August Tigerway In-Person Sample Class Recap from Coach Calvin
Hope you're having a productive summer!
Hi Parents and Students, Happy August!
For those not already familiar, my name is Coach Calvin Cheung and I’ve been leading our in-person coaching sessions for both SAT prep as well as college consulting. Our founder, Larry Cheung, gave me the opportunity earlier in the year to reopen our in person studio in Boston, and classes this summer have been a tremendous success for our students.
We have seen strong metrics of progress, dedicated learning, and insight from our students as we look ahead to the upcoming exams and application season in 2024. The Digital SAT is a powerful way for students to demonstrate their academic rigor for college admissions. Our program is designed to help students continue to improve their math and English skills while raising their SAT Scores, as well as position themselves for future success in the application process.
I’m writing to you to provide a recap of some of the valuable concepts we have been covering in class these last few weeks. If you’re interested in-person coaching, please schedule a call with me or our Program Officer Sreya Ravi, and we can brainstorm how we can help you!
I’ll give a sample of one of the topics that I covered in July!
Overview: In one of the weeks in July for math, we focused on systems of equations. Understanding this concept is essential not only for the algebra sections of the SAT, but also shows up consistently in business and real life examples.
Key Topics Covered:
SATs & Academics:
The traditional approach to Systems of Equations:
Substitution: Solve one of the equations for either variable, and then substitute the expression from step one into the other equation.
Elimination: Make the coefficients of one variable opposites, and then add / subtract to eliminate one variable.
Graphing: Graph the equations to find the ordered pair(s) that satisfy all equations in the system.
Numbers of Solutions:
One solution: The lines have one point of intersection
No solution: The lines are parallel
Infinitely many solutions: Both lines are the same
Word Problems:
Visualize the situation, then create lines that match the scenario
Utilize line theory (slope intercept form)
Always convert to integers when presented with fractional coefficients
Applications:
Problem Solving: We solved various problems involving substitution, elimination, graphing, abstraction, and solutions & roots analysis.
Real-Life Scenarios: Discussed applications such as the break-even point, where understanding inflection points are crucial.
Overview: Throughout July, we focused on vocabulary. Vocabulary is worth 15% of the exam directly, but plays a much larger role in the test indirectly.
Key Topics Covered:
Methods to Improve Vocabulary, and its importance on the exam
Long-term growth and learning routine
Listening to podcasts, reading news articles and books, and researching all provide ways to consume more content over time for impactful score increases.
Understanding suffixes and prefixes to determine word meaning.
Looking through the 250 most commonly used SAT vocabulary words.
Context Clues
How to utilize the passage’s information to reason the meaning of an unfamiliar word
How a word’s meaning can vary depending on the context
Applications:
Problem Solving: We completed various, challenging and quick-paced drills that tested vocabulary understanding using the skills we discussed
Real-Life Scenarios: Discussed the importance of having an advanced vocabulary in reading comprehension and communication skills.
By understanding the applications of Systems of Equations and improving their vocabulary, students are better equipped to handle SAT questions efficiently. These skills not only contribute to higher test scores but also improve overall problem-solving and writing abilities.
I look forward to helping more students succeed in our motivating in-person program environment!
Best,
Coach Calvin Cheung
At Tigerway, we help our students succeed on the current and new Digital SAT. We strive to keep our students up-to-date with our wide collection of resources from our digital library. In addition, we assist students in developing effective strategies for tackling SAT problems and provide individualized support to help each student reach their goals.
Our Coaching program supports SAT/ACT, High School Courses (Regular/AP), and College Admissions Strategy. If you are interested in our program, please contact Coach Calvin Cheung at 617-749-8421 or Program Officer Sreya Ravi 774-432-7381. Please give us a call today for a roadmap session on how academic coaching, SAT/ACTs, and college consulting can help you. We currently have a waitlist for private coaching and it will be first come first serve.
Feel free to read the other emails that we’ve sent out from our Substack Email List - all public:
How to think about planning ahead for College Admissions as an underclassmen
What hard work can do for you in terms of personal growth and SAT Scores rising
Tigerway is a proud Founding Member of the National Test Prep Association (NTPA) where the NTPA consistently communicates with the College Board’s SAT Exam Team and ACT Exam to understand the future of academics and standardized testing.
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