On 9/21/2020, four members of Syosset AYLUS (Alan Huang, Jasmine Chen, Greene Xue & Olivia Jiang) and two members of Manhasset AYLUS (Matthew Yang & Loretta Liu) initiated a weekly 90-minute program, tutoring 5th grade students to appreciate a Chinese Classic–Journey to the West–through reading, talking and discussions.
After a brief introduction, eight students were grouped into three breakout rooms, each with two tutors and one advisor. Alan Huang, Jasmine Chen and Matthew Yang each led one breakout room with less experienced tutors. We used the Ponddy Reader software to show students the first chapter, The Birth of the Monkey King, with Pinyin. Each student took turns to read one paragraph at a time. Difficult phrases were explained and mispronounced words were corrected and practiced under the guidance of the tutors.
The lesson portion lasted one hour, proceeded with a 15-minute warmup, preparation, and icebreaking, and followed with a 15-minute discussion and feedback. Overall, it was well received by students and parents. There was a general consensus on including pictures and videos along with text and pinyin to encourage further interest in the text. Some parents were so impressed by our tutors’ patience, classroom management skills, and leadership that they were looking forward to seeing their children become tutors one day. This brought up the topic of AYLUS and our commitment to build unity and resilience in our community.
The following students volunteered in today’s tutoring program: Alan Huang (1.5 hours), Jasmine Chen (1.5 hours), Greene Xue (1.5 hours), and Olivia Jiang (1.5 hours) are members of the Syosset branch, and Matthew Yang (1.5 hours) and Loretta Liu (1.5 hours) are members of the Manhasset branch.
Nice work! Thanks.
AYLUS National Leadership Team