The first session focuses on getting to know your child and understanding their current reading level, strengths, and specific challenges. A tutor will likely do some informal assessment—listening to your child read aloud, asking comprehension questions, and discussing what they enjoy reading. This information shapes a personalized plan that meets your child exactly where they are.

Fluency and comprehension work together—students who read smoothly with expression understand better, and understanding motivates faster, more confident reading. Tutors use guided reading practice, discussion strategies, and re-reading techniques to build both skills simultaneously. Personalized instruction also allows tutors to slow down for tricky passages or accelerate when a student is ready, keeping engagement high.

Tutors understand Pennsylvania's grade-level reading standards and work with your child's school curriculum rather than against it. Whether your student needs help with phonemic awareness in early grades, guided reading comprehension in the middle grades, or literary analysis in upper elementary, instruction is tailored to support what they're learning in class while filling specific gaps.

In a classroom with a 14.7:1 student-teacher ratio on average, it's hard for teachers to give each struggling reader the time and customized strategies they need. Personalized 1-on-1 tutoring allows a tutor to adjust pacing, choose texts matched to your child's interests, and provide immediate feedback on reading strategies. This focused attention builds skills faster and helps struggling readers catch up to grade level.

Absolutely. Many elementary students who struggle with reading develop anxiety or avoidance around reading time. Tutors create a low-pressure environment where mistakes are learning opportunities, progress is celebrated, and reading becomes less scary. As skills improve and students experience success with books they can actually read, confidence naturally grows—and that confidence carries over into classroom participation and independent reading.

Connect with Varsity Tutors to get matched with a tutor who specializes in elementary reading and understands your child's specific needs. Share details about your student's grade level, current challenges, and learning style, and we'll connect you with someone who's a great fit. Most families start with a single session to see how the tutoring works, then build a regular schedule that fits your family.

Tutors teach research-backed strategies like phonics and decoding, predicting and inferencing, asking questions while reading, visualizing stories, and summarizing. They also help students learn to monitor their own comprehension—noticing when something doesn't make sense and knowing how to fix it. These strategies turn reading from a passive activity into an active, thinking process that students can apply to any book.