Clare Layton Private Tutor

Working with a GCSE physics student to consolidate understanding on space. Mind blowing distances and time spans can sometimes make this unit overwhelming. Breaking it down into manageable chunks with lots of analogies help along the way. Did you know that scientists believe that there aren’t any black dwarf stars (the final phase of a star that’s a similar size to our sun) in the universe as the universe isn’t old enough yet? 🌑

A lovely session with one of my youngest students following their passion for dinosaurs. We are working on speaking in full sentences and this busy tray in the garden got so much excitement, and in turn, so much talk!

A nice, easy Venn diagram to differentiate between Great Britain, the United Kingdom and the British Isles.

Spent some time with a student last night thinking about GCSE mocks and independently revising for them. We devised a timetable, key to organising time and ensuring you’d get through everything. Focus on two subjects per week, ideally an ‘easier’ and a tougher one. Use the Pomodoro technique- study for 25 minutes then have a 5 minute break (leave your desk, have a snack, go outside, talk to someone!). If you need any support with GCSE revision, drop me a DM.

*Blocked out student’s activities to protect privacy.

Working hard this evening with a Y7 student on a book presentation. She brought her ideas to the session and we unpicked her thoughts, expanding and adding more detail where relevant. We proofread for punctuation, checking for natural pauses in her writing. Then practised presenting, using confidence and a clear voice. Fingers crossed her presentation goes well at school this week! The book she chose to write about is Tuck Everlasting, not one ive read but it sounds like a fantastic read!

A quick game of times table squares with a Y4 student, in prep for their upcoming multiplication check. He loves to play this game, and I can make it as challenging or easy as needed.

Last minute SATs revision? This is something I’m currently working on with a Y6 student. Work smart; looking over the coverage of previous papers, it’s clear to see that calculation and fractions, decimals and percentages far outweigh other areas so this is when you should focus your energy. You can catch up on the other areas, if needs be, over the summer. Need any tips? Drop me a message!

Thanks to thirdspacelearning for their super helpful SATs breakdown each year.

Another shared plan with a Y1 student for a description of Paddington Bear (their favourite teddy). Shared plans are especially great for reluctant writers as it takes the pressure off the student to put pen to paper.

When creating a piece of writing, I believe planning is the most important step. Having notes of paper with blu-talk makes it easy to switch things around until we are happy with the flow, with minimal writing. Here is a shared plan created, between a Y5 student and myself, for a biography about the polar explorer Ernest Shackleton.

It’s been very quiet over here on the tutoring front as I’ve been off on maternity leave. Straight back into it though! Happy to say that lots of my families were eagerly awaiting my return.

Working hard to select the correct sounds with a Y1 student. Lots of talking and modelling in this session.

Busy morning with a soon to be KS1 student who was feeling confident with his numbers. We were exploring numbers up to 100; practising reading, writing and partitioning them.