Elementary School Math Tutoring
Tailored, one-on-one lessons that help elementary school students master the foundational concepts they’ll need to succeed independently in middle school math. We offer online lessons to reach students everywhere.
Why students need support
Brave Math is for students who get frustrated by math, have had math tutors before, or plan to skip a grade of math. I recommend Brave Math tutoring to elementary school students who are:
Learning multiplication tables (2nd - 3rd grades), or forgetting what they memorized (3rd - 5th grades).
I’ll help your student master — not just memorize — their multiplication tables. We’ll cover different strategies that serve as a backup system, letting them get to the right answer even if they forget.
Challenged by factors, division, fractions, or decimals (4th - 5th grades).
We’ll make sure we’ve mastered multiplication, and revisit the challenging content to build the mastery they’ll need to independently succeed in middle school math.
Planning to skip a year of math or want enrichment (5th grade).
We’ll make sure we’ve mastered all of elementary school math, and begin applying those concepts by teaching the content they’ll learn next: percentages, ratios, negative numbers, and an introduction to expressions, equations, and inequalities.
Why the support matters
Elementary school students should master the conceptual and mechanical skills for addition, subtraction, and multiplication. They then build on that mastery by applying it to factors, long division, fractions, and decimals.
Students who struggle with multiplication are more challenged by all math that follows. If they memorize their facts incorrectly or incompletely, they can be blocked while working on division, fractions, and decimals. Intervening early can set your student up to succeed independently in middle school math. Percentages, ratios, expressions, equations, and inequalities all rely on a mastery of elementary school concepts.
The Brave Math approach
Rather than covering homework and upcoming tests with your student, each lesson teaches the math skills and confidence they’ll need to succeed without the continued support of a math tutor. Lessons move at your student’s pace, starting where math makes sense and ending when they’re no longer needed. The goals of lessons are to:
Build strong math foundations. We’ll arm your student with the conceptual and mechanical understanding they need to master more advanced concepts with confidence.
Bridge the gap for mastering classwork. We’ll reenforce the content your student hasn’t yet mastered and will continue on until we’ve introduced the content they’ll learn next.
Promote self-reliance. Over time, your student will develop the skill set and confidence they need to independently succeed in math class without the need for more lessons.
Rajni Rao, founder and tutor, started Brave Math after observing why students in her middle school math classes in Sacramento, CA and Washington, D.C. weren’t able to master new content. Prior to teaching, Rajni attended Thomas Jefferson High School, graduated from the University of Virginia, and earned her Masters in Education from Loyola Marymount University.
Testimonials
“Ms. Rao’s teaching methods have helped my daughters become more confident in math. She makes the tutoring sessions fun so my girls learn and retain the math concepts much easier. It’s wonderful to see the world of math open up for my girls and Ms. Rao is a big part of this major accomplishment!”
“My daughter had been struggling for a few years with confidence in her math abilities. When she moved to a new school for 5th grade this year, these challenges became even more apparent. Yes, my daughter’s grade jumped quickly from a C to an A, but more importantly, her confidence and comfort with math skills and concepts basics and with taking in new material skyrocketed. Rajni built an immediate rapport with my child and was able to swiftly pinpoint focus areas specific to my daughter. It’s never a sit-and-get session - Rajni is dynamic, funny, and so very well versed in both math concepts and instructional techniques. Recently, after her weekly session with Rajni, my daughter exclaimed, ‘Mom! I like math now!’”
FAQ
How long will tutoring last? The journey looks different for each student. The most important considerations are how many foundational concepts we need to cover, how quickly they master content during sessions, and how frequently we meet. We can set goals for your student after an initial consultation.
Is there any homework? Some concepts, like multiplication, require reinforcement outside of lessons. For those concepts, I’ll encourage students to practice for no more than ten minutes daily.
How do you accommodate students with learning differences? I have experience working with students with IEPs and 504s, and with a variety of learning differences, including ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and math-specific learning disabilities. In our sessions, I move at your student’s pace to cover strategies that help students with memory and processing challenges, and reinforce those strategies via repetition. Additionally, we cover executive functioning strategies that build confidence and communication skills so that students can advocate for themselves when learning math.
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