EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 2/12/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Lesson Goals:
• Get to know student and his background
• Give interest inventory that I created and
the Garfield inventory that was provided
from our class
• Give word reading sheet assessment
• Listen to his read orally to get an idea of
what his strengths/weaknesses are
Book(s) Read:
• Nate the Great and the monster mess
by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat
(my choice)
• Horton hears a who
By Dr. Seuss
(his choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• He has eight siblings and does not receive
much adult attention at home (according to
his teacher) so I think tutoring will be
good for him. He really struggles with
reading simple words. I asked him
questions while we read and he seems to
have good comprehension skills
EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Session #: __1__
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• I explained to him who I am and what I am planning
on doing with him for the next several weeks (I will
be helping him with his reading skills, improving his
fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, writing)
• I explained the inventories to him and helped him
read the questions so that he could correctly choose an
answer.
• After the inventories and assessment sheet was
completed, I picked a book for him to read then I
allowed him to pick any book that he wanted me to
read to him. The first book I used as an assessment,
allowing me to listen to him as he read aloud.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• I told him that he could pick any book from the
library for me to read to him and he responded with
“Really? I can pick any book I want? Wow!” It just
showed me how little he gets to read books and when
he does get that opportunity, it is so exciting.
• From talking with the student, he said he doesn’t read
much at home. He doesn’t have many resources at
home to read so I think that is one big reason why his
reading ability is so low.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• I talked with his teacher and she would like me to
work with him on the stories of the week that they get
tested on in reading. She would like me to re-read the
story with him and review the vocabulary words,
hopefully this will help him when he takes a test on
the story. I also plan to give him timed one-minute
readings to increase his words read per minute and
overall fluency.
 Date: 2/26/09 Time: 45 minutes Session #: __2__
Tutor’s Name: Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:

Katie Tarnowski Nathaniel 2nd grade/male

Lesson Goals: Description of Activities Done in Session:

• Do a one minute reading passage, second • Read one minute passage

grade text, “Blueberries” by Wanda
Hamm
• Review vocabulary words from the story,
The Emperor’s Egg
• Re-read The Emperor’s Egg, going over
important story points as we read the story
together.
• If there is time, have him choose a book to
read
• I set up and explained the rules of the matching game I
had prepared with the vocabulary words from the
story. After the matching game was done, we worked
together to come up with sentences that have the
vocabulary words in them.
• Re-read the story The Emperor’s Egg, discussed the
story elements, stopped at parts in the story and asked
him questions to gain comprehension, reviewed the
events in the story in sequence.

Book(s) Read: Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:

• The Emperor’s Egg (basal reading) • I have worked in this classroom before so when I walk
in to pick up Nathaniel, I am greeted with many hugs.
• The very hungry caterpillar All of the students want me to read the projects they
by Eric Carle have been working on for Black History Month. One
(his choice) student asked me to work with her and Nathaniel came
over and said “nope, she is working with me!” He
seems very eager and excited to be working with me
and that makes tutoring much more enjoyable. He
loves the chance to read one-on-one.

Evaluation & Reflection: Plans for Next Session/Rationale:

• The one-minute passage that I gave him,
“Blueberries” was too difficult for him. He
really struggled to read the words. He only
read about 11 words in one minute.
• He really enjoys when I read aloud to him.
I can tell that he doesn’t get a lot of one-on-
one time at home.
• I need to look for one-minute passages that are easier
for him to read. I don’t want to start him off at his
frustration level. I want him to start somewhere where
he will feel confident about his reading abilities. After
practice and when I feel he is ready, I will challenge
him with harder passages.

EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log

Date: 3/05/09 Time: 45 minutes Session #: _3__

Tutor’s Name: Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Katie Tarnowski
Lesson Goals:
• Complete one-minute reading passage, first
grade text, “Saturdays with Grandpa” by
Betsy Franco
• Review vocabulary words from weekly
story.
• Read The Mystery in Pine Park together.
• If there is time, have him choose a book for
me to read to him.
Book(s) Read:
• The Mystery in Pine Park (basal reading)
• The Salamander Room
by Anne Mazer
(his choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• Watching him struggle to read through the
first grade level, one-minute reading is
really upsetting. I can see him really trying
to focus and do his best, but he just gets so
caught up in the words and the fact that he
can’t read them makes him upset. He
would never tell me that but I can see the
defeated look on his face. I want this
experience to be fun and enjoyable, not
frustrating and hard.
EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 3/12/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• He read the first grade one-minute reading passage and
struggled. He is reading at about the same speed as he
did when he read the second grade reading passage.
• Reviewed vocabulary words on flashcards and had him
write them on a small whiteboard in the classroom.
• I had him recall the events of the weekly story from
memory before we read the story. I wrote down
everything that he had said, so we could check to see if
he was correct. We then read the story together,
checking to see if his retelling was true (he did a very
good job remembering the events). I then asked
questions at the end of the story for comprehension.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• The one-minute passage that I had him read was at a
first grade level and it was difficult for him to read. He
really struggles with his reading fluency so instead of
one minute passages that frustrate him, I am going to
stop the one-minute readings and concentrate on sight
words.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• Instead of doing the one-minute readings, I plan to have
him review sight words. Listening to his reading, he
does not know many basic sight words. Focusing on
sight words will be better for him in the long run
because he needs to learn these words. They are
everywhere and by knowing them, his reading will
become more fluent. I plan to create several sight word
games for him to gain more exposure to them and begin
to recall them quickly through repeated practice.
Session #: _4_
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Lesson Goals:
• Read through the sight word flashcards to
gain understanding of what words he
struggles with
• Review vocabulary words using matching
game
• Read Goodbye Curtis together
• Have him read aloud a story I chose,
Honey, Honey, Lion! by Jan Brett
Book(s) Read:
• Goodbye Curtis! (basal reading)
• Honey, Honey Lion!
by Jan Brett
(my choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• He really enjoys having me come into his
classroom each week. It is great that his
teacher is so supportive of him too. The
librarian allows us to work in the back of
the library where we won’t be bothered and
we can have access to all of the books
which makes tutoring that much better!
EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 3/19/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• I explained to him what sight words are and the
importance that they have in our reading. I told him
that by continuously reviewing the flashcards I have,
along with doing other fun activities; it will help him to
become a better reader.
• He reviewed the vocabulary from the story playing the
matching game that he has played once before.
• I read his weekly story with him, recalling story events
and pointing out the different vocabulary words in the
text. We worked together to come up with different
sentences that have the vocabulary words in them.
• He read Honey, Honey, Lion! to me and I assisted him
with words he did not know.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• I picked only 30 sight word flashcards to start off with;
I didn’t want to overwhelm him. From those 30
flashcards, he read 18 of them. That isn’t too bad but
he definitely needs extra practice. This is the area that
I need to be focusing on with him before we move on
to anything else. Any helpful techniques that I can
give him to remember these words and recognize them
in text will be very useful for him.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• I plan to create a sight word game to give him the
additional help he needs while making it fun to learn
the words. The more exposure and practice he gets
with these words, the better his overall reading will
eventually be. I also plan to make him his own set of
flashcards to take home and review whenever he has
time.
Session #: __5__
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Lesson Goals:
• Determine which sight words he still
struggles with by going through and
reviewing previous flashcards
• Explain the sight word achievement chart I
created for him
• Review vocabulary words from weekly
story
• Re-read weekly reading story to model
fluency
Book(s) Read:
• A boy with two sticks! (basal reading)
• Soccer Sam
by Jean Marzollo
(his choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• Although Nathaniel still seems to be at the
same reading ability level as when we
started, his reading confidence has grown. I
really hope some of the game I am
implementing will help his recognition of
basic sight words.
EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 3/26/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• We went through the sight word flashcards and
determined which words he is still having trouble with.
• I explained to him that the chart I had is to help me
keep track of what words we still need to work on and
which words he knows. Each time that he correctly
says one of the sight words, he’ll get a check under that
word. Three checks for one word (hopefully he will
have mastered it by then) and he’ll receive a sticker.
Five stickers equal a reward.
• Read the weekly story and talked about how music can
be helpful to us, discussed different hobbies that he has
and he connected to the story by picking out a book to
read about one of his hobbies, soccer.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• When I ask him to tell me a definition for a vocabulary
word or an example of a word, he will look around the
room and try to give me an example. He will talk
through his explanation and look for positive feedback
from me. I try to help make his explanations more
concrete but usually his descriptions are accurate.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• I plan to type up the sight word achievement chart that
I created today during our session. Hopefully this will
let him see his progress and serve as a motivation tool
for him.
• I want to move away from the general format that I
have been doing to focus more on developing his
reading skills and incorporate more writing into our
tutoring sessions.
Session #: __6__
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Lesson Goals:
• Review sight words using flashcards and
checking off words on his achievement
chart
• Give him his own set of flashcards and
explain my expectations
• Play sight word bingo and practice writing
using the winning sight words in a sentence
• Take turns reading The Napping House
Book(s) Read:
• The Napping House
by Audrey Wood
(my choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• The first set of flashcards that my tutee
received had numbers 1-10 and colors on
them. He is still confused by green and
