Reading and writing tutoring · Grades 1 to 12
Reading and writing tutoring, from first sounds to the essay.
If reading is slow or writing stalls after two sentences, something earlier is usually missing. We find it, teach it directly and build a reader and writer who can think on the page.
- Grades 1 to 12
- Mapped to the Ontario curriculum
- English and French
- Coming soon to Ottawa
Where children get stuck
Reading looks like one skill. It’s several, built in order.
Common sticking points at each stage, where they sit in the Ontario curriculum and the earlier skill they often start with.
Guessing at words from the first letter or the picture
In the Ontario curriculumFoundations of language
Often starts withLinking every sound in a word to its letters
Reading aloud slowly, one word at a time
In the Ontario curriculumFoundations of language
Often starts withWord reading that isn’t automatic yet
Spelling that’s hard to read back
In the Ontario curriculumFoundations of language
Often starts withHearing each sound in a word, then spelling patterns
Reads the words, misses the meaning
In the Ontario curriculumComprehension
Often starts withFluency, vocabulary or background knowledge, and we check which
Long words stop them cold
In the Ontario curriculumFoundations of language
Often starts withBreaking words into syllables and word parts
Paragraphs that wander
In the Ontario curriculumComposition
Often starts withA main idea, then sentences that support it
Answers that retell instead of explain
In the Ontario curriculumComprehension
Often starts withChoosing evidence and saying how it supports a point
Persuasive writing without a clear claim
In the Ontario curriculumComposition
Often starts withClaim, evidence and reasoning, one paragraph at a time
Run-on sentences and comma splices
In the Ontario curriculumFoundations of language
Often starts withWhat makes a sentence complete
Analysis that stays on the surface
In the Ontario curriculumGrade 9 English (ENL1W)
Often starts withReading closely for how a text works, not only what it says
The Grade 10 literacy test
In the Ontario curriculumOntario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT)
Often starts withStated and implied ideas; a main idea with support
An essay thesis that doesn’t hold
In the Ontario curriculumGrade 11 and 12 English (ENG3U, ENG4U)
Often starts withA claim worth defending, and evidence that proves it
Finding the root
A missed question is a clue. We follow it back.
How a mentor traces one missed Grade 5 reading question to the skill underneath it.
Ava understood the story when it was read to her. Long words were costing her the meaning, so the plan starts with syllables, not more questions.
Illustrative example.
The six steps of Hikmah tutoringA session
Read, talk, then write it down.
Each block is short, and each has a job. Writing happens in every session, one paragraph at a time.
A session · Reading and writing · Ava, Grade 5
- Read aloudA short passage, for fluency.
- Word workThe root skill: sounds, syllables or word parts.
- Talk about the textQuestions that ask why, answered with evidence.
- WriteOne paragraph: planned, drafted, then revised.
- Share itRead it to someone, and hear what landed.
What you receive
You’ll never have to guess how reading is going.
Plain words, from the person who knows your child’s reading and writing.
- After the diagnostic
- How your child reads aloud and for meaning, how they write, and where the gap began.
- A written learning plan
- The skills in order, root first, each mapped to the Ontario curriculum for your child’s grade.
- A progress update every month
- Skills mastered, what’s next and one thing to try at home.
- A mentor to talk to
- The same person every time, who knows your child by name.
The +
AI can write a paragraph. It can’t decide what’s worth saying.
Alongside the foundations, your child practises the reading and writing that stay human.
Think critically
Reading critically
Who wrote this, why, and what’s missing, including in an AI summary checked against the original.
Communicate
Writing to be understood
A clear point, real evidence and a reader in mind.
Create
A voice of their own
Stories, speeches and essays drafted by them; AI only questions or checks.
Lead
Speaking to an audience
A short talk, a debate or a reading for families.
Questions from parents
What parents ask about reading and writing tutoring.
My child is in Grade 5. Is it too late to work on phonics?
No. Older children who never secured phonics can learn it directly, with materials that suit their age. Fixing it often makes everything else on the page easier.
My child reads well but hates writing. Can tutoring help?
Yes. Writing has its own foundations: sentences, a plan and revision. We find which one is missing and teach it, one paragraph at a time.
My child is in French immersion. Can you help with reading?
Yes. Hikmah is bilingual from day one, and the diagnostic looks at reading in the language your child learns in. How sessions in French will run will be shared with founding families before we open.
Can you help with the Grade 10 literacy test?
Yes. The literacy test (OSSLT) asks for the reading and writing skills expected by the end of Grade 9, so the plan builds those, with practice in the test’s formats as it gets close.
How do you choose what my child reads?
Some texts are chosen for practice at the right level, and some are chosen by your child, for interest. Reading for meaning grows from both.
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