Tutors Visit Academy Prep

          “Her dry tongue licked her lips and she could taste the sweat on her face,” exclaimed Naomi, revealing a smile that emitted a sense of accomplishment.

Tutors Interact with Students in the Classroom

          “That’s great! You really understand the concept of showing and not telling,” I replied, genuinely impressed she was grasping on so quickly. I looked around the room at the heads bent over the papers, thinking how great an opportunity it is to be able to teach kids English, skills that I take for granted. It was my second visit to Academy Prep, a school that provides students of lower-income families the chance to get a great education and move on to excellent high schools. Both my visits to Academy Prep taught me lessons of patience while also providing me the opportunity to work with kids and help them improve their writing skills. On this particular visit, the directors and interns of the Academy Prep section of the Writing Center decided to focus on the concept of showing and not telling. Monica, Megan, and I ventured into the auditorium, armed with writing lessons, ready to face the 6th grade boys and girls.

Tutors Lead a Class Activity.

          We were all a bit nervous, but we easily got into the flow of the lesson by reading a short story to demonstrate the concept of showing. The students took turns reading the story aloud, giving us a chance to break the ice and get the students involved. As hands immediately shot up to volunteer to read, I knew that we were going to have a great session and that these students were willing to learn. Following the reading, we proceeded to explain showing and not telling through the introduction and discussion of the five senses.

A Tutor Discusses Writing Strategies with Academy Prep Students.

          We then challenged the students to search the story to find examples of the use of vivid details and the five senses. For me, it was truly amazing to see their creativity. Immediately, the children recognized that the story was missing parts of the five senses, specifically the portrayal of smell and taste. Instead of moving on, most of them decided to make up sentences on their own to fit into the story. Their initiative to add onto the story with new ideas revealed many of the kids’ creativity and willingness to learn. The next part of our lesson involved students starting an outline of a story while utilizing the lesson of showing and not telling. They would later write their stories at Berkeley with the Berkeley Writing Center tutors. Although it was a bit difficult for them to apply this new skill of writing to their own stories, they definitely began to understand the concept by the end of our lesson.

 Berkeley Students Tutor Academy Prep Students

           Overall, I can definitely say I have more empathy towards my own teachers after my visit to Academy Prep! It definitely takes patience and hard work to teach students skills that are sometimes challenging. It also opened my eyes to how well Berkeley prepares us in writing. I never realized how hard it is to explain to others concepts that come so naturally to me! However, I was very proud of the Academy Prep students and look forward to seeing them shine on their paper using details and the five senses.

- Sara