Teaching Supplies for Tutors

Do you have teaching supplies that help you to effectively teach the students that you tutor? When you are concentrating on certain skills to help students meet specific academic goals, the teaching supplies that you use can make a difference in how the student learns. Many times as teachers, tutors, and homeschool parents you are presented with an overwhelming selection of materials to use for instruction. How do you figure out what teaching supplies provide the best instruction and learning opportunities for your students? Here are some things to think about as you try to make your selections for your tutoring supplies.

Use what you have access to and supplement with similar materials - Research the program that the student is currently using in his or her classroom. Ask the student what materials they can borrow from the classroom to use during tutoring activities. If learning sight words are one of the student's goals, then buy index cards and write the words on the cards. Keep things simple and inexpensive. Maybe borrow some unifix cubes or other math manipulatives from the classroom to help with homework assignments and supplemental activities.
Use a variety of teacher resources - It is easy to find one publisher that you really love and continue to buy and use their books and products; however, you might be surprised by the ideas and lesson plans found in a different resource book. Ask your colleagues and friends for recommendations as you are searching for tutoring supplies. There are many great books designed specifically for tutoring.
Use what works best for the student - If flashcards are not helping a third grader learn her multiplication facts, try another strategy and find what does work. Even if you invest in some tutoring materials but find that they don't work for your particular student, chances are good that you can use them with another student. Organize your materials in a way that make sense to you. Hopefully, you will be able to use these items for many years to come.
Great teachers and tutors add supplies and materials to their teaching toolbox all of the time. So the next time you are thinking about adding some supplies to yours, check out www.k12schoolsupplies.net!