Tutor Tool Kit
Please click on the general topic areas below that will provide additional resources for instruction and lesson planning. Of course you can always contact LVORC’s staff who would be happy to help you with your tutoring needs.
Professional Development
Tutor Training Workshops are hybrid and held in a combination of in-person and online. If you are unable to attend an in-person tutor training, please get in touch with us. We realize everyone has busy schedules and we will work with you to get you started. Online modules are available for both new and experienced Basic Literacy and English Language Learner tutors. These are offered as an introduction to various aspects of teaching English and math, but are also perfect as refreshers.
Regional Adult Education Network: All LVORC volunteers can attend any of the professional development workshops for tutors. You can meet other tutors and enhance your skills at free trainings offered by professionals in the field of Adult Literacy. To view a calendar of training and professional development workshops for volunteers, visit www.capitalnorthraen.org.
Teacher Training Plus: Funded by Dollar General, ProLiteracy’s Teacher Training Plus provides free training and coaching to tutors after they begin instruction. Webinars featuring best practices on a variety of topics are followed by just-in-time small group coaching sessions to help you implement the strategies from the webinars. To register, visit Teacher Training Plus
Job Zone https://www.jobzone.ny.gov is service of the NYS Department of Labor providing support for job seekers.
Capital District Women’s Employment Resource Center https://www.cdwerc.org/student-services/Employment-Resources-82-pg.htm provides links to employment opportunities for women in the Albany/Troy/Schenectady area.
NYSED/CUNY Career Kits https://www.cuny.edu/academics/academic-programs/model-programs/cuny-college-transition-programs/adult-literacy/cuny-careerkit-for-hse-esl-learners/#top are loaded with resources suitable for active job-seekers as well as those who are just beginning to think about employment.
Capital Region Workforce Development Board https://capreg.org/ offers support to job seekers. Most of the services are provided at no cost, and a professional staff is ready to help.
We Speak NYC https://wespeaknyc.cityofnewyork.us/homepage/teacher-resources/ is a unique resource with videos, transcripts, downloadable illustrated stories, quizzes and comprehension checks.
Dave’s ESL Café https://www.eslcafe.com/resources/grammar-lessons/ offers resources for learners who are looking for in-depth explanations and examples, along with lesson plans for tutors.
Many Things www.manythings.org offers quizzes, word games, word puzzles, proverbs, slang expressions, anagrams, and a random-sentence generator.
News For You Online https://www.newsforyouonline.com/ has articles, vocabulary building exercises, polls and quizzes. Contact LVORC for the passcode.
Newsela https://newsela.com/ presents leveled reading, quizzes, polls, and comprehension checks based on current events, culture, and history.
Unite for Literacy https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/ is a collection of beautifully photo-illustrated, low-level/high interest digital books for emerging readers.
Learn English Today http://www.learn-english-today.com/provides extensive information on English grammar and usage.
Lots of English https://lotsofenglish.com/ has texts, stories, worksheets, exercises, audio clips, videos, and more.
English Homework Help Resource Guide https://www.freebooknotes.com/english-homework-help/ is a curated set of links to helpful resources for advanced-level learners.
iSL Collective https://en.islcollective.com/ presents the work of teachers whose self-created lessons for English language learners are designed to help tutors to “relax about tomorrow’s classes.”
American English https://americanenglish.state.gov/about-us provides resources for teaching and learning English as a new language, exploring American Culture, and encouraging conversation.
Minnesota Literacy: https://www.literacymn.org/classroom-videos gives tutors a wealth of resources. Videos of real classroom activities are a goldmine of best practices and great ideas to engage learners in a group setting.
VOA News Learning English https://learningenglish.voanews.com/ presents a variety of topics at different levels with vocabulary exercises, comprehension checks, photos and audio content.
NY Times Learning Network https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/24/learning/how-to-use-the-learning-network.html is a robust resource for teachers and learners is continually updated from September through May.
