Friday, November 22, 2013
Literacy Autobiography--due December 12
As we prepare for the final exam and English 210: Introduction to Literature, reflect and type 300+ words about how you have become so extraordinarily literate. Who read to you? Did you perhaps read a single picture book a thousand times? Which authors engaged you? Where were you immersed in language? Why did you agree to try to read? Which gifted classmates did you envy? Do you remember writing for the first time? Becoming savvy with a keyboard? Which elementary teachers empowered you the most? Did you make significant literacy progress in middle school? Who were your literacy role models? Give us 300+ words to learn about you.
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Lien 7
Becoming literate is a continuous process and as we grow, we will continue to learn and become more literate. For me, reading was not an easy thing to overcome in elementary school. All of my friends were fluently reading at third grade levels while in first grade and I remained at kindergarten levels. Yet, with the help of my teachers and family I quickly overcame my reading struggles. I remember my kindergarten teacher had a bathtub in her room and all the kids begged to sit in it! The bathtub was filled with warm blankets and soft, fluffy pillows…a perfect place to cuddle up and read a book! During reading time one day, my teacher offered to help me read while I sat in the comfy bathtub. Reading was no longer focused on how much struggling I was enduring, but rather on how much fun I was having while being silly and sitting in the bathtub! As I began to read more, I grew stronger and more confident in my reading. Soon I was reading "Junie B. Jones" books and "Magic Tree House" books! Once I reached third grade, I unknowingly accidentally checked-out a middle school level book from the library. My teacher told me, you can’t read that, it will be too hard—I proved her wrong and finished the book with complete understanding.
As for writing, I have always loved to write; even when I was little I would love to write short stories. Writing has been something that comes easily to me and helps me express my feelings towards different topics. My mom has always been a great inspiration and helpful guide toward my writing. She always encourages me and has beneficial input when I ask her for an opinion. Another great inspiration to me is my Great Grandmother, Grandma Lamp. She is one of the most intelligent, strongest women I know and she is always looking for new ways to “exercise” her brain. She often writes me short stories in her letters, or recommends different books or articles to read.
I know that as I continue to grow, so will my literature skills. My family, friends, and teachers will continue to be an inspiration and a guide to my literary growth.
Rohrbach 5
As a child, my mother would read to me before bed. My favorite book was Bears in the Night. I had asked her to read this to me every night for years. This lead up to the first time I thought I learned to read. It was disappointed when my mother explained that reading a book and memorizing it are two different things. Still, this moment had encouraged me to learn, and for real this time. Later on, that curiosity for reading would diminish. I had two older brothers, who despised reading, being as they were the coolest people on earth in my eyes, I thought reading was dumb. I struggled in the area of motivation, I did not know how to find good books that kept my interest, and aided me in reaching my AR Goal. I resorted to picking random books off the shelf. The book that I had picked was far more challenging than anything I'd read up to that moment. The story was about a Vietnam Veteran who was left horribly disfigured, and a teenage girl who learns to look past it and hear his stories. The book was not only challenging in terms of literature, but it was also emotionally more mature. When I finished the last chapter, I felt a tremendous surge of pride. After that, I searched for much larger books and I pushed myself onto each reading level, as if climbing a mountain. Along with my progress in reading, I was also an avid writer. My imagination was ripping at the seams. Continually I created stories; the first of these was a book about blue birds, or as my big brother called it, “A collection of scribbles”. As my age increased, so did the maturity of my writing, and thus a vocabulary wide enough to cover the emotions I wished for my reader to feel was needed. I am immensely proud of both the accomplishments and the struggles that have made me the literate individual I am today.
Knudtson 7
To start off, I will say how great my eldest sister is, she was the first person to help really engage in reading. The first book I remember reading was one by Anna Sewell, “Black Beauty.” It was a wonderful book my sister read to me, and one of my fondest memories of my sister Jessica. When I was making more a transition of reading on my own I started ready plenty of books by Roald Dahl. When I was in elementary school I was fascinated by his wonderful works of art! I ready almost all of the books by Dahl available to me. These books included; Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The BFG, The Magic Finger, Matilda, The Witches, and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator! They were phenomenal, and the extent of my elementary reading. I did not believe that any books could be better, but I was wrong. By the time I was in the sixth grade the friend who got me interested in the Dahl series, Ben Jackson, also got me interested in the Redwall series! These books were endless, I could not have ever imagined reading them all (When I was a kid that is)! The reasons I loved these books was because they are so interconnected, their storyline was never linear, there was always another battle, or challenge going on and Brain Jacques intertwined them so very well I could neither wait to reach the other part of the story nor want the current part to end! It was a horrendous cycle. I remember many nights I sat in my bed reading the Redwall series, and also the Inheritance trilogy. My bed was my favorite spot to read, after getting ready for bed I would grab my book and immerse myself into the book! I believed the Redwall books were the best, none could proceed them! Once again I was wrong. The Inheritance trilogy, a story involving a dragon rider, Eragon, and an evil king, Galbatorix! This trilogy was so very descriptive I felt as if I were a part of the story. I also craved to know more, about the final battle that I knew was to happen between Eragon and Galbatorix, the king of the Empire! I know it will be epic. Yes, I have not ready the fourth and final book of the series, as it was not published until after I read three others. I can not lie, I was also very interested in the romance between Eragon and Arya. These three reasons make the Inheritance Trilogy the best books I have ever read -- and this was a hard decision as I compared it to Kite Runner -- but I hope to change that as I will soon start to delve into the Hunger Games series!
Stensrud 5
As a child, I became almost obsessive when learning new things. By the age of four I had incessantly mastered riding my bike with no training wheels. For hours I would practice braiding hair until I got it perfect. So when it came to reading, it was no different. I was determined to become a successful literate reader at a young age. Growing up my parents often read to me and let me flip the pages and view the illustrations. My older sister, who has always been a great reader, inspired me to be just like her. I would often rehearse books over and over, and then hold a theater type reading in my living room, always making sure all eyes were on me. My favorite series in my younger years of elementary school were the Junie B. Jones books. Along with my incessant literate learning behavior came my drive to start writing. I remember in first grade I would compose stories about me doing heroic deeds, always misspelling a few words, and missing a few punctuation marks. In third grade, I was put in a group with a few other kids who could read just as fluently as I could. I remember reading what I thought to be a hefty chapter book. Although I have no knowledge of retaining the information I was reading, it was an accomplishing feeling holding the dense paperback in my hands. This was one moment in my elementary reading career that still sticks out in my mind. I believe each of us is immersed in the language at birth. Though our minds may not be aware of what is being said, we learn to pick up on things that we hear around us, thus comes understanding of what we have heard. I feel I have learned many important literacy rules and have been well equipped enough to call myself a literate reader.
Ellis pd. 2
Most people only criticize the Accelerated Reader program, but without it I would not be the reading fanatic I am today. My father read to my siblings and I every night when I was in preschool, but my love of simple books like “The Little Bug That Went Kah-choo” diminished when I realized how childish it was. While my dad would read to my brother and sister on the floor, I would sit in the top bunk of my bed and look at picture books.
I never properly learned to read until kindergarten. Then, my literacy was not ideal for a kindergartener. When I moved to South Dakota in first grade I did not meet the skill level expected of my grade level. I never got a hundred percent on a spelling test and at one point the teacher had my eyes checked because I was having so many problems.
That was when my mother took things into her own hands. I got eight Junie B. Jones books for Christmas, and my mom forced me on the couch for reading an hour every day. She read the odd pages; I read the even. Though I love being read to, this was not my favorite activity. Listening to a story is pleasurable, but reading out loud challenges me. When I read in my head I often ignore the adjectives and even paragraphs I find irrelevant to the main plot of the story. Even reading just a page aloud of first grade level books was difficult.
The summer before third grade I got the "Laura Ingalls Wilder" books from my cousin. My mother read a chapter with me each night. However, when school started, my teacher read us the same books in class. I felt unique to have already read the first book at home. That competitive urge drove me to devour the whole series in half the time it took our class. Eventually, I ditched reading with my mom and took them on by myself. During fourth quarter I made my AR goal the first week. My pride drove me to read even more, and by the end of fifth grade I was reading an eighth grade reading level.
Murtha 5
When I was younger I always remember reading Henry and Mudge with my mom. Growing up I learned to read through them because every story they told was an adventure I was able to be a part of and often times I experienced these adventures over and over again. Now that I am older I wonder if my mom ever became annoyed that I always wanted to read the same books, but when you think about it she just wanted me to succeed and enjoy reading. Moving to larger books around first grade I became obsessed with Junie B. Jones books. One after another they would fly off of the shelves at our house. My sister also had enjoyed the classic troubles of the young lady and I have the privilege of owning almost every book. Once I was done with that series Magic Tree House books filled my time. I remember countless times of relaxing on my bed and becoming immersed in the trails. AR became a chore and started to make reading for enjoyment impossible. I finally had fallen in love with reading and by my third grade year I was unable to read those books because I had advanced. Finding books that were enjoyable for me was hard and reading was not fun anymore. In fifth grade I expressed my unhappiness with my teacher Mr. Scholten and he helped me to expand my horizons. Reading bigger books that I found interest in like InkHeart! Slowly running out of books to read in middle school I did not think I made any advances. A Christmas present that I received from my sister my freshman year actually got me to pick up a book. That year I fell-in-love with Nicholas Sparks and without him I don’t know if I would be the reader I am today. I still find myself envious of Bailey Q. because of her writing skills and reading skills that she has always advanced in, but I realize now that everyone as different skills and mine was just not in English.
I remember, growing up, that the picture books I would always end up reading were the Berenstain Bears by Stan and Jan Berenstain. I never did like to have other people read to me because I preferred seeing the words myself and being able to analyze the pictures as long as I wanted. As I grew out of the picture book stage, reading had become less enticing with no help from the A.R. program which was practically forcing me to read; however, there was one book series that revived my interests in reading. Seeing other students achieve A.R. scores of 700 and higher actually made me want to read that much, yet I didn’t want to put that much work into something that would just eventually reset by the next year. A Series of Unfortunate Events immediately grabbed me as it was a rather urgent and serious story, yet the narrator and author, Daniel Handler under the pen name Lemony Snicket, didn’t seem to take the situation very seriously at all. The satirical manner the author gave this serious book brought about many mysteries as to who Lemony Snicket was in this universe which kept me interested throughout the entire series. It was quite a feat for me to have read an entire series when considering my disposition for reading at the time. In the fifth grade our teacher, Mrs. Mauer, had us write short stories. This was the first time I had written anything and I decided to compose it after my favorite book series. While it was extremely unoriginal, I did enjoy writing something myself and deciding how it would turn out. By seventh grade I had finished the series being the slow reader that I am, and sadly lost the time and motivation to read once again. It is only until I force myself some ways into a book that I begin to feel motivated again, yet it is still very simple to immerse myself in a series when I know what to expect.
Spurlin 2
As I approach the halfway mark of my senior year of high school I realize just how far my literacy skills have come. I am very thankful my parents read to me. My Grandma Sue always supplied me with classical books like Dr. Suess and Dick and Jane. My bookshelf exploded with Disney stories, baby books and Scholastic reads; clearly this is evidence I was read to as a child. Reading is where my literacy took root. Elementary teachers at Valley Springs Elementary encouraged my English, grammar, and spelling further. One particular event from my second-third grade class stands out to me. For the longest time I faced a poster with words of character on it: respectful, honest, kind, and trustworthy. Honest stumped me. Hoe-nest? Hahn-ist? Who would have ever guessed it was on-ist! Second grade, marks when my short-lived passion to read began. I read obsessively, Junie B Jones, The Magic Tree House, and Little House on the Prairie were among my favorite series. Later in elementary school I became an avid fanatic of Lois Lowry’s work. I now wonder if the stories of my early literacy is what led to my advanced placement among my peers; each book I fell in love with augmented my curiosity of learning especially about history. Mrs. Strand--one of my favorite teachers--always lauded my essay answers. I enjoyed writing at that point.
