Teaching Materials

All of the materials described here have been developed specifically for use with tutoring students. Some may also be useful in a classroom.

I hope you find something here that is useful to you. I will add materials over time and would be very interested in any feedback you have. Contact me by email (susan@morristutoring.com) or phone (602-280-7799).

I will be adding information over time about other materials that I have created. Look for updates on Facebook -- if you use it and are among those who "like" us, you will be notified as blogs or new materials are posted. If you’re not on FB, you can come back to the site and check. . .

Home-School Communication
Language Arts
Grades K-3
Grades 3-12
Math
Grades K-3
Grades 3-8

HOME-SCHOOL COMMUNICATION

Student Performance Report - one class
Student Performance Report - all classes

LANGUAGE ARTS - Grades K-3

LETTER FORMATION - Many tutoring students never learned to form letters in an efficient, left-to right way. In grades K-2, it’s usually possible to re-teach this, which helps eliminate reversals, and enables the student to print more quickly and legibly (after practice, of course), and be better prepared for cursive.
"2 o’clock Letters" practice Other letters start with the crucial C
shape and, without lifting pencil from paper, can be magically turned into other letters: o, a, d, g, q and (though not a full "c"shape), f.
"Bouncy Letters" practice Some letters, when formed correctly, start at the top, go down to baseline and bounce back up: r, n, m, h, p, b

SPELLING - I have never taught a homogeneous group of students who all study the same list of words, so I made this generic set of exercises that can be used with any list of words that is based on phonetic (sound) patterns / elements. Thus began Martian Spelling, so named by a sweet 2nd-grader 20 years ago, and so it will remain! Teacher/tutor gives each student a list of target words sharing a common phonetic pattern (e.g. CVC, consonant blends, etc.) on a separate sheet of paper. The student practices the words by 1) putting them in ABC order, 2) writing a rhyming word, 3) "teacher’s choice" - may be writing the target word in cursive, writing a word that starts or ends with the same letter as the target word, 4) writing a sentence using the target word and (optional) 5) drawing a picture that represents each target word. There is a choice of number of words in each list: 8 or 10 words with primary lines for younger students, 10 words for those who can write words legibly without the middle dotted line.
Martian Spelling suggested word lists
Martian Spelling 8-word primary worksheet
Martian Spelling 10-word primary worksheet
Martian Spelling 10-word regular worksheet
Martian Spelling optional drawing page (usable with any of the worksheets)

SPELLING / WRITING sentences or short paragraphs, stories - this is a ridiculously simple form that I’ve used when students have certain sight words that are difficult for them to spell. Somehow using them to write sentences, etc., referring to the correct spelling as needed seems to integrate the words into memory more solidly than just working on them in isolation.
Target Words - sentences or story

LANGUAGE ARTS - Grades 3-12

READING VOCABULARY - When I read, I don’t like to interrupt the flow to look up a word I don’t know. Unless understanding it is crucial to comprehension, I pencil it and the page number on the title page or anywhere there’s a blank space. When I’m done reading - sometimes a chapter, sometimes the whole book -- I go back and look up the words in the dictionary, re-reading the passage where each word appeared. By doing so, I find that either 1) my use of context clues had led me to intuit the correct meaning of the word, OR 2) that I was wildly wrong. Either way, I remember the word and its meaning far better than I would have if I had followed my teachers’ advice to STOP AND LOOK IT UP [IN THE LEAST ABRIDGED DICTIONARY YOU CAN FIND]. As a tutor, I can appear to be far more reasonable by suggesting my approach. Hence,
Bookmark vocabulary (print on card stock)
[Of course the ease of finding definitions online makes this less an issue, but still. . .]

GRAMMAR (probably most appropriate for grades 7-10, depending on at what point parts of speech, sentence structure, direct / indirect objects, predicate nouns / adjectives and verbals are introduced or reviewed.)
These have been very useful in the tutoring setting, and may be helpful in the classroom, too. I have used the parts of speech (hereafter POS) pre/post test as part of an informal evaluation along with a quick vocabulary survey (from the old Test of Written Language) and a prompt for a writing sample. The pre/post test requests definitions and/or examples of each POS. The results are always interesting (and occasionally entertaining!).

