Teaching Services

In Seattle and Online

Hi. Welcome to Tote Bag Teaching.  I’m Karen, and I bring more than a decade of experience teaching and tutoring with students from Pre-k to college, both ESL and native speaking.  I’ve worn many hats… and carried many tote bags.  I’ve been a classroom teacher, a tutor, a scorer and scoring supervisor on assessment projects.  This site describes tutoring services, and also contains various resources for ‘homeschoolers and other writers’ — among them, literacy lesson plans and curricula reviews.

I started ‘tote bag teaching’ in Seattle years ago.  I was working intensively with students of differing needs and abilities, and so I was always on the lookout for teaching materials.  I stored my ‘stuff’ in tote bags and the tote bags on hooks in my apartment.  I like what the tote bag symbolizes: customization and portability.  I assess student strengths and needs, but do not plug them into a prescribed curriculum.

I have used ‘chopped up sentences’ and glitter glue to help four- and five-year-old learners take those first playful steps toward literacy. I also enjoy helping middle school students succeed in challenging subjects like math, essay writing, and content-area reading.

Some services are now available online.