In middle school I progressed writing strategies such as perfecting the five paragraph essay outline and improving my vocabulary. However, my respect of reading and writing diminished with Accelerated Reader programs which forced me to read challenging leveled stories. Throughout high school, essays destroyed my grades. Hours of strenuous efforts went into essay projects just to have a lousy grade. Because they are weighted so heavy it became a hefty burden to my English success. My current English teacher deserves plenty of credit for reviving my respect for writing. Mr. C’s passion has rubbed off on me and I admire his extensive vocabulary (which I hope to emulate someday).
Reading, writing, spelling, speaking, and grammar revising are all elements of literacy. Fortunately, I have been immersed in all areas in order to assure strong abilities. I remind others often of Mark Twain’s words, “The man who does not read has not advantage of the man who cannot read.” It is truly an imperative ability to develop.
Gacke 2
I have always enjoyed reading, but it is difficult to say exactly why and how I have come to love it. Unsurprisingly, my parents were the first to put a book in front of my nose, reading to me daily and buying book after book to feed my avid appetite. I remember reading chapter books before most kids my age and having to choose from a smaller collection of upper level books in my first grade classroom. Sometimes I felt jealousy rise in my chest as I watched by fellow classmates read easier and more entertaining stories with big, bright pictures that captured my eye, but I kept advancing, racing through book after book. In fourth grade, I was well-beyond the average reading level and my AR goal exceeded 100 points. However, I was engrossed in healthy competition with my best friend Jessi Johnson as we battled countless books to achieve the most points.
It was also around this time that I began to run out of books to read—finished with all that interested me in the school library. In Sunday School, we had just received our very first Bibles from the church—I had received another challenge. I brought it home and told my mom that I wanted to read the entire thing, front to back. She was skeptical, but I was determined. Though I spent nearly two years struggling through the old-fashioned wording and foreign names, I completed the challenge. Every page of the Bible I flipped, every word read.
I still enjoy reading, but reading requires time—and I have learned that time is difficult to acquire as I have grown up. Though I have never really thought about it before, my literacy is quite a miracle—obviously I take it for granted. So many people in the world do not have the means to become so literate—merely because of where they are born, what they are born into. Maybe, then, I will make more time to appreciate the gift of literacy that I have been blessed with.
Beldin 1
Becoming literate was a process my mother started with us at a very young age. From as far back as I can remember my mother would read to us before bed, but always encourage us to read for pleasure. She would buy us books at every book fair, and she would get us books for Christmas, put them in our stockings in hopes we would enjoy them. Perhaps the best thing my mother did to enhance our reading skills was she would make us read and sound out words we didn't know to develop our skills. I still enjoy reading today cause our mother never used reading as a punishment. She never forced us to read when we didn't want to, she tried to make us have fun with reading.
As a child I was in a program called read-180. This program was developed to help children who struggled with reading, and reading comprehension. I often envied children who were able to read without the speaking phones. I often had to read in the hallway by myself so I didn't disturb other children in my class trying to read. I believe due to the fact I wasn't the best reader, that I began to make my own stories so I wouldn't be told I was saying words wrong, or I was stupid because I read slower then most fifth graders. The teacher who really helped me develop in reading was my third-grade teacher Mrs. Korbel. She never made me feel stupid when I didn't know words or I read slower then other kids in the class.
I would say I made the most progress in reading when I was in 8th grade. I would read books even if I knew I would have to work twice as hard in remembering information during the process of reading a book. The teacher who challenged my reading skills the most was Mrs. Geerdes. She knew I could read beyond what I believed was my ability. She raised my dreaded AR goal if she believed I could do better. My literary was developed through a long and stressful process. I still struggle with literacy but, I'm not going to let it define my ability.
Holmes 2
Becoming literate is no easy task. It takes hours upon hours of practice to comprehend the English language. The credit for helping me become literate all goes to my mom. Every night before bed, she would read at least one book to me. It started off as small, simple books, such as "Goodnight Moon" and "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Gradually, these books turned into Dr. Seuss and Mary Pope Osborne. I think I read or had read to me every single Magic Treehouse book in existence. Instead of staying up late and watching TV, I would stay up late and read. I was fascinated by the tales that some books could tell. Each Magic Treehouse story was similar, yet so different. I was inrigued to learn about the various cultures that Jack and Annie stumbled across. As my reading skills improved, I was determined to read more difficult books. By the end of the second grade, I had read the first five Harry Potter books. By the end of third grade, I had read the first two "Eragon" series of books. I loved the challenge of reading a huge book, and I loved the satisfactory feeling of finishing it.
Another motivator for me was our AR goals. I was determined to have the highest in the class, if not the grade. I remember taking my first AR test, in which Carson Pruett helped me, and bombed it. From that day forward, I vowed to never fail a test again, and to obtain as many points as I could. I am almost sure I won some award for having the most AR points in elementary school in my grade. This is my biggest accomplishment ever.
There is not a day that I can remember not reading. The story my parents like to tell is the one of me coming come the first day of kindergarten crying because I didn’t learn how to read. My childhood is a blur of colors, shapes, and names that I can not remember who started reading to me. I do remember making my parents read to me after I had already learned, but that was only because I was too lazy to read. My parents drove my reading ability though, they would always buy me books (too many to keep on a bookshelf now) and I would devour them. Back then I didn’t have one or two favorite authors, I would read what I was given. Now days I enjoy John Green, J.K. Rowling and Rachel Hawkins. I know when I’m in the mood to read a book I’ll grab one of theirs, sit and read until I’m done. I was never envious of other classmates because I was the one picking up a big book and finishing it in only a few days. I remember one day in English 9 Elizabeth was making a comment about how we should to turn in more than one book review in a week. She use me as an example by pointing out that I had the ability to finish a book in only a day. No teachers ever pushed me to read because I was the one who would always push myself. I would get bigger and harder language books and I would make my reading goals above and beyond that of some of my classmates.
Writing has never come naturally to me. When told to write an essay I panic and wait till last minute only to get it done and not have to worry about it being perfect. But this past year I have challenged myself. I started writing a book, but I stopped because it was god awful. I didn’t give up though, I continued to write, using what I’ve learned in English 101. I started off with small drabbles. Something easy, something that you can get out a point quickly. I then decided to start writing a story again. This time it was easier. Instead of focusing on the day to day activities I came up with main points and wrote them down. So within a span of 16 or 17 chapters I had covered a span of six month. Then I came up with more ideas, ideas that happened years later and I kept writing not wanting this story to end. My friends read this story and they all enjoy it. I get compliments about how good of a writer I have become. I’ve had some friends tell me they actually cried at what I’ve written and I couldn't help but blush.
Even though I’m at the point in my life where I feel like I know everything I only know a fraction. Everyday my English knowledge is being expanded making me a better reader and writer and I will never stop seeking the knowledge that will make me better.
Although I've said all of this I still am terrible at spelling. Spelling is something I will never master.
Lusk 5
As a child I always liked to carry around books even though I could not read. When I picked up a book I would flip through the pages and make up my own stories since the words on the page were nonsense to me. Then my mother would take the book from me and read to me the actual story. I look at this now as an advantage because I was able to get two stories out of one book. These books consisted of Dr. Seuss books, “If you give a Mouse a Cookie”, “Corduroy”, and many more. Also around this age, my third grade teacher Mrs. Broderson allowed us to write books and then share them with the class for extra credit. Since I was already good at making up my own stories I loved having this opportunity. I would write book after book. I now have a collection of about 15 books that I wrote when I was eight and nine. As I continued to grow and expand my world of literacy I began reading authors like Barbara Park, who wrote the Junie B. Jones series, and Betty MacDonald, who is the author of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series. I would be so engaged in this books because I was so proud of myself that I was finally able to make it through a whole chapter book all by myself. Because of this self-pride I would sit down and read a whole book in one sitting. In middle school is where I made the most progress in literacy, I began to read the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. My literacy role model was my sister who was 4 years older than me. I would see her reading these vast books. I would always compare them to my tiny chapter books and feel disappointed. I worked hard to catch up to her. I was so proud the day that I started reading books out of her collection because I felt like I was improving myself and slowly but surely becoming a better reader.
Dreyer 2
As far back as my memory goes, I can recall my love for reading. My parents were the first to introduce me to books and I instantly fell in love with them. One of my favorite books as a child was called “A Big Ball of String”. I remember my brother would read me this book—sometimes I would sneak into his room just to dig it out and look at the pictures again. From that point on I was fascinated with stories that could let me use my imagination. I owned almost every Dr. Seuss book written and would ask my dad to read me the same ones time and time again so I could daydream about the crazy characters.
As I got older and entered elementary school, my love and determination for reading grew as well. I strived to be the best reader in my class as I soared through the daily books we had to bring home. Each time I received a new book, I raced home to show my parents my new accomplishment. As years progressed into late elementary and early middle school, I found myself setting higher AR goals—trying to out due my fellow readers. In sixth grade, we took a test to figure out what our reading level was. I became ecstatic to find out my reading range ascended beyond the twelfth grade level. Proud of this achievement, I checked out the novel “One Thousand Leagues under the Sea”. I’m not exactly sure why I tried to read it, but less than half-way through I realized I had no interest in the concept as a sixth grade girl.
Throughout my middle school career, I ventured to the library every other day to check out a new book during study hall.
Because of my fondness for imaginative stories, I became enchanted by the fact that I could come up with my own similar stories. Once, in fourth grade, I wrote a story about two dogs who went on an adventure. One dog, Max, injured his leg on the trail and his friend, Angus, had to journey back to the fire station to save him. I converted my story into picture-book format and illustrated the tale as well—able to combine my love of art and writing. I entered my book into a contest and won a prize. From then on, I have been able to combine reading and writing into an enjoyable pastime that has allowed me to become literate.
Rykhus 1
As a child I was a doer. I never remember being read too, but I know it happened. Reading is a tool to me. It is a means to an end. I know that it was my parents that read to me, and of my parents, mostly my mother, but I simply do not recall the sessions. I did pick up the skill of reading however by the time I was in early first grade, I wanted to be independent (even then) and I was a burden having people read everything to me. Literacy is an extraordinary gift; however I do view it as a tool. When I could go to a store and read descriptions, or read items off a menu at a restaurant, I felt empowered, independent, and important. Even with this new found power I rarely read for pleasure. When I do read a book, I enjoy it, however, I find doing the things I read about much more compelling. Why not go fishing instead of reading a book about the proper technique to catch a bass, living near a pond with some of the best bass fishing around. Or when I read Hatchet, I lived life differently from what I read. I do recognize this to be a dynamic experience, yet it did not drive me to a thirst for my reading, in fact it was quite the opposite. It drove me to live more and read less. I equated reading with watching television, just mindless entertainment. Later in my childhood I found the beauty of nonfiction, and oh what a gem that is. Reading is no longer mindless but intentional pursuit of knowledge, ways to better things about me. Sure at some points I was envious of my friends who could devour lengthy chapter books overnight but had the drive to read biographies and conceptual pieces of literature instead of pointless prose. Literacy is a gift, a gift in which I have been blessed; now I need to continue to sharpen this literate tool as to not let it go dull.
