Summer Learning Loss is Real: Summer Camps at Think! are the Solution

According to the New Jersey State Department of Education, summer learning loss is real.  “Research reported by John Hopkins National Center for Summer Learning states that: It is important for students to keep their skills up to avoid loss of confidence and self-esteem when school starts in September. Many students feel overwhelmed by the work load after three months of summer vacation.” Ms. Kim at Think Tutoring sees this every September. “I have students that just come for tutoring during the school year, take a 3-month break for summer, and come back to tutoring in September…I sometimes feel like I am going back to square one.”

Think Tutoring believes that practicing math, reading, and writing skills over the summer is the way to go.  Think Tutoring offers a variety of summer camps, workshops, STEM, programs, and assessment days.  We also have individualized and customized tutoring programs.

Call 973-593-0050 or email us at kim.hermanns@thinktutoring.com to register.  Keep your child confident and motivated this summer.  You will then see As on his/her report card next year!

Summer special offerings below!

Stay in the Mix! Think Summer Camp!	Set Your Own Schedule!
STEM Camp	July 16-19
Free SAT and ACT Assessments	June 28 & 29, July 9 & 10
Study Skills Workshop (First Session)	Aug  6 - 9
Free ISEE and SSAT Assessments	July 23 and 30
Intro SAT Reading Class	July 31
Intro SAT Math Class	August 1
College Application Essay Workshop	August 13
Intro ACT Math/Science Class	August 14
Intro ACT Reading/English Class	August 15
Study Skills Workshop (Second Session)	August 20 - 23
Algebra I, II and Geometry Jump Start	Set Your Own Schedule!
Persuasive Writing Strategies	Set Your Own Schedule!

Writing Tips and Strategies for Middle School Students

At Think Tutoring, I get this comment every day. The student would say, “I don’t know where to start.”  She would be sitting at her desk, hand on her head, and tapping her pencil.  My response, “We need to create a graphic organizer.” 

There are many graphic organizers available to students.   You can just GOOGLE it. My favorite is a web or cluster chart especially for middle school students.  This is the perfect graphic organizer to develop a well-written five paragraph essay.

Tips/Strategies to Help your Child Write:

1. Graphic Organizers:   Types of graphic organizers include webs, cluster charts, cause and effect charts, sensory charts, pro v. con, Venn diagrams, t-charts, and more. One of these is bound to help your child organize her thoughts.
2. Outline: Outlines are rather boring for kids to do; however, parents know how to outline.  This is a very common strategy for teachers and parents.  You cannot go wrong with it.
3. Make a Thesis: A thesis is the answer to your essay question.  I tell my students to make sure to add examples (paragraph topics) into your thesis statement.  You have now paved the way for a well-developed topic sentence and essay.
4. Mind map: Can’t think of examples?  Use a mind map to write down everything that you know on a given topic.  This will help put the information down on paper for you to gather your ideas.

Think Tutoring provides these tips and strategies in both our language arts and study skills programs.  Call today for more information on how we can help your child’s writing and organization skills. We would love to help.

Prevent Summer Learning Loss: Summer camps and summer tutoring

According to OnlineCollege.org, research is showing that "for some kids, a few months off in the summer can lead to major setbacks in school, including loss of knowledge and lowered test scores."

Think Tutoring It is important for students to keep their skills up to avoid loss of confidence and self-esteem when school starts in September.  Many students feel overwhelmed by the work load after three months of summer vacation.

Think Tutoring believes that practicing math, reading, and writing skills over the summer is the way to go.  Think Tutoring is offering a variety of summer camps, workshops, programs, and assessment days.  We are also keeping our individualized tutoring programs.

Call 973-593-0050 or email us at info@thinktutoring.com to register.  Keep your child confident and motivated for summer.  You will then see As on his report card come September!

 See what we have to offer below!

Stay in the Mix! Think Summer Camp!	Set Your Own Schedule!
Free SAT and ACT Assessments	July 10 and 11
Study Skills Workshop (First Session)	July 17 - 20
Free ISEE and SSAT Assessments	July 24 and 25
Intro SAT Reading Class	July 31
Intro SAT Math Class	August 1
College Application Essay Workshop	August 7
Intro ACT Math/Science Class	August 14
Intro ACT Reading/English Class	August 15
Study Skills Workshop (Second Session)	August 21 - 24
Algebra I, II and Geometry Jump Start	Set Your Own Schedule!
Persuasive Writing Strategies	Set Your Own Schedule!

Struggling Writers: Free Writing or Graphic Organizers?

Teachers, parents, and students all agree: our students are struggling with writing.  What is the root of this problem?  Many teachers believe in free writing: a prewriting technique in which a person writes continuously without regard for spelling, grammar, or topic. It produces raw, often unusable material, but helps students overcome blocks in their thoughts. Why spend so much time on a technique in which the material is unusable?  It is a waste of time especially since our students have other homework assignments to accomplish.

Think Tutoring offers a different approach: graphic organizers.  Think Tutoring’s language arts program gets to the heart of pre-writing with graphic organizers such as webbing, cause and effect charts, sensory charts, venn diagrams, and more.  These organizers can cut your student’s writing time in half.  It creates a clear and organized path for essay writing.

Here is one of the graphic organizers that Think Tutoring uses.  Give it a try at home.  It works!  To help your child even more with his/her writing, call Think Tutoring at 973-593-0050.

Language Arts