purple, nine and three so additional practice
with all of the numbers and colors would
be beneficial. He can take them home and
bring them back each week.
• Today was the first tutoring session that we
did not read from the basal textbook. I
think he enjoyed it because we played a
game, making the session fun, not “work.”
EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 04/23/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• As he went through the set of sight word flashcards that
we are working on, I marked off the ones he said
correct and incorrect on his achievement chart.
• I went through the flashcards that I created for him and
explained that I would like him to review these at least
three times a week along with his homework. The two
sets of flashcards that I gave him (1st set: colors and
numbers, 2nd set: 100 essential sight words, will give
him the flashcards in increments)
• I talked about the rules of sight word bingo. I say a
word; he finds it and repeats the word then puts the
bingo chip on the word. Five words in a row get bingo.
He then has to use those five words in different
sentences.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• When I told him that he had to write sentences, he was
hesitant, especially because he has difficulty spelling.
However, he got started and wrote the sentences on his
own, using the sight words from the game. I did help
with the spelling of words he did not know.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• I want to create more activities to incorporate sight
word practice and I plan to expose him to more
literature, rather than always reading his basal
textbook.
• He doesn’t have much exposure to print at home so
I’m going to bring in several different resources for
him to borrow and take home for extra practice.
• This is my last tutoring session for two weeks because
he is on spring break. The next time I meet with him is
the week of April 20th.
Session #: _7_
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Lesson Goals:
• Review sight word flashcards and check off
words on his achievement chart
• Introduce ‘Think Sheet’ and what he will
need to do with it
• Read Where the Wild Things Are
• Complete Think Sheet
• Read sight word mini-book that I found
from www.hubbardscupboard.org
• Play sight word memory game
Book(s) Read:
• Where the Wild Things Are
by Maurice Sendak
(my choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• He enjoyed playing the memory game I
created. He probably didn’t realize he was
introducing himself to new words and
practicing his reading while he was playing
the game. I want to continue to show him
that reading and learning can be fun.
• He mentioned that Where the Wild Things
Are was one of his favorite books so I was
glad I could incorporate some of his
favorite literature into our session.
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• As he went through the set of sight word flashcards that we
are working on, I marked off the ones he said correct and
incorrect on his achievement chart.
• I created a ‘Think Sheet,’ a strategy suggested in our text,
Strategies that work. This strategy allows him to practice
his writing skills while also making personal connections to
the text and helps him to further his thinking skills.
• I read him my favorite story, Where the Wild Things Are and
he used the ‘Think Sheet’ to summarize the story and
formulate ideas of what the story makes him think about.
• The sight word mini-book that I printed off and put together,
we read through it and discussed the summer activities the
characters do. The copy that I gave him, he took it home
and colored it.
• I introduced a memory game that I created for him and we
played the game for the remaining five minutes of the
tutoring session.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• He wasn’t sure if his writing was good enough when
he wrote his responses on the ‘Think Sheet.’ He is a
very slow writer and it upsets him sometimes, because
he thinks he is making me wait. I always give him
positive feedback for his writing and continue to tell
him to take his time and practice making his writing
great. I tell him it doesn’t matter how long you take, as
long as you are doing your best.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• Even though I have one more tutoring session with
him, I want to continue to introduce and engage him
with high-quality literature. I have found several
books that I am going to give to him, that he can keep
at home so he has literature to access outside of school.
I also want to give him fun literacy activities that he
can play at home, to continue his learning.
 EDU 506 Reading Tutor Field Log
Date: 4/30/09 Time: 45 minutes
Tutor’s Name:
Katie Tarnowski
Lesson Goals:
• Review sight words using flashcards and
checking off words on his achievement chart
• Read My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother by
Patricia Polacco
• Complete a ThinkSheet about the book
• Allow him time to pick out a book on his own
and read it together
• Play sight word Uno together
• Give goodbye gifts
Book(s) Read:
• My Rotten Redhead Older Brother
by Patricia Polacco
(my choice)
• Click Clack Moo, Cows that type
By Doreen Cronin
(his choice)
Evaluation & Reflection:
• We did a lot today, I wanted to fit everything
into our tutoring session since it was the last
one but there wasn’t enough time to do
everything I wanted.
• From looking at his chart, he has almost
mastered thirteen words. I say ‘almost’
because you need several encounters with a
word to master it. Continued exposure to these
words will allow him mastery in no time. He
Session #: __8__
Student’s Name & Grade/Gender:
Nathaniel 2nd grade/male
Description of Activities Done in Session:
• After the sight words were read, I completed his achievement
chart, showing him which words he got right, three times in a
row. I put stickers on his chart and let him pick out his
prizes.
• I read My Rotten Redhead Older Brother to him and asked
him questions about the book and we practiced answering
questions with detail. These higher-level questions got him
read to fill out the ThinkSheet.
• He completed the ThinkSheet about the book. He is very
hesitant to write, so he only wrote one sentence for each
space. I wanted to complete more activities so I said that
one sentence was fine.
• He chose Click Clack Moo, Cows that type and he read the
book to me.
• After the book was completed, we discussed it then played a
sight word Uno game that I created.
Interesting Observations and/or Comments from Student:
• After reading My Rotten Redhead Older Brother, I prompted
him with some questions, getting him thinking about
different scenarios:
--“What if this happened to you?”
-- “How would you change your relationship to make it better?”
• I wanted to have him practice giving a more explicit answer,
more critical thinking. I had him ask me a question then
modeled the way I would answer the question. We practiced
doing this a few times. I had to prompt him a few times to
give me more details, but overall he did well.
Plans for Next Session/Rationale:
• I gave Nathaniel several below level, on level, and above
level literature so he has a variety of reading opportunities
at his house, so that he can continue to read and grow. I
also gave him copies of all the games I played with him so
he can share them with his siblings.
• I have really enjoyed spending time with Nathaniel and
even though it can take months of tutoring, one-on-one
time, to see improvement, I feel like I have introduced him
to high quality literature and showed him that learning can
received a sticker for each word that he got be fun and enjoyable.
correct three times, he earned a reward for each
five stickers that he got.