The first session focuses on getting to know your student and understanding their current reading level, strengths, and specific challenges. A tutor will likely do some informal assessment—like listening to your child read aloud or discussing a simple story—to determine where to start. This foundation helps create a personalized learning plan tailored to your student's needs and goals.

Reading fluency and comprehension go hand-in-hand—when students read smoothly and confidently, they can focus mental energy on understanding the text. Tutors use strategies like guided reading, repeated reading of engaging texts, and comprehension questions to build both skills simultaneously. Regular practice with personalized feedback helps students develop automaticity with words while deepening their ability to understand and discuss what they've read.

Phonics struggles are common and very treatable with targeted instruction. Tutors can assess whether a student needs help with letter-sound relationships, blending sounds into words, or decoding longer words. Systematic, explicit phonics instruction combined with lots of practice reading real books helps students build the decoding skills they need to become independent readers.

A strong vocabulary directly impacts comprehension—students who know more words understand more of what they read. Tutors help students learn new words in context through reading, teach strategies for figuring out unfamiliar words, and create opportunities to use new vocabulary in conversation and writing. This multi-faceted approach builds lasting vocabulary knowledge that transfers across all subject areas.

Varsity Tutors connects you with tutors who have expertise in elementary reading instruction, whether through teaching experience, subject-matter knowledge, or specialized training in reading intervention. When you get matched with a tutor, you'll learn about their background and teaching approach so you can feel confident in their ability to help your student grow as a reader.

Good tutors track progress through regular observation and informal assessments—noting improvements in fluency, accuracy, comprehension, and confidence. You'll see progress in how smoothly your child reads aloud, how well they can answer questions about stories, and how enthusiastically they approach reading time. Most families notice meaningful gains within a few weeks of consistent, personalized instruction.

Varsity Tutors works with families to find scheduling that fits your life—whether that's after school, weekends, or other times that work best for you. Since tutors are independent professionals, there's flexibility in how and when sessions happen. Getting started is as simple as connecting with a tutor who matches your student's needs and your family's schedule.