* I am "beta testing" the following diagrams. If you would like a copy without the SAMPLE watermark, please email me at susan@morristutoring.com. I will send you a clean copy if you agree to 1) stay in touch with me about how you use it and what changes, corrections or improvements you would suggest, and 2) share it with other teachers ONLY if they agree to the same terms.

Parts of Speech pre-/post-test
The POS diagram is one page that gives definitions and many examples of all POS, including examples of specifics within each POS, e.g. NOUNS that are concrete /abstract, singular/plural, common/proper, collective, compound, VERBS that are action/linking or can be used either way, ADVERBS that tell how/when/where/to what extent, etc. I mostly use it with grades 7 and up. Many students have "sort of" learned parts of speech, often by rote: "person, place or thing," "action word," "describing word," but cannot give more than primitive examples of the POS they know. And many know the names of the POS, but can’t remember which definition goes with which. Most of all, they don’t understand the value in knowing POS and have not found learning them useful or interesting. This diagram was designed to address that lack of knowledge and increase students’ ability to apply it.
*Parts of Speech diagram
The structure of sentence diagram covers a lot of territory, too, from "very BASIC SENTENCES" (noun & verb), to "more INTERESTING SENTENCES"(adjectives & adverbs, direct object, indirect object, predicate noun and predicate adjective), to "SENTENCES that start to shine" (adjectival and adverbial prepositional phrases, variation in word order). Again, very useful as a structured illustration of what these terms mean and how using them well leads to writing that someone would actually want to read!
* Structure of Sentence diagram
Verbals are very confusing to many students. This diagram gives a crossword-like mnemonic to remember what participles, gerunds and infinitives are and what roles they play in sentences. Unlike the previous two diagrams, this one includes practice in identifying how each verbal is used in sample sentences.
* Verbals diagram

MATH - Grades K-3

NUMERAL FORMATION - Just as with letter formation, unconventional ways of forming numerals makes legibility a real impediment: it’s bad enough that the teacher can’t read the work, even worse that the students themselves can’t! The first two are general teaching of numerals 0-9 (all dotted with arrows) and 0-9 with one dotted, arrowed model and space for more practice.
Numeral writing 0-9 intro
Numeral writing 0-9 practice
When students’ difficulty with numeral formation stems from laterality issues, I first make sure their left / right sense is intact (marching, clapping games, etc.), then introduce the numerals in groups: the "drop down" numbers (1, 4, 5), the "start left, move right" numbers (2, 3, 7), then the "start right, move left" numbers (6, 8, 9 and 0). We make it a chant: "Drop down numbers 1, 4, 5; left to right 2, 3, 7; right to left, 6, 8, 9, 0." Yeah, it doesn’t rhyme, but it’s still chantable.
Numeral writing 0-9 laterality intro
Numeral writing 0-9 laterality practice
Having learned the chant, this worksheet says, "You’re on your own now:"
Numeral writing 1,4,5 - 2,3,7 - 6,8,9,0                  

ADDITION / SUBTRACTION (number family approach) - I was an odd child, I guess. I loved to play with dominos - not the actual game, but to arrange them in a large diamond from double zero at the bottom to double nine at the top. When introducing addition and subtraction or sharing a new appreciation of patterns with students, I start getting out some double-nine dominoes (with each number in a different color, no less - these are available at Walgreens, Target, etc.) and doing exactly that. These worksheets replicate that diamond on 2 sheets of paper, the bottom half of the diamond on the first page, the top half on the second. The "completed" sheets show the number pattern that will make the number families clear, e.g., the nines include 9 + 0, 8 + 1, 7 + 2, 6 + 3, and 5 + 4 (in that order). Have the students study the completed diamond to find how the pattern works, then fill in (from memory, if possible) the one with blanks.
Number Family Diamond, 0-18 completed (2 pages)
Number Family Diamond, 0-18 blank (2 pages)
For fun, AND added reinforcement of number families, here are actual domino cards, with the same colors as the dominoes (at least the ones I have). The sum is printed on the back of each card. Since subtraction is the real test of whether the families are known and understood, an activity that can be done with the domino cards is to pull all of the cards with a particular sum (e.g. all those with "12" printed on the back), fold the card back half way to reveal one set of dots from the opposite side (e.g. 4 dots), and ask the student how many dots must be on the hidden face of the card (in this case, 8).
Dominoes 0-18 FRONT(print on card stock)
Dominoes 0-18 BACK
Here are flash cards, color-coded with addition on one side, related subtraction on other. I like to teach adding zeroes, tens and doubles first:
Flashcards for Add-Subtract 0, 10, doubles FRONT
Flashcards for Add-Subtract 0, 10, doubles BACK
Then the rest of the number families:
Flashcards for Add-Subtract 0-18 FRONT
Flashcards for Add-Subtract 0-18 BACK

