Tips for Tutors. (Getting started with writing!)

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1 Tips for Tutors (Getting started with writing!) Free-writing Find a clock, watch, or timer to help keep track of time. Choose a topic, idea, or a question you would like for your student to consider. It can be a specific detail or a broad concept. Ask your student to write for 7-10 minutes non-stop on that topic. Do not concern yourself with their spelling, grammar, or punctuation. Your goal is get your student to generate as much as you can about the topic in a short period of time and to get used to the feeling of articulating ideas on a page. Listing On a piece of paper ask your student to list all the ideas you can think of connected to subjects you are considering exploring. Consider any idea or observation as valid and worthy of listing. Share the pen or marker taking turns with the list. List quickly and help your student as needed to write any unknown words. Ask your student to read the list and do the exercise with another idea. Topic selection For two minutes the student makes a list of things that they know and care about in one column. Repeat the procedure in another column listing things they dislike. The student then circles one or two items from each list which could be expanded into a paragraph, story, or narrative. Written Conversation or Dialogue Journal In written conversation, two people talk to each other about topics of interest to both of them, passing the paper back and forth. The nature of this activity encourages students to focus on ideas and to write rapidly so that the tutor can respond quickly. This format provides rapid feedback on the effectiveness of the student s writing. If the tutor doesn t understand something, a request for clarification can be made such as What do you mean or Tell me more about. Written conversation also provides the student with an immediate model of writing.

2 Write a Personal Description Ask your student to write a paragraph about themselves. Use the following the start the process: Answer these questions about yourself on a piece of paper. How old are you? What do you look like? What kind of clothes do you wear? Why? What kind of job do you do? Do you like it? What are your favorite hobbies? Why do you like them? Where do you live? Do you like living there? Why or why not? Written Exercise II Now that you have the information about yourself ready, fill in the gaps in to complete this descriptive paragraph about yourself. I am years old, I (appearance). I wear because. I am a. I like / don't like my job because. I enjoy. I often (describe a hobby). I also like (another hobby or interest) because. I live in. People in are. I enjoy / don't enjoy living in because. Additional Practice Then ask your student to write a paragraph about someone else. They can write about a friend or someone from their family. Compare the two paragraphs and note the differences in pronoun and verb use. For example, I live in Southern Pines, but she lives in Chicago. My house is in a suburb, but his house is in the city. Source: **Some election day sheets follow.

3 Meet Hillary Clinton Get the scoop on the life of Hillary Clinton MAY 05, 2016 NICHOLAS HUNT BET/GETTY IMAGES Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton was born on October 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the oldest of three children. Her father, Hugh Rodham, was a World War II veteran and owner of a small business that made and sold curtains. Her mother, Dorothy, was a full-time homemaker. A Young Leader After graduating from high school, Clinton attended Wellesley College, in Massachusetts. While she was there, she became involved in social justice issues. Her interest in these issues had been sparked years earlier, after hearing Martin Luther King Jr. speak. Clinton graduated from Wellesley in 1969, and was elected by her classmates to speak at the ceremony. She was the first student in the school s history to do so. Clinton moved to Connecticut, where she went to Yale Law School. Her graduating class had only 27 women. Clinton s years at Yale prepared her for work at the Children's Defense Fund, in Massachusetts, where she fought for the rights of children and families. Soon, though, Clinton was ready for another big move. In 1974, she headed to Arkansas. That s where Bill Clinton was from. The couple had met when they were students at Yale, and married in 1975.

4 A Working First Lady Bill Clinton served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981, and again from 1983 to During her husband s years in office, Hillary Clinton continued her law career and became involved with programs dedicated to helping children and the disadvantaged. In 1993, she became the first lady of the United States after Bill Clinton was sworn in as president. He was re-elected in 1996 and served until Throughout President Clinton s eight years in office, Hillary Clinton focused on public-service programs, including one aimed at providing Americans with health-care coverage. Her involvement in this issue, however, was controversial and in the end, Clinton s efforts were unsuccessful. Aiming for the White House As the Clintons prepared to leave the White House, Hillary Clinton decided to run for office. In 1999, she moved to New York and campaigned for the state s open seat in the U.S. Senate. In November 2000, Clinton won the election with 55% of the vote, becoming the first first lady to win elective office. She was re-elected in A year later, Clinton announced that she would run for president. But the Democratic nomination eventually went to Barack Obama. After Obama won the 2008 presidential election, he asked Clinton to serve as U.S. secretary of state. She accepted, making her the third woman in this important position. She resigned in 2013 and two years later, announced her plan to run for president again. Clinton is currently the Democratic frontrunner. But the party won t officially announce its nominee until July, at the Democratic National Convention, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If Clinton is chosen, she will be the first woman to be nominated by a major party for president of the United States. Clinton lives in Chappaqua, New York. She and Bill Clinton have one daughter, Chelsea, and two grandchildren.

5 Meet Donald J. Trump Here s the scoop on the life of Donald Trump MAY 05, 2016 TOM LYNN GETTY IMAGES Donald John Trump was born in New York City on June 14, 1946, to Frederick and Mary MacLeod Trump. As a teenager, Trump attended New York Military Academy, where he was an athlete and a student leader. His college years were spent at Fordham University, in the Bronx, and at the Wharton School, the business school at the University of Pennsylvania. After graduating from Wharton in 1968, Trump went to work for his father as a real-estate developer. Building a Brand In 1971, Trump took control of the family business. He renamed it the Trump Organization. One of his first major projects was a hotel in New York City. He renovated a building, found a business partner to help with the development, and re-launched the property in 1980 as the Grand Hyatt. The hotel was a success. Two years later, Trump opened Trump Tower. The luxury skyscraper was lined in marble and had an indoor waterfall. It became an instant tourist attraction. In later years, Trump would go on to build gambling casinos, resorts, and golf courses. He also ventured into new businesses, introducing Trump Steaks, Trump Natural Spring Water, and an airline called Trump Shuttle. In 1987, Trump published his autobiography. For nearly a year, the book was a best seller.

6 From Business to Politics By the late 1990s, Trump s attention had turned to politics. He announced in 1999 that he would run for president. In order to enter the race, he changed his party affiliation from Republican to Reform Party, a third-party alternative to the Republican and Democratic parties. But Trump quit the campaign before the first primaries had begun. Five years later, he was on TV, starring in the reality-television program, The Apprentice. A spin-off, The Celebrity Apprentice, came next, in While his TV shows were hits, Trump faced challenges in other parts of his life. In 2005, Trump University was sued by the state of New York. Four years later, his casino company filed for bankruptcy. In 2015, in an event at Trump Tower, Trump announced once again that he would run for President of the United States. Republican party leaders at first dismissed his candidacy. But Trump proved he could compete, pulling out big wins in primaries and caucuses nationwide. After the Indiana primary on May 3, it became all but certain that Trump would be the Republican presidential nominee. Trump has four adult children: Donald Trump Jr., Ivanka, Eric, and Tiffany. In 2005, he married model and businessperson Melania Knauss. The couple has a 10-year-old son named Barron. Trump has eight grandchildren.

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