Among the many goals that Project Read learners set, one of the most popular is to pass the written exam in order to get a California Driver’s License. There have been several tutor learner teams that have worked toward and accomplished this goal in the past year. If your learner is interested in pursuing this goal, then you may want to read these tips from tutor Steve Blumenthal who helped his learner DeMarcus Johnson get on the road to driving! Recently, DeMarcus successfully passed his written driver’s exam.
When you read Steve’s tips you will notice that in preparation for achieving this goal many other skills were polished and developed along the way including: comprehension and retention, spelling, writing, critical thinking, sign and symbol reading, and even phonics.
According to Steve, “The two most effective things that DeMarcus did were 1) to practice with sample tests and 2) to study certain sections of the driver’s manual until he knew them nearly by heart. An important part of our preparation was the simulating of the actual test-taking environment. For that reason, it was important to have sample tests with 36 questions. DeMarcus and I worked on test-taking skills.” Steve said that he encouraged DeMarcus to check his answers starting with the last answer and working backward.
Steve says, “We found the sections of the driver’s manual test and read the manual together several times. In addition, DeMarcus read the manual on his own for homework/practice.”
Steve also saw this as a great opportunity to work with his learner on study skills, especially since his learner’s motivation was so high. He would ask DeMarcus to read a section of the manual and then repeat it to himself or out loud to him. This post-reading strategy helps with comprehension and retention. He also had DeMarcus write what he had just read. This is a great way to reinforce the material being learned and of course also serves as good writing practice. There is no need to focus on the spelling at this time. The idea is for the learner to be able to retell what was just read.
Steve also explains how they practiced learning and retaining the information while in their tutoring sessions. He says, “I quizzed him repeatedly, both verbally and with practice tests I had written. We drew many pictures as well, which helped DeMarcus translate text into driving situations. Pictures of intersections, curves, solid and broken yellow lines, road signs, etc.” According to Steve they also worked on phonics, sight words, and vocabulary. He says, “We practiced distinguishing a hard c, as in corner, from a soft c, as in center. He learned many sight words as well, for example, pedestrians and intersections. The manual was also a great source of new spelling words.”
In the final stages of preparing for the test, Steve says, “When it seemed that DeMarcus knew the material, we went to the DMV website on the computer at Project Read to schedule his exam. When it came time for the test, we scheduled that day’s tutoring session at the DMV instead. I quizzed him on the way to the DMV. It helped him relax to know that someone who was rooting for him was right there.”
Congratulations to a team that worked extremely hard and accomplished a very important goal that is shared by other learners at Project Read.
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