My introduction to literature came from my mother. She would always read to me at bedtime, and I would listen to stories ranging from Dr. Seuss, to (my personal favorites) nonfiction fact books about the ocean. My first steps into literacy consisted of her reading and myself following along behind her finger, trying to comprehend the symbols displayed on the page. As I learned the alphabet, I gained the ability to read a few words and sound out the ones I didn't know. Thanks to my mom, I was an adequate reader before I ever set foot in a school. I remember that I never really struggled with reading in elementary school. I do remember being frustrated with my classmates for slowing down the pace of the class. Ironically, I didn't gain much reading fluency in elementary school; I accredit my fluent reading abilities to video games. On Christmas day during my preschool year, my parents got me the very first edition of Nintendo's Gameboy and my grandparents gifted me Pokemon Blue Version. Being successful in this game required copious amounts of difficult reading (for a preschooler) and a fair amount of problem solving skills. Playing through the game is equivalent to reading a novel. It was due to this game that I gained the ability to read and think about what I had just read. This reading and thinking combination was rewarded by achievements in the game and helped further me as a reader. This simple game helped me skim through the Harry Potter series with ease in elementary school. Reading was fun in elementary school; it became a chore in middle school. My middle school reading teacher saw me as an accomplished reader and she challenged me by setting my AR goal to 200 points. Before this, I had read books for fun and only tested on a few of them to meet my goal; now, I had to achieve this goal or face a drop in my grade. I found myself powering through the library and running out of books to get points out of. I read the entire Wheel of Time series, which amounted to nearly 10,000 pages of high-level reading. After twelve quarters and twelve 200 point AR goals, I had exhausted the middle school library of interesting books and exhausted my enthusiasm for reading. When I entered high school and the honors English program, I was taken aback by the new approach taken to books. Dissecting one short book over weeks seemed like a waste of time, and symbolism frustrated me to no end. Symbolism seemed arbitrary to the reader, and I thought that it shouldn't even be considered because it wasn't fact. That's how I became the reader that I am today; one who sees reading as more of a chore and is usually cynical about symbolism.
When I was a child, about 3 or 4, I remember my mother reading me C.S. Lewis’s “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe” to me. A few years later, when I was in 2nd grade, my father read me the “Little House on the Prairie” books. I read avidly as a child and was considerably advanced than the others in my class. I read the first Harry Potter in 3rd grade and “The Hobbit” in 4th. A picture book I read compulsively was “Polar Bear Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?” Later, I was obsessed with Tolkien and King. During my summer days alone, I would fantasize I was in these novels. I would spend hours searching for Mount Doom or heroically slaying the Jabberwocky. I was Alice or Juliet or Frodo. I did not make significant progress in middle school with my reading. I did however, gain a new obsession with non-fiction books that I have found hard to break. I spent hours and hours reading dry nonfiction books that were less of a story and more factual information. I read Greys Anatomy. I scribbled gibberish in notebook after notebook trying to retain the difference between a nimbus cloud and a cumulus. I became obsessed with diet and weight loss books. It was not until very recently that I allowed myself to read fantasy and fiction books again. I think my obsession with factual information was my own way of keeping myself grounded. I enjoy fantasy more, however, and realize now that I need fantasy and fiction books to help me connect in a deeper sense of self than “The Year Round Vegetable Gardener”. I hated taking computer classes in elementary school and did not particularly like or trust any of my grade school teachers. To me they reacted poorly to anyone who tried something out of the norm so I generally stayed at arms length. My mother reads a lot, however, so perhaps I picked up the habit from her.
McIlravy 2
As a child, reading seemed to be an every-day activity. It was a great way to relax but still enjoy what I was doing. My parents would read to me every single day. My mom continued to buy books, so throughout my childhood I had various options to choose from. A book I read over and over was Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown. I loved the illustrations, and it was the perfect bedtime story. I also enjoyed The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn. I will always remember reading this book with my mom. Some of my favorites as I grew older were in the Junie B. Jones series. Mrs. Petree always read novels to us. My reading ability excelled in her classroom. She taught us new words and showed us great books that challenged our ability. In elementary school, A.R. continued to boost my reading level and push me to read more. Being able to read higher levels made me feel so accomplished and good about myself. I enjoyed reading to my baby sister because I felt like I was helping her as my parents helped me. I also read to my younger cousins; and at the time they looked up to me for being a fluent reader at such a young age. My literacy role models are definitely my parents, other family members, and all of my elementary school teachers. My mom and dad continued to provide me with books, so I was always able to explore and learn new things. My teachers also helped me improve my reading skills. They continued to push me and set goals for me. Every year for my birthday and Christmas, my aunt would buy me new books. As I got older the books got more difficult and I always enjoyed sitting down with her to read to her, or have her read to me. My family was the most influential to me. They always pushed me and provided me with great books. I am thankful that I have become a fluent reader and had the opportunity to read so many books.
Onnen 2
Finally becoming literate is a chore that can take a very long time especially with the English language. I don't really remember first being able to read but I know it was a long process to get where I am today. When I was young I wasn't the kid that read a book with my parents every night. If I asked my parents to read to me they would but it was not an every night sort of thing. The books i remember reading the most with my parents were a cookie monster book (read by my mom in a cookie monster voice), and Pooh Bear stories. I remember starting to read on my own in first grade when we would be presented with short books that had a few words per page that we needed to bring home and read. During this time, my mother would often bring him short children's books for me too read too, most often those books involved dogs(which I loved) and were mostly Biscuit the dog books. At first reading was kind of a struggle for me; third grade is when i started to become a very good reader. I was never the kid with the highest AR Goal in school but it was always pretty high, and i started to race through book after book. I remember students like Carson Pruett always winning an award for his high AR Goal and I was amazed at how he could read so much to meet such a high goal. My favorite series to read at that time was The Series of Unfortunate Events, I raced through all of those books. In middle school I didn't read as much as in elementary school, but when I did read it was large chapter books such as the Twilight Series; that's usually the types of books I like to read. Series books are generally my favorite for example the Hunger Games trilogy as well as the Divergent Series which I am reading now. In High School Honors English classes we learn to search for every ounce of symbolism we can find in stories; this isn't really something I enjoy much. I would much rather read the book for the story line and not dig to deep for deeper meanings of the book. Overall, I would say I have had a good experience learning to become literate; it started off kind of challenging but I was able to overcome that succede at becoming a reader.
Martinmaas Pd. 2
Ever since I was younger I have always enjoyed reading. I don’t necessarily remember my parents ever reading to me but I’m sure they did when I first began to learn words. Some childhood books I remember reading include “Corduroy”, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom”, “The Dog Biscuit”, and my all-time favorite “Fox in Socks.” I loved this book by Dr. Seuss because I enjoyed reading the tongue twisters and trying to read through it without messing any words up. In elementary school, I stumbled upon books that included a series to them like Laura Ingles Wilder or Junie B. Jones. I remember that my brother, Garret, had a big influence on what I read. Even though he was a year older, I would always try to read the same books as him and through him I found a new author I enjoyed—Roald Dahl. Eventually my hobby of reading was slowed down because of AR. I didn’t like having to read a book and immediately be tested on it to earn points. I thought it was absurd that I couldn’t read a book without having to test over it. I stopped reading as much because I didn’t like how each quarter my points would get higher. I felt stressed that I had to reach 75 points in one quarter and the next quarter it would just become higher. I stopped reading as much in school so my points would go down. I only enjoyed making my AR goal because it allowed me to read books like “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” In middle school, I began to read more. I made frequent trips to the library and soon ran out of books to read that would interest me. I still enjoy reading but recently it’s hard to find any books that intrigue me. I feel like a lot of teen books nowadays have the same story line to them.
Through the years of exposure and requirements to advance my literacy, I have honed and expanded the English language with incredible detail. Having my parents give me books to read every day helped me to get the general ideas down. Though they never read stories to me at bed, I was often allowed to read my Dr. Seuss books until later in the night. Beyond Dr. Seuss (only used as there were no other books for me available) I had no inspiration to read new books as I progressed and those books became tiring after maybe 10 reads. The young books were left behind and I brought it upon myself to read everything I could, the newspaper, restaurant menus, even road sign. The fine print on large documents, commercials and everyday papers also became an attraction.
I was never immersed in language beyond everyday exposure and forced communication. Agreeing to read and write was not really an option and I understood that I would have to learn either at a young age or be caught off-guard and have to be behind. I envied none of my classmates as I either found something I was better at or proved to myself that I had better friends or someway I was superior. Writing for the first time was not a memory of mine and I don’t even know what age I was when it happened, but I still remember how poor of handwriting skills I had and continue to have today.
My dad was an IT guy for Gateway when they had a large building in Sioux Falls and he displayed his 120+ words per minute typing skills as often as he could to try and get me to learn to type better and with greater precision. I disliked elementary school and none of my teachers encouraged or challenged me when typing or literature came around. Middle school had little effect on my literacy as I was developing before and after it but again with no challenge presented, I simply did enough to survive and show off at the same time.
I had no role models and actually hated and still strongly dislike literature as the symbolism and deceit that writers use is excessive, unnecessary and genuinely a waste of my time. I believe that I will never find a literary role model and will never truly achieve a point where my literacy level is high enough. The lack of goals and possible achievements is probably what I oppose the most about reading and writing, as those that thrive to get more out of a language generally surpass the common knowledge and have no one to share their wealth of words with.
Richard Blue V Pd. 2
Holiway 7
As a child, my mom always read to me. I got the typical bed time stories, lulling me to sleep; however, my mom started college when I was about three. Therefore, she had late night classes since she worked full time as well. If I wanted a bed time story, I had to read to myself some nights. This encouraged me to start reading (obviously not at three years old). My favorite book from my childhood is There’s a Wocket in my Pocket. Every time I dove into this book I was filled with suspense. You never knew what was going to be where, even though it was in the same place every time. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed Barbra Park and Laura Ingalls Wilder, but when I was in elementary school my reading level was too high, and I was not allowed to read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. As far as language goes, I have been talking since I was ten months old, and as my family will tell you, I have never stopped. I do talk often, but part of that also comes from books. I loved to read aloud. Often times, I would play teacher and read my books to my “class.” I guess I never really agreed to reading, but I loved stories so reading became a necessary task. I always envied a young boy named Conner that I went to elementary school with. Every time I checked out a book from the library he had one four inches thicker than mine, I constantly wondered what he found interesting in those books. As I said earlier, I had a very high reading level, but I never found the books at that level very interesting, so I read below my level. While reading may have come very easy to me, writing is still a struggle for me today. To state the obvious, I know how to compose a sentence, and write down things I need, but composing a fluid essay is still difficult. I never found it easy to write a story or an essay for class. In fifth grade, we were made to cover our keyboards so we couldn’t see them. While we all dreaded this, it has made me an awfully fast typist. My first grade teacher Mrs. Hansen was amazing. She also helped the students with speech problems, so reading with her was wonderful. She always gave me harder books and challenged me to keep reading. In middle school I stuck mainly to Holocaust books, as that is my favorite area of study. While that may sound sick, I loved reading people’s biographies and wondering how something like that could have happened. Overall, my mom reading to me as a kid is really what peaked my interest in literature.
Amanda Berberich Pd. 2
When I was young my parents always used to read to me. My mom and dad would take their turn reading to me before I would fall asleep every night. Therefore I have always grown up going to the library--checking out and returning books. Many family gatherings my aunts, uncles, and grandparents would always read to me as well. When I was younger I thirsted for someone to read to me so I could look at the pictures. Supposedly, there was always one book, I would have read to me when I was younger. It was called the Feet Book, by Dr. Seuss. My mom said I would have it read at least two times a day—once by her and once by my dad. However, with all the reading of that exact book we went through two of them because the binding broke. The authors that engaged me the most were: Magic Tree House, author Mary Pope Osborne; Junie B Jones, author Barbara Park; and lastly an author of many books, Dr. Seuss. While reading these author’s stories, when I was younger, I was thoroughly immersed in their language. The style of writing the author portrayed made me want to read more. I remember, when I was younger, my mom was trying to read to me and cook supper at the same time, and she had to pause, from reading, for a short time to cook. So I took the initiative to try and read to myself and let her work. From then on I have been able to read to myself and I have become good at it too. Writing for the first time was my most proud moment of my short life. I remember running home to my parents that exciting day, and showing them, I had accomplished writing my own name. I was very excited and I then started writing letters to my grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Using the keyboard for the first time was a unique experience as well, however, I did not make as big of show out of that (I was in 6th grade). My elementary school teachers were all pretty cool; I will not lie. They all helped me read by calling on me to read in class, sometimes. One thing I have never told many people was I had difficulties understanding what I was reading, when I was younger, and always need to see a special teacher during class times. At the time I was extremely embarrassed, but now I am grateful for it. I will never forget my 4th grade teacher though--she was the one who helped my adventure along with starting to read more difficult books. The Tale of Despereaux, by author Kate DiCamillo; was by far the most (my first)difficult book I read when I was that age. However, I felt accomplished when I was done reading it. As I grew older and entered into middle school my literacy only improved. I had the coolest 6th grade English teacher--and she helped me a lot with my slight reading comprehension disability. From there I have challenged myself with difficult books and have engrossed myself in many series of books.
