Mary

American history

I have worked with high school students on study skills for history and English literature. We can develop plans for your student to be self-driven on the other days we do not meet. I have three degrees and have been certified to teach K-12. English and History are my favorite subjects to teach.

vocabulary

grammar

European history

I was a high school librarian for 17 years and helped students study and research all subjects. My minor on my BS and my MS degrees was English, so I can be sure you use proper grammar, etc. I enjoyed my college classes on history, so this could be fun for us both.

reading

I not only taught spelling and handwriting to 5th graders at one time, I was a school librarian for 17 years.

writing

I studied grammar and writing in college with an A and a B in "English 101 and 102: Rhetoric and Composition." I made an A in "Education 505: Thesis Preparation" and also "Education 506: Thesis" which was the actual writing of my thesis about diagnosing difficulties children have with spelling. My graduate level classes in seminary all required writing papers for each class.

English

ESL/ESOL

literature

I was an English minor in college and a school librarian for years

world history

proofreading

SAT reading

I have three degrees, all of which required extensive reading and writing. My minor was English on my BS degree. I was a librarian, reading specialist over half of the 30 years I taught school. I wrote my master's thesis on diagnosing spelling difficulties with a concentration on teaching stories about how troublesome spellings came to be through the history of the words. Such stories helped my students remember correct spelling.

SAT writing

I have successfully taken the SAT, ACT and GRE (graduate record examination required for master's degree admission). I wrote many, many papers for my graduate degrees. I have three college degrees with an education major and English minor. I have written my own thesis for my master's degree. I would be working with an SAT or ACT preparation guide and concentrate on the errors the students make to prepare them.

spelling

I taught spelling and handwriting to fifth graders and wrote my master's thesis on helping students with spelling difficulties.

elementary science

elementary (k-6th)

My BS degree is in Elementary Education with an all level (K-12) lifetime teaching certificate from TEA. I have taught K-6 students reading, spelling, handwriting, creative writing, geography, science, and arithmetic for 13 years of my 30 years' teaching experience.

phonics

I taught 3rd grade phonics for four years. Then I taught spelling and handwriting to 5th graders using phonics to troubleshoot spelling difficulties. I researched the phonetic development of word sounds from their cognates and wrote and normed a diagnostic test to use with my students (before we began using CTBS tests) who were having difficulties. I believe phonics is the best way to teach reading and spelling.

study skills

Throughout my teaching career I have had the responsibility of teaching my students how to take notes, study, and research subjects. As a media specialist, I often had students studying in the library who needed coaching on how and what to study and how to research for a term paper. I have applied study skills to obtain three college degrees. I used my skills most when learning Greek at seminary.

theatre

I am a lifetime Thespian. Beginning in Junior High, I have performed in many dramatic and musical productions. Continuing into college, I sang in the opera La Traviata and performed in multiple college choir productions. While teaching at Carrizo Springs High School, I volunteered as drama costume and set producer and assisted the director in multiple productions including The Glass Menagerie, which competed at state, and the musicals Godspell and Fox Tales. I soloed as the director of The Diary of Adam and Eve for our high school UIL competition when the director suddenly quit. Throughout my childhood I attended most of the college productions in Kingsville, TX and have a tradition of attending the Nutcracker with my family every year.

handwriting

I am certified by TEA to teach K-12. I have taught all grade levels in the 30 years of my career. In the elementary classes 3-6 I successfully taught cursive writing. I taught printing to K-3 students.

ACT English

I have minored in English on two of my three degrees. I wrote many papers for my work on my thesis, my seminary courses over three years, and my study of spiritual direction over another three years. My students have managed to raise their scores on the SAT and ACT writing sections in the past.