5 Extra Fabulous Must-Have Resources For Extra Help

With schools back to in-person learning, you will absolutely have students come to your classroom after school for extra help.

 

Sure, sometimes the extra help is a requirement for certain students as per an administrator.  While other times, learners will seek your help on their own – major props to the students who self-advocate.

 

In either case, you must be prepared with resources to help your students succeed.

 

Note: this list is tailored to the subject of English language arts, though many of these items can be used in a variety of subjects.

 

Five must-have resources for an effective extra help session

 

Colored pencils/markers/highlighters

Index Cards

Worksheets

Scrabble

Mad Libs

Colored pencils/markers/highlighters

 

Having writing instruments that can color-code content is helpful for all students.  These items can be especially useful to students who are finding certain course work to be a challenge.

 

Imagine that your student is struggling to remember which prefixes and positive and which are negative.  Instruct your student to pick two colored pencils – one that is his or her favorite color and one that he or she dislikes.  Your student will use the favorite color for positive prefixes and the least favorite color for the negative ones.

 

In another instance, if your student is struggling to understand character development, choosing five colored pencils will do the trick to identify the five different types of indirect characterization.  Provide your student with a print-out of text so your student can use colored pencils to circle the different ways that a character’s personality is being shown, color-coding each element.

 

Index cards

 

When vocabulary or sequence of events is a struggle, index cards come in handy.  Though using index cards is an old-school study tip, it is a timeless, effective study resource.   

 

The act of writing combined with reading silently and aloud aids in remembering and understanding material, such as new vocabulary.

 

Let’s say that a student is having a tough time remembering a sequence of events, such as the elements of a story’s plot.  Index cards are the perfect resource to represent each event or element.  With the example of plot, have the student write each term (exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution) on separate index cards and their definitions on the back.  Take this exercise a step further by including the specific exposition, rising action, etc. from the literature being read in class.   

 

Also, writing each term in a different color of ink will help to mentally differentiate one term from the next.  The student can write the terms in rainbow order (exposition in red, rising action in orange, etc.) or in his or her preference of favorite color order.  The visual aspect of the different colors will help the student remember the order of each event. 

 

Worksheets

 

While this may be an obvious one, find worksheets that have content and sample problems to give your students additional practice. 

 

A word of advice: Prepare an answer key for yourself.  Of course, you know the content because you teach it, but your brain may be exhausted from a day of teaching.  You want to be sure you have accurate info to review with your student.

 

Along with worksheets comes study guides and reference sheets.  All of your students will benefit from these items, but you may need to create customized ones for a particular student to focus on a specific concept.

 

It is helpful to have two versions of reference sheets for extra help sessions.  One version has all of the info filled in – this is your answer key version.  The other should have blank sections for the student to complete.

 

Just like with self-created flashcards, having the student write the information aids in the process of retaining it.  Have colored pencils or highlighters so that the student can color-code info in a way that works best for him or her.

 

Scrabble

 

For a student who struggles with spelling, using Scrabble tiles to spell words is a fun, interactive way to practice.

 

This activity is best when done in addition to having the student hand-write spelling words.  It cannot be stressed enough the benefit of writing for understanding.  Plus, the action of writing is beneficial to improve penmanship.

 

To make the use of Scrabble tiles even more fun (though this requires extra prep work), reward your student with small prizes based on the points assigned to each letter in the words spelled correctly.

 

For example, in the Scrabble board game, the letter “B” = 3 points, “O” = 1 point, and “K” = 5 points.  Correctly spelling “book” results in 10 points. 

 

Prior to the extra help session, figure out the total points for spelling every assigned word correctly.  Let’s say that all words total to 150 points.  You may award your student with a sticker for earning 50+ points, a pencil for 100+ points, and a piece of candy for 140+ points. 

 

Each day the student meets with you for extra help with spelling is an opportunity for more practice and more prizes.  The student will be determined each day to beat his or her score from the previous day all while mastering the accurate spelling of the assigned words.  It’s a win-win scenario.

 

Mad Libs

 

For students who are having trouble learning the parts of speech, the game of Mad Libs can do the trick. 

 

Unlike the traditional way to play Mad Libs, keeping the story hidden from the participant, you may want your struggling student to see the story.  Viewing the story will help your student provide word choices that grammatically complete each sentence.  This will help him or her understand the role of each part of speech.

 

Once the student becomes comfortable with each part of speech’s purpose, then you can try completing the Mad Libs story the intended way by keeping the story hidden from the student.  He or she will have to recall what each part of speech does and examples of each all while having fun creating a silly story.

 

   

Final thoughts

 

Remember: These resources are just a few of many items to incorporate during extra help sessions.  It is important to tailor each session to that particular student’s needs and to prepare accordingly.

 

Presenting the content in a new way can lead to the “a-ha moment” every student deserves to experience.

 

Check out my Teachers Pay Teachers store for a variety of versatile products for all grades and subjects!   

 

Leave a question, comment, or suggestion below, in the Comments Section!   

 

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Peace.  Love.  Reading & Writing.

 

💗 Miss M