Marais 7
I moved to America when I was five and started kindergarten. I could barely speak the language and when I did I would mix up the languages and get a combination that only confused the teachers. Which lead them to sending me to my chair. While everyone else was learning the alphabet I was trying to figure out a way to get away. I wanted nothing to do with school. My mom didn't really ever read to me she would always be occupied helping my brothers with their homework. Then in the first grade while everyone was starting to read second and third grade level books I was still stuck trying to learn how to read. I just gave up and had no motivation to want to read because every time the teacher called on me to read I would stutter and all the kids would laugh. Then three fourths of the way through the year Mrs. Young came in to my life. Every time, it was story time she would come get me so that I wouldn't have to read in front of the class. I enjoyed the Junie Bee Jones books they always had adventure to them.
The first time I started typing on the computer I was amazed that every time I pressed a button a letter would appear. Then we had to start memorizing where the letters were. I was so confused as to why the letters when Q W E R T Y etc . That was not how the alphabet when. But Mrs. Ball said that is just the way they made them. She didn't like little children very much. Therefore leading her to be mean and always yelling at us. Then after a couple of months she made us put these orange covers over our key board so that we couldn't see the letter. We all thought she was joking because how can we see what we are typing of we can't see the keys. But unfortunately for us we had to learn the hard way. But now thanks to her I can successfully type on the computer without looking down at the keys.
My mom loved for me to have books. I’m sure my mom read to me at night like every other parent would the only problem is I have no memories that I can remember in detail. I’m sure she sat with me on my bed and read me Dr. Suess books till I fell asleep and then tucked me in and turned my light out. I only realized till later how many books I had as a child. I had hundreds and hundreds of books. Which now are passed down to my little two year old brother. I believe I get my thirst for reading from my mother. She loves books just as much, if not more, than me. To be honest I have read about half of the library’s young adult section starting when I moved here in eighth grade. I have always excelled when it came to reading classes. My literacy progress started when I could read my first words. As a middle schooler I could read books that my college level mother was reading.I have a better understanding of what an author is trying to say most of the time. That’s why I love Shakespeare novels. In Mrs. Sittig’s Honors 10 English class most students would groan at the mention of Shakespeare or Dickens, but I loved how those complicated books turned out to be the best to read. Most of the reasons I choose to read is because it can take me to a whole different dimension, a whole new world to explore. It is my escape from all the things happening within my own life that are sometimes impossible to avoid. Until, a book is opened and the words start endlessly flowing from the pages as if they are little streams.
Dr. Suess
Meg Cabot
Shakespeare
Charles Dickens
J.K. Rowling
Tami Hoag
Lisa Jackson
Neil Gaiman
Cassandra Clare
Kim Harrison
Margaret Peterson
Suzanne Collins
Christine Morton-Shaw
Christopher Paolini
These are just some of the authors I have sitting on my bookcase right this second.
Hindbjorgen 1
I will start by being brutally honest—reading is not a task I enjoy. I find it tedious, difficult, and slow. I will reread a single page many times just to obtain a general understanding. People automatically misinterpret my dislike of reading to understand that I have a dislike of books. It is quite the opposite. I have loved books from a very young age. My mother read the book The Poky Little Puppy by Jannette Sebring Lowrey roughly every night to my brother and me for the majority of my childhood. Both my brother and I were able to recite the entire book before learning how to read. The book had such a profound effect on my childhood that my beagle, now ten years old, proudly bears the name “Poky.” My mother and my father nurtured my reading throughout my childhood by bringing me to the library and encouraging me to read often. Throughout elementary school the Nancy Drew and Junie B. Jones series played a large role in my literacy. Although I was not a child who constantly had her nose in a book, I did enjoy reading. As I grew older, my brother became a bookworm, flying through the entire Harry Potter series in a matter of days. I, however, was different. It took me the course of a year to complete the series. As the difficulty of the books I was interested in increased, my dislike of reading grew, as completing books took me a long time and reading them was very challenging. Then I was introduced to the magic of audio-books. I found I could still read the book as someone else’s words would push my pace along. Although this topic sparked many arguments with my brother about what was really considered reading, my love of reading began to increase once more.
My love of writing has a different story. From the age of three, I was making homemade books in crayon with words spelled incorrectly and letters placed backwards. By the age of four, Bailey Quanbeck and I would make boxes full of these little, stapled masterpieces. Through middle school and freshman year, we would write poems—one after another. She even wrote me a full collection of short stories for my birthday once. Both of us grew as writers, and both of us have become quite successful. Bailey has won national writing contests, and is the best writer I know; she is my go-to grammar helper. I have been successful in oral interp, writing original oratories to perform. I absolutely adore writing, and find it such a stress relieving, enjoyable activity.
"When I was little, I didn't know what dreams were. When I was little, I didn't know who I was. Now I do!" These are the last few phrases of my favorite childhood story-- When I Was Little A Four-Year-Old's Memoir of Her Youth. The unnamed, four-year-old narrator has brown short hair, with a chubby face, like me. I resonated with her. I can still quote parts of the story, and now when I read the book, I have a look into my childhood. Of course, I had other favorite childhood stories, but, I really found my love for reading in middle school. In Mr. Olson's seventh grade history class we read excerpts from holocaust memoirs--from there, I read every single holocaust themed, memoir, history book I could find in the middle school library. By the middle of eighth grade I had read every holocaust book in our middle school library. I would walk into the library weekly and Mrs. Berg would already have a new book in mind for me. After middle school I began this horrible habit of reading non-stop for a week, then not reading a story I chose for a month or more. When I read the Hunger Games, I read the trilogy in one week. Then I didn't read a book solely for my enjoyment for three months when it was summer. This habit, is one I need to work hard to break.
Wright 1
Reading was never an enjoyable hobby for me; I avoided it like the Black Plague. I can honestly say that I simply despised the thought of sitting in some certain position(s) as I fumbled through pages and pages of fictional nonsense. This sort of attitude erupted as my anonymous elementary school teacher read to my class against our will. You. Sit down, shut up, and listen while I read to you in a hushed, monotone voice. Many will read this and automatically assume that I have obtained a strong hatred towards books. This accusation is merely false. Throughout my childhood, my mother daily and constantly encouraged me to relieve my inner fantasy by reading books. Obliged to satisfy my elder, I picked up Junie B. Jones. Amused and delighted by the witty toddler, I requested my mother's wide variety of comical voices to appease my deficit understanding. This would soon become a nightly routine for us. As my mother continued to read, I noticed her pronunciation was magnificent. She hardly, well, never stumbled over a word, or sentence. After we finished Barbara Parks series, I craved for more learning. For about a month, I inhaled my dinner as fast as I possibly could--shoving massive heaps of food into my mouth, creating softball-sized cheeks overflowing with food. Diving off the table and dashing to the kitchen counter I rushed upstairs to eagerly brush my teeth and throw my pajamas over my clothes. Upon my bed, I would sit and wait to discover which book mother would read to me next. Waiting and watching. Pacing and Pondering. Concerned and Curious. I slowly walked back downstairs, stopping before I reached the last step. I remembered. Mother is in the hospital; she has become quite ill. Returning to my bed, I solemnly sweared never to pick up another book again. Thankfully mother's health regained itself and she returned home with yet another book. This time, we would read "Number the Stars". It was then when I mentally disposed of all fiction and turned to reality. I suddenly inquired a passion for nonfiction. I enjoyed reading about things that have already happen or have potential to possibly occur. My literacy success is given to me by my mother. Without the nighttime stories and perseverance and strive to create in my a love for books, my literary knowledge would be nonexistent. Accepting the gifts books bestowed upon me, I began writing my first--get this-- NONFICTION story. My story was titled "The Killer Man", basically, a man goes around frightening little girls at sleepovers. Pathetic and useless, indeed. Nevertheless, Mrs. Beesley did attempt to introduce me to many books, I rejected almost all suggestions. I craved to gaze over realistic scenarios-- none of which she picked out. But as the years went on, I have adapted to reading by myself, I know it is a shock to few. And I like to read different genres. I have come to reach a conclusion, fiction is not all that bad. I realized this when I would out Clifford, my greatest fear as a child, never existed. For that matter, middle school had little impact on me. I despised AR. Can I not just read on my own time and only for fun? I always yearned to mimic the writing style and excel in keyboard typing of one of my classmates, Kara Polasky. I have watched her swiftly compose a paper, well novel, with complete and utter perfection. Her fingers never left the keyboard more than twice, or halted for more than ten seconds. Nowadays, I can type a bit faster and sit down with a cup of hot coco while peacefully reading a book. Free from distractions, annoying pests, and stress. Although I do miss Junie sometimes, perhaps I shall call her up soon? That is, if she can make it back in time before the street lights turn on...
Gingles 7
When I was young I would have my parents read to me every night. Most of the books that they read to me were from Dr. Seuss. As a child, I loved the way he would poetically force words to rhyme. My favorite book that I read by him was the “Cat in the Hat”. I did not understand the value of this book as a young boy, but now that I am older and wiser I realize that it was most influential in molding me the way that I am today. The moral of the story being it is good to have fun, but only good fun. I began reading books in Kindergarten. The day I finished “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” was a huge milestone in my reading, because it was much bigger than any of the other books I had read up to that point. The first novel I read was “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” in the Magic Tree House series by Mary Pope Osborn. I was hooked on that series and read all the way through to the Merlin Missions. In elementary school, there were two days a year when we took the entire day off to read. We called it “Cloud 9”. We were allowed to bring pillows and blankets and we could dress in our pajamas for the day. The next major series I read was the Harry Potter series. I began reading them in fourth grade after seeing the third movie with my dad. From fourth to sixth grade, there were very little times when you could find me without my nose in a book. I loved reading on camping trips and when I went to my grandparents’ cabin in northern Minnesota. I enjoyed either sitting on a lawn chair on the dock, or sitting on the rocking chair next to the stove if it was cold or rainy.
Peltier 1
Taxing and strenuous, reading was never a task I enjoyed when I was younger. Reading always seemed to be more of an assignment then a gratifying pass time. After trying and failing to read, I gave up on trying, relying on my parents to read to me. I loved books, which held the ability to pull me into the story; I loved feeling like a fly on the wall in every book I read. Those stories which pull you in, engulfing you into the story, making you part of it were always my favorite. Books, which held my attention, ranged from Junie B. Jones to Charlotte’s Web.
Reading never had a set time in my house, reading was an activity we partook in any time we where just sitting around our house. Since I never was very good at reading when I was a child my mother would read to me. I remember so many nights in which I sat on my bed as she read any book I pulled from the bookshelf. While she was reading my sister would always manage to come in to my room, joining me in listening to the story. When we finished a book, we would beg for her to reread it, with Junie B. Jones anticipation for the next book ever present.
Reading only began to become a major part of my when I got to middle school. By middle school I had learned reading is a major part of school in any subject, the library gradually became a sanctuary for me as my love of reading was awaken. Finding books I loved was easy once I spent the time in the library, actually looking at more than just the words the books contained but the worlds they captured. Jealousy was an ever-present feeling I lived with before I established my own ability to read. Though I could never read as well as others in my grade to the ever-present obstacle of my dyslexia, reading final became a hobby I loved to partake in. Dyslexia is a learning disability, which makes it harder to read as letters or words can float across a page. There is no cure for dyslexia you just have to learn to live with the ever-present hurdles they present.
