1st Session Checklist

This 1st session checklist is recommended, not required. Ultimately do what works
best for you and your student. But this checklist should provide some guidance.

During your First Session: You don’t need to jump right into academics. Spend the
first session (or first few sessions) building trust and setting expectations. It will
make a difference in the long-term.

Meet your student’s Parent/Guardian: They don’t need to stay for the entire
tutoring session, but it’s important to meet them to establish trust. If you can’t
do this during the first session, try to meet them at the next session.

Ask them some important questions: If you don’t have time to do this
in the first session, that’s OK. This can also be a quick phone call at
some point. But it’s an important step to help you get to know your
student and best support them. Here are some questions you can ask.

Get to know your student: Play some ice-breakers to help both you and your
student feel more comfortable as you get to know each other.

Understand your student and their goals: Are they trying to pass a class?
Graduate on-time? Get straight A’s? Here are some questions to help you get
to know your student and what they hope to gain from this experience.

Create ‘Team Agreements’: This is incredibly important for setting

expectations and holding each other accountable. Here is a great example of
some great team agreements that you should edit to make your own. It’s
much more impactful if you establish these with your student.

Show your student around the online classroom: Make sure your student is
familiar with the LTB Platform, accessing the classroom, submitting feedback
forms, and the different features of the classroom you are using.
 Parent/Guardian Questions
An important part of the tutoring process is getting to know your student. A
conversation with their guardian will help you learn about the student, establish
trust, and understand the guardian’s involvement in the student's education.

You don't need to ask all of these, just the ones you find the most important:

1. What are your student's greatest strengths and skills?

2. What is your student passionate about- both academic & just general
interests/hobbies?

3. Why do you think your student needs help in <insert subject>? What do they
have a hard time with?

4. What would make tutoring an inviting and comfortable place for your
student?

5. What are your fears or concerns about your child this school year?

6. What goals do you have for your student? Where would you like them to be
by the end of tutoring?

7. Aside from better grades, is there anything else you hope your student gains
from this experience?

8. What strategies would you recommend I use to work best with your student?
Frequent breaks? Incorporating videos? Using incentives? Playing music? etc.

9. Is there anything else you can tell me about your child that you think would
help me support his/her learning?

10. How would you like to stay in communication this year?

 Ice breakers
Ice breakers are meant to help you build a connection with your student. If one of the
activities below requires showing your personal space or a photo of your
friends/family, make sure your student is comfortable and do not pressure them.

Significant Objects: Ask your student to share 1 or 2 objects in their home/room that
mean a lot to them. They should show it on the screen and share why it's meaningful
to them. Tutors should do the same. Ask questions as your student shares to get to
know them better.

Snap Shot: Ask your student to share 1-2 recent pictures from the week/weekend
and the story behind the picture. Ask questions as they share. Try to get to know the
people and things in their life. Tutor should do the same.

Two truths & a lie: You and your student should take 5 minutes to think of 2 truths
and 1 lie. You will share your 2 truths and 1 lie with each other and will try to guess
which one is the lie. *Optional-- you can ask each other questions to try and
determine which one is the lie. Once you've determined the lie, you should still spend
some time asking about the 2 truths to learn more about the student and share more
about yourself.

Bucket List: Outside of tutoring and academics, your student is a person with
aspirations and goals. Ask your student to share some bucket list items they want to
achieve in the future-- these can be school related or just fun bucket list items! Either
way they will be inspirational and open the floor for you to encourage your student
to pursue their dreams. Don't forget to share yours too! You can even create a fun
way to share these via google slides or on a whiteboard using an actual image of a
bucket and allowing your student to list them out visually.

Would You Rather: A classic game played at summer camps everywhere, "Would
You Rather" is an excellent, quick ice breaker. Here are a few "Would You Rather"
questions to get you started:
● Would you rather only have summer or winter for the rest of your life?
● Would you rather never use social media sites and apps again or never watch
another movie or TV show?
● Would you rather have a horrible short-term memory or a horrible long-term
memory?
● Make up your own!
Name that Tune: Music brings people together! Take turns whistling, tapping, or
even playing an instrument (if you have one) to the tune of a popular song and try to
guess the name. This is a great way to learn your student's taste in music and
incorporate that into your lessons moving forward!

