Be relaxed. Try to create an environment where students feel comfortable enough to make mistakes when they read. A big hurdle to academic achievement is overcoming fear. If you are relaxed, they will be too. If you are a first-year tutor or teacher, talk with more seasoned educators about their experiences teaching small reading groups.
Ask for volunteers and encourage students read aloud. Take some pressure of your students by asking if anyone wants to volunteer to read aloud. If they do, make a point of rewarding them. Remember not to exclude students who do not initially volunteer. If their classmates are constantly being rewarded for good performance, they will follow suit eventually. One way to effectively facilitate a lesson is to have students talk about something that is familiar to them. Take about three to five minutes to let them ease into a lesson. This will boost their confidence, and will allow them improve both their diction and pronunciation.
Set boundaries and be consistent. Students need to know what they can expect from you everyday in order to improve their reading. Generate a clear-cut schedule for both school and home reading and stick with it. Also, make copies for both students and parents to keep. Encourage students to continue reading while they are at home. Try to make sure parents follow your program, as well.
Increase vocabulary with games. Rather than simply have students fill out workbooks or worksheets, try to increase their vocabulary by interacting with them. Seasoned teachers sometimes get into the bad habit of handing students piles of worksheets to complete. In most circumstances, they will hurry through their work without really learning or retaining the information you are trying to present to them.
Monitor performance by having a log or checklist handy from start to finish. You will be expected to monitor and periodically report your students' performance to both school administrators and parents. Try not to wait until the last minute to make a performance log. After the end of each reading session, make notes about how your kids did.