I can’t remember when I started writing but typing was never a strong suit of mine. I had always been one of the slower students in my computer class and dyslexia may be a factor in why I have trouble typing. Though I have been getting better while I type more for classes as the classes become focused with technology. While typing had struggles writing came with the same interferences as reading, words were difficult for me to spell and vocabulary demanded me to spend not just minutes but hours to understand the meanings of the words and try to come up with ways in that allowed me to remember them. Vocabulary became just frustrating to me not just then but even now. I am very grateful to my first grade teacher Mrs. C for everything that she did for me trying to help me find ways to help me secede. She had the ability to help me move further in my ability to write spending time with me after school furthering my abilities. I will always find reading and writing tedious but I know they are truly worth the time I invest in them.
Quanbeck 5
Many people are aware of my passion for writing, but my journey from language naivety to proper literacy is shared less. My parents and teachers have greatly influenced me in the travel, building me a road on which I have navigated. The memories I recall from this journey revolve mainly around writing, as writing and reading support each other like complimenting actors on a stage. As I became a better writer, I became a better reader.
My parents have always been extremely encouraging of my writing. They are my “number one fans,” and they have propelled me to where I am today. My mom and dad give me the tools, lessons, and support I need to succeed. They will not let me forget that I want to publish a book, and when the competitiveness of publishing makes me apprehensive, they remind me that I am capable. My parents have been supporters and teachers. Even from a young age I have been taught how to use correct grammar; my dad admits to changing Junie B. Jones’s grammar as he read aloud to me.
My teacher in third grade, Mrs. Heinitz, saw potential in a young writer. She created a folder for me on the one class computer and allowed me to sit in her classroom during recess to write stories. I recall one story that may have involved an Easter bunny with illustrations… My voice and creativity have clearly matured. Mrs. Heinitz encouraged my aspirations and planted seeds of new dreams in my mind. When she heard of a drawing or writing opportunity outside of school, she would grab a flyer for me. Ms. Decker was another teacher who encouraged my writing. When I wrote stories about my class going on adventures in jungles, between deserts, or on abstract planets, she let me read them aloud during class. Again, this support fueled my passion for writing and, consequently, enhanced my fluency in reading.
By the time I entered middle school, I was writing stories that could pass off as short novels. I was able to type exceptionally quickly, considering I only used my index fingers. I became irritated when keyboarding class attempted to change my sufficient rhythm. My mom insisted that someday I would be thankful I had learned keyboarding skills. In hindsight, I am so grateful to have been given those lessons. If I had been unable to express my ideas quickly through typing, my interest in writing could have been extinguished.
As Annika Hindbjorgen mentioned, writing with and for friends has proven to stimulate creativity and smiles. Growing up, I gave personalized adventure stories as additional birthday presents. Annika’s comment reminded me of those stories, so I searched my computer and found that there are at least five ancient stories dedicated to Annika. One particular story, including Becca and Mackenzie Lien, detailed a terrifying, unique experience in North Pole. My passion for writing has blossomed, yet the fantastical tales have been replaced by more realistic plots.
Encouragement and support have inspired me to write, and to write more. If my parents hadn’t awed over my storybooks, if my teachers hadn’t encouraged my constant creativity, if my friends hadn’t been amazed by my ability to send them on adventures around the world—if. Now, I call myself a writer because the support is infinite; my parents urge me to look into self-publishing, my teachers compliment my writing, and my friends have claimed future, signed copies of novels. I have continually progressed as a writer and as a reader, and my journey to literacy is a story, in itself.
When I was younger I remember times when my grandma would sit down and read stories to me for hours. We would sit there with some sort of snack and read all day if we wanted to. Also, before bed my parents would take turns reading to me. I remember reading the book Chica Chica Boom Boom over and over again. I loved that book. Although when I began middle school I found myself so busy in sports that finding time to read was not important to me. I didn’t like to read to make a goal. I thought it was stupid. I was very envious of the kids that could read the huge Harry Potter books in a few days. Reading those books would take me weeks. I was just not good at balancing my time and trying to find time to read. I was the student in middle school that didn’t make their AR GOAL. I STRUGGLED WITH READING AND I WOULD FIGHT WITH MY PARENTS ABOUT SITTING DOWN TO READ.
(P.S SOMETHING WENT WRONG WITH MY COMPUTER AND THAT’S WHY IT IS IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS)
Larson 7
Pruett 7
When I think of what I am thankful for, I think of friends and family. I think of the great life I have, and how fortunate I am. However, I often look over one of my most treasured skills: the ability to read. When I say read, I don't mean simply understand the words. Most of us can understand what a book says, and what goes on within it. I mean to truly read, to delve into a book and make that book your world. A vivid imagination, I believe, is something that is necessary in order to truly be able to enjoy books. Without it, we are simply reading the words and comprehending them, not truly enjoying the work of art the author made for us. That being said, there are many people that helped me progress to the literary level that I am at today. My mother and father, at a very early age, taught me to sing the alphabet. While a minute detail in my journey to becoming a literate student, it was the first stepping stone I crossed to get to where I am today. Many books have intrigued me in my lifetime, particularly science fiction and fantasy books. The Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling, was one of the first series I read in elementary school. I became immersed in these books, re-reading them throughout my elementary, middle, and high school careers. I also become very fond of the Pendragon series (written by D.J. MacHale), as mentioned in one of my earlier blog tasks. While my writing is sufficient enough to get me good grades in school, there are some particular students I envy when hearing their work. Umaima Koch, for example, is an incredible writer. Her words flow in a seemingly effortless way, creating a fantastic experience for the readers and listeners. I hope one day that I will be able to create wonderful stories and be able to engage my audiences as much as she does. While I call myself a sufficient and literate reader and wrighter, I know there is much room for improvement. I know that much work is needed, and that it is a long and sometimes difficult road to becoming a successful, literate reader and wrighter. In these tough times, I know that I can always rely on a good book to carry me away to whichever world the writer has chosen to bring me to. Having this escape makes life all that much better, and I look forward to the next series to delve into next.
Tingle 2
Becoming literate, to me, was a process that I embraced. As a little kid, I would describe my personality as nerdy, or in other words, I liked to achieve above and beyond what was expected of me, and I read quite often. Yes, I remember spending recess time reading books, which I still find somewhat odd. Reading books was like a sport to me back then. I buzzed through all the Junie B. Jones books; they were easy. But the real challenge came when I began to read the Harry Potter books. I still adore those books to this day. But as a kid, it was my goal that I finish the whole Harry Potter series before sixth grade, which I can say I proudly achieved. I can still credit those books to opening up a larger world of literary terms and new vocabulary for me.
But I did not begin my literacy with Harry Potter books, but the first novel I tried to read on my own was the book "Holes." I don't exactly remember what age I was when I started, but it was around the same time my parents read short stories to me when I was much younger. I wanted to get away from the routine of having my parents read to me, so I began reading the hardest novel I owned. It took me the whole summer to read it, and even then I became frustrated because I couldn't read some parts. I learned self-discipline, because I had to force myself each day to read that book because I desired to finish that darn book.
In school, I don't remember having specific role models that I wished to take after when it came to literacy, but I recognized anyone that I saw as "ahead of me" literacy-wise and I wished to beat them, in a sense.
When keyboards were introduced in middle school, I became so frustrated and angry with those blasted keyboard covers that I remember purposely mistyping every word in some exercises. I wanted to pound my fists into the keyboard, then the computer monitor. After that short period of struggling, I adapted and became a quick typist (or typer?). All in all, I remember my literacy years as a frustrating struggle at first, but I learned from it and became better.
Klamm 2
As with most people becoming literate was a gradual process for me that included many people and events that eventually led to my ability to read and the furthering of that ability. My parents have always been voracious readers, reading books all the time, sometimes more than one at a time. Both my parents read to me when I was little. One particular book that they have mentioned that I enjoyed was the "The Berenstains' B Book." My mother also read the first couple Harry Potter books to both me and my two little sisters. My parents were the first people to introduce me to the written language and started my interest and love of reading.
One particular memory that really started my own personal journey to literacy was in preschool. My best friend, Ryan, was a year older than me and of course went to Kindergarten before me. He learned how to read quite quickly in kindergarten and then came back to my preschool and would read to me. I was overcome with jealousy that he could decipher these little scribble on the page and could make words and a story come to life. This started my want and need to learn how to read not only to simply learn how to read but also to compete with my friend. I then entered kindergarten for myself and eventually learned how to read. The first book I can remember reading, all by myself, cover to cover, was There's a Wocket in My Pocket" by Dr. Seuss. The Dr. was one of my favorite author as a youngster and I read every book of his I could get my hands on.
My reading comprehension and ability to comprehend harder and harder books only got greater from that point. By the end of elementary school and middle school I was reading seemingly enormous books like the Inheritance Series, Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings and others. One of my favorite feelings is coming to the end of a huge book and taking the bookmark out. This to me is a subtle reminder that I have achieved the feat of reading the entire contents of this lengthy book and do not, unless I choose to, read it again to experience the full story.
So, all in all, I started my literary journey having book read to me by my parents and others and have journeyed all the way to the point I am now, a decently literate being with an ability to write and express my thoughts through words and to understand other's thoughts through words as well.
West 5
The elementary school teacher that empowered me the most was my first grade teacher, Mrs. Sorensen. Much credit can be given to her for my becoming extraordinarily literate. Every day we started off with D.O.L (Daily Oral Language). We would be given sentences and have to correct the punctuation and spelling mistakes for each. She would give us 4-8 sentences to correct each day. After correcting them independently, we would go through it together as a class and she would give the reasons for why the corrections were what they were. If not for this, I would not be able to punctuate my essays and other assignments as well as I do. Mrs. Sorensen encouraged everyone to read as much as possible. She was always on us, asking, “Did you finish the book? Have you got a new one? Do you like it?” I read all of the time in elementary school because of this. Adam Presler and I were the only ones able (and allowed) to read fifth grade level books in that first grade class, and we were proud of it. My interest in reading greatly diminished after elementary school. I became so busy with sports and everything else that the little free time I had I wanted to use to completely relax, and not to read a book or practice grammar. We practiced so much grammar in that first grade class that it became ingrained in my mind, though. I did not need to practice much after that. Or so I thought. The practice we did was sufficient for lower level English classes, but once I hit eleventh grade, it was not enough. The skills I received from Mrs. Sorensen’s first grade class was enough to get me all the way through tenth grade English without needing to pay attention in any class to understand what to do. I would say that is pretty good teaching on her part.
Van Egdom 5
Before kindergarten, both of my parents read extensively to me. According to them, my favorite book was The Hungry Caterpillar. They read it to me so much that it fell apart. Then I learned to read, so I did not need my parents anymore—books provided a getaway into vast unexplored worlds. I devoted all of my free time to conquering bigger and bigger books. But, my passion did not truly soar until J.K. Rowling introduced me to Harry Potter. No one ever had to push me to read, because the authors enthralled me to continue. Accelerated Reading merely lent an excuse for me to invest thousands of hours reading. I was the best at AR—nobody reached as many points as I did. During middle school, I quickly mastered many 1,000+ books, as well as finished difficult novels, such as 1984 and Animal Farm. Retrospectively, I had few real friends, but characters from Harry Potter, Xanth, Wheel of Time, and numerous others kept me company.
Kindergarten. On a day-to-day basis, I had to write from a prompt in my notebook. The first page listed items that were red—strawberries, apples, etc. I am surprised that my teacher could read my writing, because they were horribly misspelled. Little did I know that I would go on to win the 3rd grade spelling bee. Sadly, I was not chosen to represent our school in the regional spelling bee, because my sister had won that one four years prior. I despised computer class, and I did not become a capable typist until middle school. Computers seemed to loathe me, because they rarely wanted to work correctly for me. Now, typing is second nature to me, and I hardly write anymore. As of late, I have learned that typing short stories presents a unique thrill—in stark contrast to my previous animosity.