I Spy: Ask your student to find something in your background and say "I spy
something <insert color>." You should then look around the room you are in and try
to figure out what the student is guessing. This might mean showing different things
to your student and telling them more about your tutoring space. If your student
feels comfortable, you can switch. *Make sure you know what is in your background
and that it's all appropriate to discuss with your student.

Random Conversation Questions: This site has all sorts of question wheels or
simple get-to-know-you activities. You can use this as a one-time ice breaker or
open each tutoring session with a few spins of the conversation wheel!

Ask me about poems (better for high school students): Allow 5-10 mins for you
and your student to write 5-10 lines of a "poem" where every line begins with “Ask
me about…” This doesn’t have to rhyme, but it can if you want. Here is an example:
1. Ask me about art days with my cousins
2. Ask me about casseroles on Christmas morning
3. Ask me about my happy place, etc, etc,

One person shares their poem and the other person asks them about 2 or 3 of the
lines. Then switch! *Optional- Each line can also begin with “My People Are…” and
make references to your family, community, country, planet, etc.

My fuel is (better for high school students): Give yourselves 5-10 minutes (or longer
if you need) to answer these 2 questions:
1. What motivates you? Think about different aspects of your life and really try
to understand what drives you to make decisions.
2. Where does your motivation come from? Are you influenced by your family?
By the environment? By a teacher? By a specific experience? etc.

Spend the next 10-15 minutes sharing your responses with each other. Feel free to
ask questions to each other to make it more of a discussion. Remember to keep the
tone open and accepting. This activity can get deep and personal, but please only
share what you feel comfortable sharing.
 Student Questions
You won't have time to ask all of these in your first session, but you can continue
learning about your student by asking a few of these questions at the beginning of
each lesson!

General:

● What are your hobbies and interests? What do you do for fun?

● Do you have any siblings? Pets?

● Share a favorite memory you made with a family member!

● What’s the best book you’ve ever read? Why did you like it?

● What’s your biggest dream in life?

● What’s one thing that makes you feel happy?

● Describe one of your favorite holiday traditions.

● Who is someone you consider a hero in your life? Why?

School & Tutoring:

● Why do you want tutoring? What do you hope to accomplish?

● Can you tell me about your favorite teacher? Why are they your favorite?

● What's your least favorite part of school? Why?

● If you could change something about school, what would you change?

● Describe one thing that makes you feel a sense of accomplishment. Why?

● How do you prefer to learn? (powerpoints, music, activities, vidoes, etc.)

● Do you need help with homework, preparing for a test, or general support?

● Is your teacher willing to be involved in your tutoring?

 Team Agreements
Here is a team agreements template that you can edit via Canva. Or you can use
this google doc to collaborate with your student. Remember, this is most impactful
when you create these agreements with your student, not for them.

In my LTB Tutoring Sessions, I agree to…

● Be Engaged: I will participate and ask questions.

● Be On-time: If I'm going to be late, I will let my student/tutor know.

● Communicate Respectfully: If I need to cancel or reschedule I will do my best

to give at least 24 hours notice.

● Communicate Regularly: I will respond to emails/texts/phone calls within 48

hours.

● Be Prepared to Teach/Learn: I will send resources/materials (including

homework assignments) at least 24 hours in advance when possible.

● Be Open-Minded: I will be open to trying new things!

● Think Positively: If a topic is difficult and I'm getting frustrated, I will remind
myself that it will be hard before it's easy. And I can always ask for a break.

● Have fun! Most of all, tutoring doesn't always have to be serious. I will do my
best to enjoy learning/tutoring!

Student Name: ______________________________________________________

Tutor Name: ________________________________________________________

Date: ______________________________________________________________