Tutoring Activities

Students already go to school for hours a day to learn material! Maintaining interest and
excitement by using activities to re-enforce and hone their skills is key. Here are some ideas to
get you started:

Games for any subject:

Candyland: This game has been one of the biggest hits with my students. I simply replaced the
standard playing cards indicating what colored space a player is supposed to move to with
questions they must answer along with the number of colors they will advance if they answer
the question correctly. These questions can relate to any subject material and can be changed
as a student progresses through the material.
**Tip: I always like to include fun questions to get the student talking about themselves and
their interests! It makes the learning atmosphere more fun and enjoyable for everyone. Please
see my Icebreakers document for some ideas of questions to ask **

Game Show (e.g. Jeopardy): This classic review tool teachers utilize before tests is just as
beneficial and fun for students in a tutoring setting
**Tip: Write notecards or prepare a powerpoint and award points for each question! Students
also love to write their answers on the whiteboard rather than on paper**

Theme Worksheets: I created personalized worksheets for different students to accommodate

their specific needs. For example, I have created a math worksheet with a travel theme where
students would interpret word problems and utilize different mathematical equations to
calculate the distance in miles from Linwood to Disney World, the Great Wall of China, etc.
Another worksheet I made was related to superheroesstudents had to calculate speeds,
forces, heights, etc. of different clashes between heroes and villains.

Ideas for Specific Focuses

Math

21: A game where students are given four numbers and they must utilize any mathematical
operations to reach the number 21.

2 Card War: The deck is split in half and players flip two cards at a time. Ask the student to add,
subtract, or multiply the cards and whoever has the higher value wins the round, taking all of
the cards like classic war. Continue flipping two cards at a time until someone has accumulated
all of the cards.
Buzz: To learn multiplication, a student and myself would take turns counting by one number at
a time. I would start by saying one, the child would say two, I would say three, etc. Before you
begin, you must pick a number, and all of the multiples of that number must be replaced with
the word buzz. For example, for the multiples of 7, we would go back and forth saying
numbers until we got to 7, 14, 21, 28, etc, where we would instead say the word buzz. This
game allows for kids to begin recognizing the fast facts for higher numbers like 6s, 7s, 8s and
9s.

Candy counting: Similar to monetary values but much more fun, lay out a bunch of candy and
place different numerical values on each type. Give the child a number they must reach and
have them come up with the appropriate types of candy with corresponding points that add up
to this number.
** Tip: If students are using many single digit values (1s and 5s), rather than higher values
(25s, 50s, etc), to reach high numbers, challenge your student to use the least number of
candy pieces as possible. This encourages students to begin with the higher values and work
their way down**

Matching: Create a simple matching game by writing a number on one index card and a
corresponding addition, subtraction, or multiplication statement on a different card. Make
several of these types of cards and have the student try to match the number with its
statement (eg. 5x5 on one card and 25 on the other)
** Tip: If a student seems bored with this game, flip the cards over for an added challenge and
make it a memory game!**

Monopoly: If a student needs basic addition and subtraction help, monopoly may be beneficial.
Students are able to count and allot money while still playing a fun board game.

Reading/ Languages

Pictionary: Students often learn words more easily when they can associate it with a picture.
Try drawing pictures with students vocabulary words and have them guess the corresponding
word.

Line-by-Line Story Writing: To practice writing, spelling, grammar, and plot development, line-
by-line story writing is a fun and silly way for students to be creative while also learning. Start
the story with one of your own lines and have the student follow your sentence with one of
their own. Then, you say the third sentence, and so on, until the story is complete. Have your
student write the story down for practice.

Mad-Libs: There are plenty of mad-libs to print out online for free! Mad-libs are a great way for
students to practice the difference between nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, and the
story at the end usually ends in a few laughs