Oddy 1
As a child, I didn’t have anyone read to me aside from the occasional elementary school teacher. I didn’t actually even read very much until I was encouraged to by other teachers starting towards 3rd and 4th grade when I started in the gifted education program. No specific authors really come to mind from my early years as I read a very broad spectrum of books and tried to stay away from the cliche series that everyone else read, as I found that to be rather boring and predictable. nearing the end of elementary and the start of middle school, I found myself reading quite a bit in my free time and even during class when I should have been listening to the teachers. To be honest, I find this still happens in High School; I guess it’s one of my bad habits. I didn’t fight the idea of reading as some of my classmates did because I found reading novels a good way to escape the reality of living in a state like South Dakota, and being stuck in class all day. Reading also served as a good way to pass the time when teachers were teaching things I had already known or had a good grasp of prior to class. I didn’t write much until middle school when classes started to require it and I had already become pretty comfortable with a keyboard as many people in my generation had due to the emphasis on computer and typing classes at an early age for us. Writing has never really been a problem for me as I don’t tend to get writer’s block or anything of the sort. I found myself gradually composing better essays and short stories, each one getting better as I came to terms with how I wanted my papers to sound and making them flow better each time. I didn’t really have any literary role models back in those days, but if I had to chose one now it would probably be Douglas Adams, the author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
Clark 1
As we get older, being literate is very important and becomes a very important part of our everyday life. Beginning with picture books in preschool and kindergarten, I always recall my kindergarten teacher, Ms. Moreland, and first-grade teacher, Mrs. Poppinga, reading to me and the rest of the class in order to get us to become familiar with many of the literary devices and words. In second grade, we started to become responsible to read on our own, which I struggled with. Mrs. Hemre, my second-grade teacher, helped me to become an independent reader, as I would go in her class after school and during recess so she could help me read and would send me home with certain reading assignments. The following day, she would make me come in and discuss with her what I had read that night to make sure I was grasping what I was reading. She influenced me more than anyone else to improve myself in something that was very important for my future.
I was always jealous of all the students that went home reading “chapter” books and I was sent home with the small picture books with one sentence per page. The other students would be looking through the library in the harder books, while I was stuck looking around in the picture book section. It always made me feel like I needed to improve, which was also another motivator to read more and go above my A.R. goal and try to impress the teachers. I read all of the Junie B. Jones books, along with all of Dr. Suess’s picture books over and over. Following reading, I was expected to become efficient at typing on the keyboard, which was another difficult task for me to grasp. Knowing how fast my parents typed on the computer motivated me to practice as much as I could, which now pays off and helps me in a lot that I am expected to do today in school. Between my parents and teachers and elementary school, I have become a strong reader, while typing took time and practice just like reading. Life would be a mess without understanding every literary work and simple words that are put in front of me everyday during school.
Fritz 1
Although I do not remember many books I read as a child, one stands out in my memory. Junie B. Jones. One could say I was obsessed. I read and owned them all! I remember every night before I would go to sleep, my mom and I would lay in her bed and read for a half hour. Not only was it a time for my brain to develop, it also counted for “bonding time” with my mom as her and my dad were always super busy. What kept me motivated to read was that from the very beginning perfection was always my mind set. If I did not understand something, I kept trying until it came out right. I envied students like Adam Presler who seemed to have to barely try—reading just came easy to them. AR goals also seemed to push me throughout my elementary school days as they were always set higher than I wanted them to be by teachers like Mrs. Beasley, Mr. Peters and Mr. Giles. With higher goals, I got into more complicated readings. The Series of Unfortunate Events became my favorite. Once I hit 8th grade into freshman year, authors of love stories caught my eye. Like any other American teenage girl, I became a fan of Nicholas Sparks. As a lifeguard I have a lot of down time where I find myself rereading some of my favorites: The Last Song, Dear John, The Notebook, and Safe Haven. I feel blessed that my parents pushed me as much as they did. It is a good feeling to know that I can sit down and read without it being a hassle. Many people tend to forget that being literate is a gift. People in other countries would kill to be able to sit down and read for enjoyment. I remind myself of this as I grow older and spare time for reading disappears. I hope someday I can give someone the love for reading as my parents and teachers gave to me.
Pearce 1
As a child I read a lot. It started off with my parent reading with me and when I was old enough to read by myself, I was reading all the time – something I continue to do today. One picture book that I read all of the time was “Big Pumpkin” by Erica Silverman. This was a book that I would read with my dad all of the time. It is about a witch who grows the biggest pumpkin ever and wants to make pumpkin pie out of it, but she can’t get it off the vine. She then gets other people to try and get it off the vine. My dad would read this book to me in a voice that can only be described as awesome. The one author that I read the most as a kid was Matt Christopher. He wrote many, many kids’ books dealing with sports, and because I loved sports, I loved his books. Another author that I read of lot of was Anthony Horowitz. He had a couple of series of books and my favorite of his was the Alex Rider series. Horowitz’s most popular series, this dealt with a 15-year old British spy named Alex Rider. The series details different adventures and missions that he does on. I was never really immersed in language, I just liked to read. I agreed to try and read because my parents told me to do it and I wasn’t yet at an age where I would disagree with my parents. I didn’t have any gifted classmates that I envied because I was the fastest reader in my classes. I would always be pulling out a book in a free moment and I was never happy when we weren’t allowed to read after tests. I don’t remember writing for the first time as that was so long ago. I write all of the time now and I am going to go into a profession where I will be writing all of the time. I hated learning to type on a keyboard in computer class. We had an orange cover that we had to place over the keyboard so we couldn’t see the letters. I hated this and whenever the teacher wasn’t looking, I would lift the cover up so I could type seeing the letters. Now I type sometimes looking at the keyboard and sometimes looking at the computer monitor. I don’t remember any specific teacher that empowered me the most to read, but I remember all of the teachers I had in elementary school. I think I made significant literary progress in middle school as I continued to avidly read. I think that my parents are my literary role models because they read with me and made me love to read. I’m thankful that they did this as reading opened up a whole new world for me and I feel like it greatly impacted my learning.
Johnson 1
I don’t remember a lot of books I read when I was younger but around Christmas time I would always read Merry Christmas, Amelia Bedelia . Amelia Bedelia was a maid who was always given multiple tasks but took them all literally such as a date cake was a cake with pieces of a calendar inside. In elementary school I mainly read certain authors, not necessarily series. Mostly I read authors tailored towards girls: Gail Carson Levine, Sarah Dressen, Lisi Harrison, Sara Shepard. However, I was always jealous of the boys in my class that would get the four inch thick books about dragons or whatever because it made them look so smart and studious. I think I made the best literary progress in middle school because I began to read more serious books by people like James Patterson, John Grisham, Janet Evanovich. These books prompted more critical thinking and provoked more thought about something that happened in the beginning and how it’s related to the end. I think reading has helped me mostly through my vocabulary and quickness. In middle school I would read ahead of my age and see hundreds of words I didn’t know the definition to which led me to look them up and accumulate them over time. I can definitely attribute my abnormal vocabulary to the many books I’ve read, especially when I was younger. Reading a lot also trained by eyes to go quick across the page and look for the main events. This has helped me incredibly on standardized tests in the reading and writing sections.
Grage 2
When I was a little girl, I would be read picture books from either of my parents every night before I went to bed. When I became old enough, I would read books to my little brother because I enjoyed being the bigger sister. Reading to my brother made me feel more grown up and mature; remembering that my parents read to me made me feel older. When I look back at my family pictures, fifty percent of the pictures were of either my parents reading to me or myself reading to Spencer. I think I enjoyed reading so much because it is a one on one experience with you and a family member and it makes your bond closer with your family in that moment.
The older I got the less I enjoyed reading. I became more pressured into reading that getting to choose so myself. We were forced to read and achieve a certain amount of points which were given by how big the book was or how complicated the message was in the book. I didn’t enjoy reading in middle school or late elementary because I could never pick when I wanted to read, I was forced by my parents and not capable of enjoying what I was reading. One of my teachers that made me a better literate would have to be Mrs. South. She made our reading class read every single day for at least twenty minutes a day. Forcing myself to read isn’t fun but the more we sat down and read the more I started to begin enjoy it again. Another teacher that I would have to thank for becoming so literate would have to be Mr. Christensen, he has taught me things that other teacher leave out. I didn’t quite understand how to create a good essay or story until I took this class this year. Taking this class this year has helped me become a better writer overall and I’m hoping next semester will make me a better reader as well.
Arens 2
Books have always been a part of my life. I started getting to know some when I was very young while my grandma read to me. As a very young child my favorite books were Milk and Cookies, No No Nelly, and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. I could read those books by myself by the time I was 4 just because I was read to so much. Growing older I could read two grade levels above the normal reading level. The books I read in elementary school were the Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House series. I loved to read as a younger child. In my elementary school, Eugene Field, we had a very fun drama teacher and drama class. Ms. Laura was the teacher who really got me into reading because she got me interested in plays. She wanted me to be the best and I did end up getting a major role in the play Peter Pan as Captain Hook because of it. After being involved in her class I just sort of always read after that. I was one of the more gifted children in my class, in fact the teachers had to tell me to put my books down while we were doing different subjects! Writing was always a struggle because I didn’t have the best hand writing and I still don’t. But I remember writing a lot when I hit middle school and it really carried into high school. Mrs. Geerdes was my favorite reading class teacher. She allowed me to set my AR goal lower so I could read the big books. Throughout middle school I raised my level of confidence within reading, writing, and even typing because of all the hard work that I had to accomplish. All of these reasons are how I have become so literate within my life.
I remember, back when I was a wee lad, just learning to read, my mother would sit my bottom down and force me to read a book. Gradually, they grew from Dr. Seuss classics, such as "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Foot book," to more advanced nonfiction works as I got older. I was constantly delving into more and more knowledge of the deep sea, volcanoes, space, forests, and mountains among other things. Then, one fine day while I was in fourth grade (or something like that) a friend of mine told me of these amazing books that told of a daring adventure, great treasure, and valiant heroics. Of course, I wasn't very interested at the time; I didn't like to read much at that point. However, when I entered the Brandon Schools at fifth grade, I was required to read by some wicked beast named AR. It was then, looking over the Brandon Elementary library shelves time and again, that I remembered the mentioning of those books. After finding them and reading a little bit in the next class, I was hooked like a baseball player and steroids. I finished the eight book series with a hunger for fantasy and lore previously unknown to me. I embraced that hunger, and I began to read books with such a fiery passion it scared the librarians. In fact, close to Christmas break of 8th grade, I wanted the third book of the Eragon series. I went to check it out and the librarian said that because there were only 2 days left of the semester (it was a Wednesday, and school was out on Friday), I couldn’t check it out because I wouldn’t finish it. I looked her in the eye and said “I’ll have it here tomorrow.” I took it home and read all day, and most of the night, only stopping for food and the occasional potty break. I finished that 750 some page book in under 12 hours.
Entering middle school, I was found that AR would be bigger, harder, and would require much more reading. I looked that monster in the face and said “Bring it on.” My goals weren’t too large for my own standards, but the 75 points that seemed so insignificant to me was like having the Great Pyramids in the class room for many other students. For a time, I dived into historical fiction books of war, Vietnam, WWII, et cetera. But I did return to what reeled me in in the first place; the fantasy worlds called to my yet again. I read like crazy. I read the Warrior books, those talking cat things, any chance I could. The entire Eragon series (minus the fourth book as it hadn’t been released at the time), only took me about three weeks. A series of 11 books, all about 450-600 pages each, took only two. In the last quarter of 8th grade. I garnered an AR point total just shy of 400. I was in the end-of-the-year awards assembly for this feat. Then comes High school, where I discovered the joys that come with reading Star Wars books. I could find a good one and get it from the library after school, read the entire thing before supper, then return it to the library before dark. I can’t tell you how many times I did this. Honestly it wasn’t as often as I previously made it out to be, but it did happen nonetheless.
