Tutoring Resources Collection
Working with adult learners one-on-one is incredibly rewarding, but requires some different methods than classroom teaching. We have created this collection to help support tutors, volunteers, and their adult language learners in their work together. We will continue to add to this page with resources and trainings. If you have any suggestions from your own tutoring practice, please contact us at [email protected].
Resources
Making a lesson plan for tutoring can be as detailed or as broad as you need. Having a good template is important for your notes and also reporting purposes.
- Lesson Plan Template (modified from Literacy Volunteers of Charlottesville/Albemarle)
If you are unsure of where to begin, or if you are looking for some different ideas on lesson planning, try a theme-based lesson plan:
- Theme-based lesson plans (from Adult ELL Pathways to Literacy)
Adult English Learners benefit from the four learning modalities: reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Find resources below under each modality depending on what you want your adult EL to practice and how they can apply their new skills.
- Reading and Writing
- For building vocabulary with photo banks: Adult ELL Pathway to Literacy
- For presentations around thematic vocabulary and stories: abc English or Bow Valley Readers
- For theme-based stories: Adult ELL Pathway to Literacy
- For building vocabulary: Ellii or Newsela
- Reading and writing practice: ESL Word Nerds
- Explore different sources for writing by Adult Learners and different methods for teaching writing: Writing Instructional Resources
- Speaking and Listening
- Pronunciation practice: Sounds American
- Videos with vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension activities: Listen in English
- Songs with downloadable exercises to apply and use grammar: ESL Songs
Looking for activities for application? Check out the VALRC's Instructional Techniques Bank. These techniques are aligned with the English Language Proficiency Standards and the College and Career Readiness Standards and most of them engage learners in all four language modalities: speaking, listening, reading, and writing.
Some examples of techniques that work for tutoring settings are:
- Categorize - Model how to sort with something familiar such as clothing that can be sorted by color, formal/informal, what season/weather you would wear it, etc
- Skim and Scan - Task learners with finding specific information in a text or to get the gist of the text. Skimming and scanning involves looking for information rather than reading for comprehension.
- Total Physical Response (TPR) - the tutor says a word or gives a command and the learner responds physically.
Many tutors have learners who are studying for their U.S. Citizenship Test, who recently became U.S. citizens, or who want to engage more with their community and civic responsibilities. Check out these resources for civic engagement and U.S. Citizenship information.
- This 16-module, open-access curriculum integrates U.S. history and civics content with academic English proficiency and digital skills: CILIA-T Civics/History Integrated Adult ESOL Instruction
- This community-based literacy organization (CBLO) has curated a list of online resources that support adults studying for U.S. Citizenship: LVCA Citizenship Resources
- This informational webinar presents recent changes to the civics test of the USCIS Naturalization Interview. These changes apply to all applicants who have submitted their naturalization application after October 18, 2025: Citizenship: Changes and Challenges