Thoughtco https://www.thoughtco.com/esl-4133095 contains many articles on teaching grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, conversational phrases, etc. The “Resources for Teachers” category includes several lesson plans.
Readworks https://www.readworks.org/ is a large and easily-searchable collection of leveled readings, all with vocabulary exercises and questions. Most also have an audio recording of the article.
Busyteacher https://busyteacher.org/ offers many articles on teaching English, including tips for teaching specific grammatical concepts.
All learners can benefit from the introduction of math and numeracy into all kinds of lessons. Here are a few resources:
Adult Numeracy Center https://www.terc.edu/adultnumeracycenter/what-we-do/ offers research-based professional development and resources for tutors and learners.
Numberless Word Problems https://numberlesswp.com/ is a new approach to solving word problems. This is a fun way to build fluency and to allow learners who have strong numeracy skills to demonstrate mastery of what they already know.
Slow reveal graphs https://www.collectedny.org/2022/11/collectedny-slow-reveal-graph-collection/ are a great tool for learners at all levels.
Post-it charts https://www.literacymn.org/classroom-activity-post-it-chart can give tutors a whole new perspective on introducing numeracy to lessons with English language learners.
Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/ has a mission to provide a free, world class education to anyone, anywhere. Resources include leveled math and science as well as financial literacy and life skills.
Skillswise Maths for Adults https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/skillswise/maths/zfdymfr is a service of the BBC, offering free videos and downloadable worksheets to help adult learners improve their calculation and numeracy skills.
Digital Literacy: Digital literacy is fundamental to success in negotiating adult life, whether in employment, education, health care, or public benefits. Here are some helpful resources:
Northstar Digital Literacy: https://www.digitalliteracyassessment.org/ provides online, self-guided assessments measuring mastery of digital skills in 15 areas. Contact the LVORC office to get started.
SUNY Advanced Technology Training and Information Network (ATTAIN) Lab https://www.sunyattain.org/ helps learners to acquire the basic digital skills they need for employment and post-secondary education, at no cost to participants.
Broadview Credit Union https://www.broadviewfcu.com/education/ has financial education courses that introduce basic concepts and help to build essential money management skills. [No longer SEFCU]
K5 Learning https://www.education.com/worksheets/?cid=11.2143F is a user-friendly website with workbooks and worksheets by topic.
Math is Fun https://mathisfun.com presents interactive math problems and serves as a great resource for learners who like to visualize problems.
IXL Math – Learn Math Online https://www.ixl.com/math has videos and interactive math problems.
News For You Online https://www.newsforyouonline.com/ has articles, v ocabulary building exercises, polls and quizzes. Contact LVORC for the passcode.
Newsela https://newsela.com/ presents leveled reading, quizzes, polls, and comprehension checks based on current events, culture, and history.
Unite for Literacy https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/ is a collection of beautifully illustrated, low-level/high interest digital books for beginning readers..
Marshall Leveled Reading https://www.crowdedlearning.org/our-work/rsta offers leveled reading based on TABE testing results.
Upper Hudson Library System https://www.uhls.org/ includes links to all the member libraries, their collections and their calendars of events.
Easy News https://www.unitedresponse.org.uk/resource/easy-news/ is the first news magazine designed to be accessible for people with learning disabilities, aimed to encourage discussion around news stories and keep readers informed about the world around them.
Breaking News English https://breakingnewsenglish.com/ provides links to articles at seven levels. Find thousands of news articles from a range of publications, exercises, and a podcast for listening practice.
Readworks https://www.readworks.org/ is a large and easily-searchable collection of leveled readings, all with vocabulary exercises and questions. Most also have an audio recording of the article.
The Times in Plain English https://www.thetimesinplainenglish.com/ gives beginning readers access to the “newspaper of record”. Articles are curated and grouped by topic.
Literacy Minnesota https://www.literacymn.org/educator-resources is “your hub for all things Adult Basic Education” with outstanding resources for tutors and learners.
