Tutor Resources: Lesson Planning

LVCA Produced Materials:

Lesson Plan Templates

Attendance Agreements


Tutor Tips:

Learning Styles

  • Learning Styles - Behavioral characteristics and tutoring tips for three different learning styles: auditory, visual, and tactile/kinesthetic.

  • Teaching to the 8 Learning Styles - Verbal, Bodily, Logical, Visual, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Musical, and Naturalist.

Guidelines Based on Learner Levels

Speaking & Listening Test Information
Students should be able to answer the questions at the level they last tested into, all those before it, and the next level up that they will hopefully test into. 


Online Resources:

  • Activities for ESL Students - This website has useful information for all levels. It includes quizzes on grammar and vocabulary, listening and pronunciation practice, and VOA audio podcasts. It also has crossword puzzles and over 40 quizzes in bilingual languages.

  • English for Everyone - This website provides worksheets related to almost any question you may have about English. The pictures and readings for the lower level learners are especially good. Other topics include U.S. citizenship, spelling, word searches, and computer fundamentals.

  • Interesting Things for ESL Students - This website is full of exercises in grammar, pronunciation, listening, spelling, and vocabulary development for different levels. One heading lists “Easy Things for Beginners.” Other activities and exercises are not specified by levels but are generally intermediate.


LVCA Workshop Presentations/Handouts:

How To Tutor Remotely (December 2020)
How To Tutor Remotely (Slides)
Online Teaching Strategies (Handout)
Zooming with Teacher's Edition How to Video (YouTube)
Zooming while Reading a Novel How to Video (YouTube)
Literacy Minnesota Curriculum Links: Beginning ESL and Advanced ESL
Literacy Minnesota's Zoom Tutoring Checklist for Host (Handout)
Literacy Minnesota's Using WhatsApp for Tutoring Checklist (Handout)
Zoom Navigation Slides (showing how to annotate on different devices)
Platform Options Slide

Online Teaching Strategies Palooza (October 2020)
Online Teaching Strategies (Slides)
Online Teaching Strategies (Notes) 

Ventures Online Resources for Tutors (August 2020)
Ventures Resources PowerPoint

Teaching with Video (June 2020)
Teaching with Video (Handout)
Video Platforms Overview (Slides)
Teaching with Zoom (Slides) 
Teaching with Meet (Slides)

Engaging Adult Learners Through Technology (October 2018)
Technology (Slides)
Technology (Handout)

Maintaining Student Motivation (September 2018)
Motivation (Slides)
Language Goals (Handout)
Real-World Implementation (Handout)
SMART Goals (Handout)

Collaborative Lesson Planning (2018 Tutor Retreat)
Presented by Holly Dilatush, a former LVCA volunteer
Lesson Planning (Slides)

Beyond the Workbook (2018 Tutor Retreat)
Beyond the Workbook (Slides)
Alternative Homework Tips (Handout)

Lesson Planning for Intermediate & Advanced Students (April 2018)
Meeting the Needs of Intermediate and Advanced English Language Learners (Slides)
Level 4 Standards (Handout)

Scaffolding Techniques for Low-Level Learners (March 2018)
Scaffolding (Slides)
Cluster Word Web (Handout)
Cognates (Handout)
Compare/Contrast (Handout)
Herringbone Organizer (Handout)
KWL Chart (Handout)
Sentence Stems (Handout)
Spider Map (Handout)
Venn Diagram (Handout)

Informal Assessments Workshop (January 2018)
Informal Assessments (Slides)
Example-Non-Example (Handout)
3-2-1 (Handout)
One Sentence Summaries (Handout)
Learning Log Excel
Word Wall Excel

Low-Level Learners Workshop (April 2017)
Working with Low-Level Learners (Slides)
Working with Low-Level Learners (Handout)
100 Common American Words (Handout)

Pro Literacy Guidestar Platinum