PLACE VALUE - This is another ridiculously simple form that is a good adjunct to teaching place value. Suggested uses: 1) Dictate numbers that students write into appropriate columns, or (more fun) 2) Have the students fill in one line with random digits and show them how to read the completed number with correct place value nomenclature. Use the opportunity to introduce the paradox that many kids I teach haven’t fully understood: lines of text are aligned on the left margin when writing, but numbers, when arranged for computation, are aligned on the right (next to the ones column).
Place value chart - whole numbers
Less ridiculously simple, here are some worksheets to introduce breaking multi-digit numbers down into simple expanded notation (e.g. 841 à 800 + 40 + 1). Each page includes a completed example as well as ample space for practice. Just make up some numbers or have the students do so.
Expanded notation of tens
Expanded notation of hundreds
Expanded notation of thousands
Expanded notation of ten-thousands
Expanded notation of hundred-thousands

ROUNDING to tens, hundreds, thousands - This is a demonstration that I find useful because it gives a visual, concrete image of finding the nearest. . . for example, on the thermometer it’s easy to see that 46 is closer to 50 than it is to 40. I have found this very helpful adjunct for many kids since verbal instructions for rounding can be confusing.
ROUNDING THERMOMETERS

 

MATH - grades 3-8

PLACE VALUE - I include the place value chart for whole numbers from the K-3 section and add one for whole number and decimals. Again, if you dictate numbers with decimals, e.g., 23 and 67 thousandths, the student will place the 67 in such a way that the 7 is in the thousandths place, thus seeing that a zero will have to be inserted to hold the tenths place (23.067). Use these as you wish and let me know if you see a way to make them more useful.
PLACE VALUE CHART whole numbers
PLACE VALUE CHART whole & decimal

MULTIPLICATION & DIVISION - CONCEPTUAL UNDERPINNINGS - The longer I teach the more I am convinced that while dry memorization of math facts is important can increase efficiency, students benefit in the long run from simultaneous introduction of concepts and practical applications of math. When students have "aha" moments about number patterns and relationships, concepts make more sense and the rote memorization doesn’t seem so daunting. First, simple skip-counting: use highlighters to color the sequence of numbers in each set of facts. The experience is fun and provides an introduction to divisibility patterns in a visual as well as conceptual way.
SKIP-COUNT charts to 10
SKIP-COUNT charts to 12

MULTIPLICATION & DIVISION - FACT MEMORIZATION - I am a strong proponent of automatic knowledge of math facts. I also champion a particular sequence in which to present them, and can share some conventional and invented (by kids mostly) tricks to help with memorizing the hard ones. Lately, I’ve realized that you’re missing a good bet if you don’t throw kids immediately into algorithms as each set of facts is learned. Much more to come on this subject!

FACTORING & DIVISIBILITY - I believe that the reason division is generally more difficult for kids than multiplication is that they learn the facts from the multiplication point of view and are then taught that division is the inverse operation. Of course it is, but learning to factor will reinforce both multiplication and division AND be very useful in algebra as well.

So, here are some cards that simply have products of simple multiplication facts on one side and the factors on the back. Why? Because
1) at some point, students need to simply see the number 63 and know instantly that 7 and 9 are among its factors, and
2) students that come for tutoring often have trouble in class because the assumption is made that "anyone who knows that 7 x 9 is 63 should be able to look at the number 63 and know that its factors include 7 & 9." This simply isn’t so for every kid. Making this connection explicit pulls everything together AND leads to further exploration into factors and divisibility.

