Kerry L.
Private tutor in Nashville, TN
Education
Lee University, Vocal Performance/M.M., December 2010 Valley Forge Christian College, Church Music/B.A. December 2006
Experience
I have taught private voice lessons for over 2 years. I can teach any age/level. I teach Classical, Broadway/Musical Theatre, Pop, Gospel, Jazz, etc. My tutoring experience began before I had my first real tutoring position. I am the second of 12 siblings (all of which are home-schooled). The grades have ranged from Kindergarten-High School. I have tutored each of them in different subjects/levels whenever they are in need of help. My first tutor position was for a 3rd grader who was home-schooled. He was slightly autistic but very bright. I had to be very patient and take more time in the teaching/explanation process for each subject covered. I identified his style of learning, and this was a great help to me in the process. He knew how to read and write very well, but did not know how to write cursive. I started teaching him cursive at the very beginning of the school year, and he was proficient by the end of the year. Our curriculum was provided by time4learning, and this was a great help in knowing what materials to cover for his grade level. We covered Math, Language Arts, Language Arts Extensions, Social Studies, Science, and Art. I also supplemented Spelling, Grammar as well as Historical important figures. I had a very successful school year with him in the amount of material we covered for each subject. My second tutor position was for a 3rd grader who was home-schooled. In my opinion, I would classify her as a "gifted" child. She is extremely smart and a quick learner. I had an interesting situation with this student. Although she was technically in 3rd grade, she could barely read. She knew all consonant sounds, but her vowel sounds were all messed up and jumbled. Her previous tutor had attempted to teach her to read by solely memorizing big words. She could memorize a hard book, but when she was given another, could not read it at all. Because of this situation, I had to go back to basic phonics and re-teach her all of her vowel sounds (short and long). After teaching her each lesson, I made sure to give spelling lists of words that I knew she would be able to learn for each phonics level we completed. After basic sounds, I went on to harder double vowel sounds and spelling lists. Because of the success that I had with the time4learning program with my last student, I used the same program for her. I also began to incorporate first grade level books that she would read to me. These were either online, or at a book store. About half way through the school year, and after months of phonics, spelling words, and reading, I began to also use a 2nd grade curriculum book that picked up to the level where she was catching up. I then began to have her do”paragraph writing" each morning. I would compose a paragraph that was comprised of words that she was learning or had learned, and I would dictate this paragraph to her one word at a time (later many words at a time), and she would write the sentences I was giving to her. This was an important supplementary part of the learning to read process for her because it was not just memorizing a bunch of spelling words. Now she had to take the phonics knowledge that she had learned and memorized and start to implement it into writing. This took a little time to get used to in the beginning, but she caught on very quickly to the process. I made sure to circle words that she had misspelled and allowed her to go back over them on her own to see if she could fix any mistakes. Then we would go over any misspelled words together. By the end of the year, she was at an almost 3rd grade spelling level and a 3rd grade reading level. She now loves to read and has read about 7 books chapter books in the past few summer months on her own. We also completed Science, Social Studies and Math. She is on a 3rd grade level track with each of these subjects as well. The subjects I have taught and (or) feel confident tutoring are as follows: Math: (Kindergarten-High School) - Counting, Adding, Subtracting, Multiplication, Division, Algebra 1 English/Writing: (Kindergarten-High School) - Basic Letters, Phonics, Spelling, Grammar, Cursive Writing, Writing Dictation, Sentence Structure, Parts of Sentence, Punctuation, Main Ideas, Writing a Paper/Report. Reading: (Kindergarten-High School) - Recognizing letters, Reading basic beginner words/books, Reading and understanding advanced books, Reading Comprehension of Fictional/Non-fiction Stories Social Studies: (Second Grade-Middle School) - Geography, Maps, Presidents, States, Important Historical Figures, Learning about other countries/cultures, US Government, Vikings, Inuits, Explorers, Timelines, World History (Renaissance - present), US History Science: (Second Grade-Elementary) - Plants, Animal Habitats, The human body and it's systems/functions, Force and Motion, Earth and Space, Scientific Investigation/Scientific Method, Matter, Energy, Motion, Ecology, Life Science. Spanish: (Kindergarten - Early High School) - I can teach conversational Spanish, verb conjugations, vocabulary, pronunciation Piano Lessons: (Any age - very beginner) - Teach notes, rhythms, clefs. Voice Lessons: (Any age - any level) - Teach any type of music genres. I specialize in Classical/Broadway, but I can teach pop, Gospel, etc. I have a lot of experience teaching different learning levels of students. I feel I have the ability to identify a student's way of learning and cater to that specific need. I do whatever it takes to help them understand material. I will draw pictures; make worksheets, diagrams, etc. I am a very patient person when I teach knowing that it may take a few days for a student to completely grasp an area of study, and that's ok. I will take as much time as needed to help them learn the material covered. I understand how to teach children how to read and write. I have the ability to explain math in a way that is not confusing. I always prep my lessons and make sure that I am completely knowledgeable of the material being covered before I begin to teach it. I want my students to feel confident knowing that I completely understand what I am teaching them. I am a very reliable tutor/teacher. I will not just "call off" because I don't feel like coming in for work. If I am ill or going to be out of town, I try to give as much notice as possible for my employers. This is only courteous and professional. I put in the hours that I am paid for and will not leave before they have concluded. I am a very honest person/employee, and I treat people with respect.
Availability
Monday at any time, Tuesday in the morning, Thursday after 9AM, Friday after 9AM
Can Meet
Up to 30 minutes away for a flat fee
Hobbies
I am a very happy, patient, kind person. I love to laugh and have fun. I love to sing and perform! I am also an Irish dancer.
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