Magoosh https://magoosh.com/ is a resource for test preparation, including GRE.
Write and Improve https://writeandimprove.com/ is a free tool developed by the University of Cambridge, designed to help every learner to improve their writing skills.
Skillswise Writing https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/skillswise/writing/z73747h is a service of the BBC, providing guidance on composition, proofreading, editing, mastering the basics of letter writing, handwriting, keyboarding skills and more.
Write Design Online http://www.writedesignonline.com/organizers/ presents a wealth of graphic organizers for writing at all levels.
New York Times Learning Network https://www.nytimes.com/column/learning-whats-going-on-in-this-picture encourages learners to develop visual thinking. Tutors can use the problem-posing approach with photo content and invite learners to write their own captions and stories.
Language Drops https://app.languagedrops.com/ takes a fun, interactive approach to learning vocabulary, pairing printed and spoken words with images.
VisuWords https://visuwords.com/granny_knot uses graphic organizers, word families and associated uses and meanings to build vocabulary.
TEDEd https://ed.ted.com/lessons?direction=desc&sort=featured-position&user_by_click=educator presents video-based lessons organized by subject, lesson plans, and insights from the TEDEd community.
Picmonic https://www.picmonic.com/ provides quick and efficient picture mnemonic study aids.
PBS Learning https://ny.pbslearningmedia.org/ curates free standards-aligned videos, interactives and lesson plans for learners at various levels.
Photographic Dictionary http://photographicdictionary.com/ allows learners to browse by letter, category and rhyme.
Puzzlemaker https://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ is a puzzle generation tool. Create and print customized word search, criss-cross, math puzzles, and more, using your own word lists.
EdHelper https://www.edhelper.com/ is a source of worksheets, games and puzzles for language and math activities.
Crossword Puzzles for ESL Students http://iteslj.org/cw/ has over 1,000 activities to help English language learners. This project of The Internet TESL Journal has contributions by many teachers.
Encyclopedia Britannica Vocabulary Quizzes https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/eb/quiz/name-that-thing/Name%20That%20Thing%20%231 is a fun way to build vocabulary with a changing roster of words.
ESL Games https://eslgames.com/ has many fun activities, good for warm-ups at the start of a session or to fill a little extra time.
USCIS https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship has all the resources an individual needs to complete the naturalization process.
USALearns https://www.usalearns.org/ promotes English Language learning and job skills as well as preparation for the U.S. Naturalization Interview and Test.
US Citizenship Support https://uscitizenshipsupport.com/ is a private service offering self-guided study and practice tests to prepare for the U.S. Naturalization Interview and Test.
Office for New Americans (ONA) https://dos.ny.gov/office-new-americans is a service of the New York State Department of State. ONA can provide help with filing the N-400 application as well as citizenship preparation classes.
Citizenship Works helps to connect individuals to legal services and guide individuals through the naturalization process. This information sheet has links to the webinar that talks about the basics: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9wm0wv4m7rd9o8z/Follow%20Up%20InfoGraphic10-21-21.pdf?dl=0
EL Civics https://www.elcivics.com/worksheets/esl-worksheets.html has downloadable stories, worksheets, puzzles and exercises based on U.S. civics and history.
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary https://www.merriam-webster.com/ gives access to definitions and audio clips for thousands of words, as well as quizzes and fun facts.
Randall’s ESL Cyber Listening Lab https://www.esl-lab.com/ challenges English language learners to test their listening comprehension. Audio clips are organized by subject and level of difficulty.
Sounds of English https://www.soundsofenglish.org/ addresses the technical aspects of producing the sounds required for clear communication in the English language.
Pick Your Battles: Best Practices for Helping Students with Pronunciation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldP1Mf3fcBw is a webinar with lots of helpful hints for working with English language learners.
New York State of Health https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov/ is the gateway to the health care exchange for New York residents.
LINCS https://lincs.ed.gov/ connects adult learners to free online resources to reach their life goals.