These first two sets of cards show products on one side, factors on the other. The first set is products to 100 (facts through tens), the second set is products to 144 (facts through twelves). Only exact products obtained by multiplication facts are represented, i.e., no 34 or 57 or 61, so prime numbers are not yet introduced at this point, although each card includes 1 times the product as a factor set.
Find factors of products - facts through 10 x 10 cards FRONT
Find factors of products - facts through 10 x 10 cards BACK
Find factors of products - facts through 12 x 12 cards FRONT
Find factors of products - facts through 12 x 12 cards BACK
Now the DIVISIBILITY fun begins! To teach the Rules of Divisibility, we go back to a 1-100 chart, highlight the multiples of a number and see if we can figure out a rule for numbers that are divisible by that factor. First, the easy ones: 10, 5, and 2. Most kids can figure these out easily. Then, 3, 9 and 6, which they will likely need help with, but the summing of digits is not hard once learned. Finally, 4 and 8. There is a rule for finding whether a number is divisible by 7, but it’s REALLY complicated and not particularly helpful (or, to my mind, worth the trouble).
Discovering the Rules of Divisibility charts CHART 1 CHART 2
Rules of Divisibility (in case you’re not sure about them)
As the rules of divisibility are discovered, here is a set of cards of ALL numbers 0-144, including primes.  On the back of each card is the set of whole numbers factors AND prime factorization.  The Learning and Games suggests some ways of using these cards and the Rules of Divisibility to teach prime factorization.
Find factors - ALL 0-144 cards FRONT
Find factors - ALL 0-144 cards BACK
Rules of Divisibility - Learning and Games
Why focus so much on divisibility? I say because it’s fun and it helps show that math problems are puzzles, not problems. Wikipedia says, "Determining the prime factors of a number is an example of a problem frequently used to ensure cryptographic security in encryption systems; this problem is believed to require super-polynomial time in the number of digits- it is relatively easy to construct a problem that would take longer than the known age of the Universe to calculate on current computers using current algorithms." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_factor  So there!

FRACTIONS - Students have the misconception that since whole number adding and subtracting is relatively easy and multiplying and dividing is more advanced and more difficult, the same will be true for fraction operations. These flow charts make clear that the opposite is true: multiplication and division of fractions is MUCH simpler than adding and subtracting.

* I am "beta testing" the following chart. If you would like a copy without the SAMPLE watermark, please email me at susan@morristutoring.com. I will send you a clean copy if you agree to 1) stay in touch with me about how you use it and what changes, corrections or improvements you would suggest, and 2) share it with other teachers ONLY if they agree to the same terms.

*FRACTION FLOW CHART add subt
*FRACTION FLOW CHART mult div

FRACTIONS - DECIMALS - PERCENTS - Facility in converting back & forth among these ways of representing parts of a whole is essential. The first of these worksheets gives a fraction that students change to a decimal, rounding to the hundredth. The percent is, of course, derived from the decimal, but they are asked to use a fraction, not a decimal, in the percent. Example: 2/11 = .18 = 18-1/11%
FRACTION to DECIMAL then PERCENT
This one is practically blank, but teacher can dictate either a fraction, decimal or percent for each item, then the student(s) figure out the other ones.
FRACTION - DECIMAL - PERCENT

INTEGERS - The concept of negative numbers is difficult to explain in a concrete way. I’ve seen a football field with yard lines as an example, I’ve experienced a bank account that goes below zero, but students’ eyes sometimes glaze over when I try to convince them that owing money means that you have less than nothing. Thermometers, of course, actually go below zero, so that’s a good visual:

* I am "beta testing" the following number lines. If you would like a copy without the SAMPLE watermark, please email me at susan@ morristutoring.com). I will send you a clean copy if you agree to 1) stay in touch with me about how you use it and what changes, corrections or improvements you would suggest, and 2) share it with other teachers ONLY if they agree to the same terms.

*INTEGER Thermometer Number Lines (print on card stock)
For kids who live in Phoenix, where the temperature is never below zero, another image that I’ve found useful is being above ground or below ground with the ground level representing zero:
*INTEGER Ladder Number Lines (print on card stock)

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