Smith 2
Growing up my parents always read to my brother and I. We would sit on the couch for hours just reading Dr. Seuss books. My dad also read A Fly Went by, by Mike McClintock thousands of times. This was his favorite book to read to us. As I began to read my parents would have me read the stories. Every night we sat down and I read. I remember struggling and getting angry at my parents for putting me through all this difficult reading. My hatred of reading aloud grew to a immense state. As time went on it got better. The hours of ready paid off.
I think also my literacy came from my parents. Both of them have masters degrees, and they both speak well. This gave me a better start than someone with parents that may not speak properly. As my younger brother started reading and writing it also drove me to become better. I didn't want my little brother to one-up me. School always came easy to him, so my challenge was made more difficult. I pushed myself to work harder, and read more.
In elementary school I had Mrs. Beesley. As my 2nd grade year started I knew I wanted to make her proud. My mom was very involved with the school, so I had known Mrs. Beesley from previous years. I wanted to work harder to do well in her class. My mom being so involved helped a lot too. She was always there to make sure I was doing my work, and not slacking off. This was to my annoyance sometimes. Her constant presence at school.
Thinking about how I have become so literate has really made me respect my parents. They worked for so long to make me better. Even when I was not so happy about it. The hours they put into me slowly reading is baffling. I am so thankful that my parents were as involved with my life as they are and were. It has made me into an excellent reader, and I hope into a good person.
Williams pd. 2
As a child, my mother always read to me and my brothers. We would read before nap time and before we went to bed. Because of this routine from my childhood, I always become very sleepy when reading books to this day. One of the books that we read every night was Go Dogs, Go by Dr. Seuss. My mother read this book so many times that we would repeat the entire book just out of memory. Every night the book had the same plot line, the same characters, the same pictures, and the same ending, but every night we enjoyed the book even more than the last. It may have been the different voices my mom used for different characters or the colorful pictures of all the little dogs in the book. Whatever it was, it was the first book that really sparked my reading ability. I wanted to learn how to read when I saw my older brother going to school and reading by himself. When I went to Brandon Elementary to start kindergarten, my teacher, Mrs. Boscaljon, helped to teach me to read. Later in first grade, Mrs. Poppenga helped me continue on my path of reading. One classmate that I envied was Adam Pressler because he was a very good reader,even in the first grade.
Some of the things I first remember writing were signs to put on my door that said “no boys allowed” on my door to keep out my annoying duo of brothers. I also remember writing “school work” when playing school or making comic books with my brothers like the ones in Captain Underpants. Later, I would attempt to write poems that usually used the same words to rhyme: nice and ice, cat and hat, house and mouse. These were some of my first writing experiences. In middle school, I hated having AR goals. I thought they were the worst thing in the world. Now, I understand that teachers push students to read in their younger school days to keep them on track for high school and later for college. I don’t think I made huge literary strides in middle school but I did maintain a healthy advancement of my literacy skills.
I have always been immersed in language, even as an infant. When living in Panama as as a baby, I had a nanny that would sing Spanish songs to me and my older brother. Also my family has the ability to travel a lot, allowing us to learn diversity of language along with diversity of culture. My parents always made a point to correct our language and letter sounds as children in order to advance our vocal and learning skills.
Lien 5
When I was younger my mom read to me more because she had a more flexible work schedule but as I was starting to read chapter books my mom’s schedule became stricter so my padre read with me. In first grade I hated to read so my mom forced me to read one book (the title escapes me right now) over and over again. I had to read it 3 times immediately after I got home from school every day for about a month. Then I would read other books but had to return to the original book at least once a week. I’m not exactly how this helped me a whole lot because I was to the point where I was flipping the pages before I was done reading it. Unfortunately, I didn’t find an author who completely entertained me until I reached middle school. Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote adventurous stories that would keep you on the edge of the seat. At the end of every chapter she was really good about making you want to see what will happen to the characters next. I am a person who hates to stop reading in the middle of a chapter so once I read the first page of the next chapter I had to continue reading and the cycle would continue until I grew so tired I had to force myself to go to sleep. Basically, all throughout elementary school I envied anyone who read the Harry Potter books. For some reason I was not allowed to read them (I still have not asked why) so anyone who was allowed to read them and test on them to gain a substantial lead on their AR goal made me jealous.
In elementary school I really hated reading. It wasn’t until I had Mr. Freking in 4th grade and Mrs. Osheim in 5th grade that I started to enjoy reading. These two were influential in that they helped me individually and didn’t lump me with all the other students because we all read at our own paces. Then middle school came around and I discovered the author I mentioned before which really helped me dive into reading. Also in middle school, Bre made a bet with me to read the Twilight book in a weekend and she truly pushed me into reading as well. And keyboarding. Mr. Gerdes in 7th and 8th grade noticed my struggle so he invited me in before and after school to get help and he was a great influence in my keyboarding now.
I love both reading and writing for very different reasons, but I love them both. For me, reading is a way that I can be brought into a new story or learn something new. In contrast, Writing gives me the ability to share my thoughts and be expressive in a way that I cannot do through words.
I prided myself in my ability to read before coming into kindergarten. I started school a year earlier than most, but was already ahead. I think a big part of my learning to be so literate was my ability to speak at a young age. Rather that “baby talk” my mother actually spoke to me. I could--for the most part--coherently have a conversation by the time I was two. Knowing auditory and spoken language early helped in knowing a written language.
Reading was easy for me and I enjoyed reading most of the things I was given. As I changed grades, my love for reading continued. I still enjoyed the books we read in class, even if they would not have been one I had personally chosen. My 7th and 8th grade English and Reading classes really advanced my literacy. In 8th grade, I had harder English and reading classes than I did up to sophomore year. The teachers challenged us to improve.
I had always written little stories, but it wasn’t until Junior year that I really began to see my passion for writing, and all forms of writing. I think it is an easier way to communicate my thoughts.
I was fortunate in that reading came easy for me. I have seen that for many it is just more
difficult. I can’t really pick out any one thing that my parents or teachers did for me as a child that compelled my literacy. However, I am glad that it is something I have been able to become proficient at.
Ask 5
I wasn't really read to as a child. I remember being read "Are you my mother" a few times, and I remember quite well being afraid of the crane that spewed out exhaust. However, the first books I read over and over was many of the doctor Seuss books. I remember being so proud with myself reading countless Seuss books as my mother and I drove down to Yankton. Later, I also read the magic tree house books. I was never a very good reader, I got my AR points, and I quit. Sometimes in middle school I got stuck reading two books in one night to get to my goal. The first books that I actually wanted to read recreational were the Cirque Du Freak, and Demonata series in early middle school. The idea of actual not-lame vampires and vanquishing evil demons seemed very appealing to me, as it probably would to any middle school boy.
I don't remember writing for the first time, however, I do remember the terribly sluggish task of becoming key board savvy. I am glad now that it is all done knowing how much I type, and how long it would take to chicken peck out my essays. I didn't really like this teacher, although I feel like he has helped me when it comes to my humor, writing and social skills. Mr. Woodle, despite my utter dislike for him during fourth grade, helped me become what I am today. I modeled his humor. He added five points to my AR goal every quarter, forcing me to read more books. Finally, as a fourth grader, I didn't really care about anything, including my looks, and my hair was beyond messed up every day. I remember one afternoon that I will never forget, Mr. Woodle had me wet down my hair, and he combed it in front of the entire class. Very embarrassing.
Long 5
Growing up, before elementary school, I remember my mom reading a book to me every night before I went to bed. When it became later in the night she would always say, “Becca go pick out a book and I’ll be in your room shortly.” This was a nightly ritual in my house when I was a kid. Most of the time I chose books that had a lot of pictures because I didn’t want my mom to sit there and read when there wasn’t anything to look at. Once I was able to read on my own my mom discontinued to read to me before bed. I would be reading my own Junie B. Jones books at night now rather than her reading and showing me picture books. The Junie B. Jones series of books are really what got me into reading at a young age. It got to the point where I would read one every day because I loved them so much. As I got older I started to read bigger books, such as the Lemony Snicket’s a Series of Unfortunate Events. When I was in elementary school, what really triggered me to read was the AR goals we had set by the teachers. Usually my goal would be pretty large, but I would make it every quarter and be able to attend the “AR Party.” My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Giles, set my AR goal the highest out of all my teachers and really pushed me to become a better reader. And by him doing so, I believe I am a good reader today. Unfortunately I do not remember writing for the first time. Growing up, I have never wanted to or pushed myself to sit down and write for enjoyment. I would have rather read a book than write a story. As I look back, I wish I spent more time learning how to write than learning how to read. Reading came easy to me and I was good at it, whereas writing was the complete opposite.
Baum 5
As a young child reading came naturally. I loved to read, whether that be in the morning or before bed, reading was one of my favorite pastimes. In my early stages, my mother and father were the prominent readers in my life. They read my favorite Winnie the Pooh book, I See the Sun, constantly, to the point where I had it memorized and could read it to them. Dr. Seuss books took my love for reading and transmuted that love into much more. I finally was able to put together sentences and see how words rhymed and fluently flowed together. I was immersed in the language without a doubt. Feeling as if I myself was in the book, my love for reading grew.
When I was in elementary school I was always the girl with the highest AR goal. I prided myself on that. Of course, someone had to be better. Drake Van Egdom stole my spotlight! He had goals that were double mine! Suddenly, I no longer felt like I was the envy of people, instead, I was the one envying. I did not let that minor setback hold me back. I was determined to be better than him! I never did achieve Drake’s caliber of reading, but I did improve mine substantially.
Writing was a completely different world. It was something I had to strive for. Frustration is the word I would use to describe my feelings toward the grim task. Once I had my assessment written, typing was a breeze. I enjoyed computer class for the sole reason that it came easy to me. I loved how my fingers would glide over the keyboard. The clicking of the keys played like music as I typed away. Middle school was the place I attribute with my writing, typing, and reading advances. I owe a lot to those teachers that inspired me to become the person I am today!
Zahn 5
Becoming literate was not an easy task for me. Coming from a country where they spoke mostly no English and then coming to a country where that is mostly all everyone speaks, I had to learn the language quickly. And one way I learned the language was by reading. My dad was the one who read to me. He would read easy to understand books such as Dr. Seuss books. We would read every night before bed. Having books read to me every night made me want to learn how to read and become literate myself. Whenever I was out with my parents, I envied people when they talked because I couldn’t understand them. I envied them when they read because I couldn’t read. I especially envied the kids my age back then. When I started school, I went to Brandon Elementary, my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Boscaljon helped me a lot by spending time with me, teaching me the English language and helping me learn how to read. With her help and my dad’s help, I quickly grasped the English language and became pretty fluent after a couple of months. The day that I could read a whole Dr. Seuss book cover to cover is a day that I will never forget. That day sparked my interest in reading. I loved reading when I was younger, I would spend every free moment I had reading. This was partially due to AR because my goals were high, which meant I had to read a lot of books to achieve those goals. As I got older, I found a new love in romance books. Like many teenage girls around the world, I became captivated by Nicholas Sparks books. One of my favorite books from him is The Notebook. I am very blessed to able to read and I feel blessed to have had so many help me in my journey in becoming literate. I know that there are many people out there who cannot read and do not have the opportunity to be able to learn how and for that I am forever grateful for my parents and teachers teaching me how to.
