Volunteering at Carter and MacRae
Helping students with English and Math
Volunteering at Carter and MacRae Elementary School is more than just Math or Reading lessons. As you spend time with students, you get to know them and become a caring adult in their lives. The attention you provide helps nurture the children, many of whom come from families unable to help with academics because of language barriers, second-shift jobs or other circumstances.
Classroom Volunteering
Volunteers are assigned to a grade and a specific classroom teacher based on the volunteer’s interest and calendar as well as the classroom’s schedule and availability. Subjects include English-language arts (reading and writing) and mathematics.
- Upon arrival at the classroom, the teacher gives the volunteer his/her assignment for that day.
- Volunteers typically spend from 75 minutes to 3 hours on their designated day each week. The length of time varies based on volunteer availability and the classroom’s schedule.
- A typical daily assignment might be assisting students with reading or math for 15 minutes each.
- The teacher may assign a student to you because they need academic help. But it’s also possible a student may be assigned to you because they could benefit from one-on-one attention.
- Some teachers will have you work in the classroom, others may suggest you work at desks in the hallway near the classroom or possibly in the school library.
- While helping students with reading, they may read word lists, picture books or chapter books. You’ll be encouraging the student as he or she reads, helping them to learn how to pronounce and understand new words.
- Depending on your assigned grade, volunteers teach mathematics skills such as counting to 100, understanding place value, addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions and decimals. Don’t be intimidated by the idea of teaching math, you can do it!
