk to the teacher she had, or maybe the Mom and Dad, to find out her learning style IE; is she a visual learner etc.Knowing what has worked with her before would be useful.

You may find working with clay helpful with remembering things.My son knew his letters and numbers very well but had trouble remembering the order of them in things like his zip code and phone number until we made them with clay.After just one day of making them out of clay,he never forgot them.

Taking breaks with the visual timer is also a great idea!

Answer 8

Don't wait for the child to do unruly things before giving her attention.

Let the mother spend extra time for the child.

Try to experiment on what things sustain her attention.  Slowly bring that to classroom setting.

Be patient with slow learners.  There are late bloomers, anyway.

Being disturbant to the class is an adult notion, let other children react naturally to her.  She will learn from their reactions.

Answer 9

A child with ADHD has difficulty concentrating but most chldren will eventually "grow out" of this disorder. Okay I would really like to help but I am not an expert in this field. You should get expert advice. Why don't you get help from other experienced tutors. Try http://www.tuitionplaza.com/tutoring/ -a site where many tutors & retired teachers hang out

Answer 10

At the beginning of sessions, let the child know how long she will need to concentrate and make a goal for her to get through. Periodically update her on the remaining time. "Wow we only have fifteen minutes to go, we're half way there." As her attention drifts, remind her of how much longer she has to go to make it to the goal and reward her well for her concentration efforts.

Strong memorization comes from repetition of short spans. For example, if you show her a paragraph, have her only memorize the first two words, then take the page away and ask her the two. She'll easily recite them, show her the paragraph again and add one more word to the challenge then take the visual away again. Always have her start from the beginning and keep adding words one at a time. She will be forced to repeat earlier words as she struggles to remember the newest words. This technique allows anyone to memorize books. I used it during my acting studies. Teach her to do it on her own and she will enjoy studying more. It will accelerate her learning and help her catch up.

Answer 11

Try a tutoring method that she has to interact with such as a computer game for learning her letters and numbers. Things that she will find interesting and that  hold her attention, keep her mind busy. Keep her actively involve with all you teach. Find out what holds her attention the longest and use that as a starting point for everything else. Also you might try to tutor her in a place where there is little to no distractions.

At six years old she is trying to take in everything around her and she is probably overwhelmed by it all rushing by.

Good Luck!