Strategies for taking the test were discussed with emphasis on the use of time.

We focused on test strategies using example questions. The effective use of time and and question order were the emphasis of the lesson.

This was my last tutoring session with Finley. She wanted to complete part of a practice test with me in the room so she could discuss her PSAT strategies. She only missed one question and was worried about it, but I reminded her she did not need to get a perfect score on the test. Finley feels more confident in her reading and is reminding herself to focus, even with reading passages that don't interest her. As long as she focuses on the reading passages, Finley will do well on the test.

This was my final session with Landon. He wanted to review answers he missed on the practice test. We discussed relaxation strategies such as box breathing and positive affirmations. Landon wants to get a perfect score on the PSAT, and I told him to just focus on each question and do the best he could, that he would still do well if he mussed one or two questions. If Landon remembers to slow down as he reads and study each question, he will do well on the test.

Finley took a practice PSAT test with her mom and she reported the scores. We reviewed Finley's incorrect answers, and most of the questions she missed were related to visuals such as charts. I encouraged Finley to study charts from the news and other sources to practice inferences. We also worked with stress management strategies to use before the test such as box breathing, positive visualizations, and a positive playlist.

Landon took a practice PSAT test with his mom and she reported the scores. We reviewed Landon's incorrect answers, and most of the questions he missed were a result of reading the passages too fast. I encouraged Landon to slow down when reading and use all the time available for the test. He enjoys reading for fun, so I suggested he continue the Percy Jackson series to study sentence patterns

I asked Landon on a scale of 1-5 (l=low, 5=high) how confident he felt with his learning. He said 4, and felt a practice test would help him. Landon took the practice test quickly but only missed one question. I asked him what caused his success, and he said reading the Percy Jackson series of books helped him become familiar with sentence patterns. I encouraged him to continue reading and practicing strategies which help him. He wants to take another practice test when we meet in person next week.

I asked Finley on a scale of 1-5 (l=low, 5=high) how confident she felt with her learning. She said 3.5, and taking a practice test would help her. She only missed one question on the practice test. I asked her what helped her, and she said the close reading strategy of paying attention to details in a passage made a difference for her. She wants to take another practice test when we meet in person next week.

Landon practiced slowing down when reading, but is concerned it will influence his reading comprehension. I suggested that he read aloud at home and told him there was no perfect reading rate because it is different for every student. I encouraged him to practice reading faster or slower until he felt comfortable with his reading pace. He is concerned about grammar, so I told both twins to make learning grammar and vocabulary fun by using strategies such as playing Worldle, playing Scrabble, teaching words to other people, and watching the Grammar Rock cartoon instructional videos on YouTube. Landon is excited aboout reading the Percy Jackson series, so I recommended he uses books he enjoys to study details about characters and plot.

Finley struggles with visualizing the texts she reads but has an interest in movies, so I told her to cast the movie of the story in her mind to make it more interesting. She is concerned about grammar, so I told both twins to make learning grammar and vocabulary fun by using strategies such as playing Worldle, playing Scrabble, teaching words to other people, and watching the Grammar Rock cartoon instructional videos on YouTube. She was excited about reading the book "I Am Malala" so we used the narrative to discuss themes and comprehension strategies. I also encouraged her to read aloud at home to study sentence structure.