Polasky 5
When I was younger, I was fortunate enough to have parents who would constantly read to me. One of my favorite books as a child was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? My younger self was infatuated by the repetitiveness of the book and the consistency made it easy to memorize and repeat when read to me. Another book I had committed to heart, and had read the most, was Goodnight Moon. By the time I reached the age of four, I could read the BOB books, a box set of books for beginner readers, with ease. I never really remember overcoming any struggles when learning the art of reading; it just came naturally to me. The first ‘real’ chapter book I ever read was in first grade. My teacher, Mrs. Ebach, handed me the book Junie B. Jones: First Grade at Last. I could easily relate to Junie B. and was immediately drawn in. By the end of first grade, I had completed reading every single Junie B. Jones book that was published. The summer after that school year, my mom had found a mass collection of the Magic Treehouse series on a rummage sale and bought them for me. All of the different worlds Jack and Annie entered in each book through their magic tree house enthralled me. Each book had a number on the spine, signifying what in what order they had been released. Though the order had no effect on the plot, I recall that I had insisted on reading them in chronological order. When there was a hole or gap in the series that I owned, I had my mom take me to the library so I could find the correct numbers to read so was able to stay on track with the numbers. After my Magic Tree House phase, I began to explore the world of Harry Potter. Though I completely understood that witchcraft and other magic of that sort did not exist, my infatuation with this fantasy world grew the minute Harry discovered he was a wizard. While some people shied away from their size, the determination and satisfaction of reading such a large book pushed me to read them more. Throughout my years, no one has ever pushed me to read because I have been willing doing it my whole life. Reading an enticing book is more visual than television and more addicting than heroin.
McGee 5
I have always been a very independent child. I didn’t ever want help doing anything. I taught myself how to tie my shoes, ride my bike, and taught my brother, who is 14 months older than me, how to talk. My older brother is pretty much the reason why I am so literate. I loved to read him stories because he loved to hear them. Also growing up I went through a church program called Missionettes. We had to read the bible many times, and we read other books and worksheets. My parents encouraged me to read every chance they got. My favorite books when I was very young were “Down on the Funny Farm” and “Baseball Ballerina”. I must have read those a thousand times. As I got older I started to like Junie B. Jones and A Series of Unfortunate events. Barbara Park was an amazing author who drew me into Junie B. Jones because Junie B. Jones was me. I could completely relate to her and her crazy mishaps. Lemony Snicket, Daniel Handler, captivated my imagination and took it to wondrous places. I have always loved to find a good book and escape into their world for a while. Reading was much more fun when I got my glasses in second grade. I could now see everything. I started to read the signs along the roads, all of the instructions when I built something, and just about anything else I could read. I do not remember the first time I ever wrote, but I do remember getting notes in my lunch box and absolutely loving it. I promised myself I would write like my mom did on the notes in my lunchbox. I soon had good handwriting and wrote all the time. I cannot tell you everything that has encouraged me to read and write, but it is something that I will appreciate forever.
Ode 5
I think I became so literate from my Dad telling me stories. Instead of reading them he made them up. Every night before bed he would tell me a new story. They were made up, but they were the best stories. We called them, Mr. Itcha Goomy stories. He was a monster that lived down in the Palisades. Mr. Itcha Goomy would come out of the river and scare the campers and eat their food. This was really my first exposure to literature that I can remember. The first written literature I remember is Junnie B. Jones. By the time I got to this series I could read by myself, but for fun I would have my Mom read to me. I did not read these a thousand times, but I read them as fast as I could. I tried to read because I wanted to by like brother. I did not envy any classmates. I made it a competition to read more than classmates like Lucas Mutchelknaus and Luke Bauske. The first time writing was probably in kindergarten when we would practice our letters. I am sure I had tried before but I do not recall. I did not start typing until about third or fourth grade when we practiced it in computer class. My favorite elementary school teachers were Mrs. Kneebull and Mrs. Logan. They were my kindergarten and second grade teachers. Mrs. Kneebull taught me how to read and Mrs. Logan inspired me the most to read. I remember reading about two or three Magic Tree House books a week. I think Mrs. Mohr made me a better reader by keeping track of how much I was reading, in middle school. I would not say I have any literary role models because I do not aspire to be a writer like I would a NFL football player.
Presler 7
Growing up in a house with two teachers for parents, I was bombarded with reading and other fun, though educational, activities. Mr. Kraig Coach Dad would read the picture book "The Sword in the Stone" to me, and I quickly became able to recite several excerpts from memory. I also remember listening to my mom read the story "Heckedy Peg" about an evil witch and a woman who named her children after the days of the week.
Soon, I began "reading" the songs in decrepit Wee-Sing books that we had--I actually had just memorized the songs and said the words as I looked at the page. Nevertheless, the memorization rapidly morphed into actual comprehension of the letters and words, and, by around the age of 3 or 4, I was reading in earnest. Early favorites for me were books by Dr. Seuss and Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House series.
I was very fortunate to be able to read fairly fluently by the time I reached kindergarten and school was very easy for me at that age. In first grade, I began the Accelerated Reader program and I flourished with the incentive to earn points for recalling the material I had read. From then to second grade I made significant progress in my reading. Salient in my memory is my excursion into J.K. Rowling's world of Harry Potter.
Since second grade, my progression as a reader has been relatively smooth and uneventful. I do not recall any particular teachers or events profoundly influencing my literacy. Oddly enough, the most significant memory I have about my literary career after second grade is feeling embarrassment in third grade when I was given the nickname "9.4" for being able to read at a 9th grade level. I am unsure why this nickname bothered me so much, but it seems like an appropriate place for me to stop my discourse, so, without further ado, THE END.
I have become so extraordinarily literate because of my grandparents. My grandparents helped raise me for many years when my mother was single or busy with work. My grandma Linda lived right next to me when my parents were married. My little brother Isaiah and I would go to her house every night and she would read to us. Because of this, I learned how to read when I was four. Also, I would go to my Grandma Alice's house every weekend, so she read to us countless times. I do not remember specific books that my grandmas read to me because I was so little. I know that they read a great deal of Dr. Seuss books because I still have them. I was immersed in language because my grandmas were lonely and they thought it was a good idea to keep reading to me, which I thank them for. I agreed to try and read because that is what they had done to me for many years. Who does not want to be like the adults? I do not remember writing for the first time. I do have old picture books and old writing books in my desk currently. My handwriting was very scraggly and hardly readable. In the book, all my other classmates had written in it too and we all had about the same writing. I was never jealous of other classmates because I already knew how to read by the time I started kindergarten. Back in North Dakota, I had a typing class in elementary school and I absolutely loved it. I love having my keys fly over the keyboard. Even after school I would go home and practice my typing. My mom got me a typing program that I would constantly play. It was probably my favorite part of literature at the time. In middle school I actually did not do very well in reading or English. It was one of my weaker subjects. I had a hard time understanding what I was reading. I did not to very good on the AR tests that we had to take. I could get through the books and enjoy the story but I could not reason out the story and answer questions about it. I have maybe struggled with this even as a high school student. It is just something that I need to work on. I just need to take more time to understand what I am reading, rather than trying to get through the book as quick as possible. I do not have any particular literacy role model. I just try to survive all my English classes.
Dykstra 7
When I was a young child, reading was one of my favorite pastimes. Every night before I went to sleep, my parents and I would snuggle up in my bed and read a story together. This certainly fostered my love of books, and I credit my parents’ dedication to reading as the main reason I have become so extraordinarily literate. When I was very young, I loved to read books about animals; many of my favorites were tragedies. My favorite book in kindergarten was about a horse that was put down by her owners. I think these books influenced not only my literary capacity, but my cynicism about life. I have loved tragedies ever since, in books, movies, and real life.
When I had aged a bit more, I loved to read classic books. These books were just challenging enough to help me improve my literacy, without being so dull as to bore me. My favorite book in third and fourth grade was White Fang by Jack London. I loved how intense this book is, and writing about such an extraordinarily great novel makes me want to read it yet again. Jack London was the most engaging of all the authors whose books I read as a child. I felt I could truly connect with his books. My second favorite author in these developmental years was Jules Verne; although I often found his books to be a bit dragging, I still loved the plots and his use of descriptive words. Verne and London both definitely influenced my writing style as I grew older.
Throughout elementary school, English and Reading were my favorite subjects. Essays were my favorite assignments, and I loved reading novels I would never have been exposed to by myself, such as Tuck Everlasting and Because of Wynn Dixie. I dreamed of one day becoming an English teacher, and helping to improve literacy and writing skills throughout the state. Although those dreams were long thrown out, I credit those aspirations as a reason why I possess such advanced English skills today.
Zell 7
I do not remember the exact foundation on which my literacy was constructed. I have seen the endless boxes of Dr. Seuss books and other various classic child compositions. My abilities of reading and writing really blossomed beginning in the fifth grade. It all started with, of course, the Harry Potter books. While I was slightly challenged by the vocabulary in these books, I had inherited my mother’s quick reading ability and insatiable appetite for a solid novel. One book into the series and J.K. Rowling had me hook, line, and sinker. I also thirsted for the sense of accomplishment I received from devouring a massive paged book. Not only did I love me some Harry Potter, but I also got heavy into the Eragon books. A strongly written fantasy novel is an amazing thing. Call me a nerd; I’ve always loved Star Wars, Harry Potter, and honestly anything with dragons in it. The Wheel of Time series was also a huge favorite of mine. These books were not only very entertaining, but they also constantly presented me with the kind of challenge necessary for growth. Stories like that can transport the reader to a place, time, and even planet vastly different from their place of habitat. I suppose I thought of my childhood as rather boring and lifeless, so I longed for an escape. A solid escape I did find. Eventually, I did break out of that mindset and learned that the worlds of fantasy and reality could coexist. Needless to say, you can tell I never played football as a kid. I now read (for enjoyment) rarely. I do seldom enjoy a classic novel, or the latest by the great Stephen King. Occasionally, a novel will bring me back to that sense of a better/different world that I thoroughly enjoyed so long ago. I think it is still safe to say that nobody is truly done growing in their literacy.
Kruse 7
My mother read to me when I was younger. I remember picture books like Tell Me Something Happy Before I Go to Sleep, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Good Night, Moon. There was also a book that featured Elmo attempting to put on red rain boots. He got frustrated and said, “This is ridiculous!” I ended up using that phrase quite often. When I turned six, my mother began reading a chapter each night from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. As I was introduced, I became more interested in these longer, more complicated works.
I learned to write in the first grade. My penmanship and spelling were excellent, and I was often called upon to write with a Visa Vis marker on the projector. I recall a particular proud moment when it comes to English. I had watched School House Rock for most of my childhood, so when the teacher asked what a noun was, I happened to be the only student who knew. I did not envy anyone when English was concerned. It came naturally. Soon after learning to write properly, I learned to read. And read, I did! Every single Junie B. Jones book appeared in my extensive collection. I wanted to read well because my mother was always reading—she really encourage me to pursue the wonder that is literature on my own.
I read the Harry Potter books at a young age. I remember being discouraged by my third grade teacher, Mrs. Zimmerman, because she thought they would be too difficult for me. It was rather silly, I was flying through the pages with ease. We did not have AR Goals in my elementary school, but they were unnecessary to encourage me to read. I read The Hobbit and Eragon in the fourth grade, and had a particular inclination to fantasy and books about magic.
When I moved to Iowa, the middle school I attended had and Accelerated Reader program. It was very foreign to me, and was almost disappointing. I had to read many books that I had already perused in order to make the high goals set for me. However, I did stumble upon what would be one of my most favorite books ever, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. I mention these two books together, because they are more like one. Through the Looking Glass is merely a continuation of Alice’s adventures, and you cannot buy it alone, it must be combined with the first. I read those books countless times, and now have multiple copies in different forms, annotated by many different people.
These days I still enjoy books like the Potter series, filled with magic and wonder, but I find classic literature quite piquant. My literary journey was encouraged by my mother and discouraged by a teacher—ultimately, I had to decide that I wanted to read, and I did.
Schroeder pd. 2
My parents were the first to introduce me to books. My mom was a stay-at-home-mom when I was younger so she would typically read to my older sister and me. My grandma has been a librarian ever since I can remember; and every time she came to visit she brought along plastic bags full of fun picture books that my sister and I would flip through, and scan for hours. My older sister is and was a really good reader and I have always wanted to be like her; since Miranda could read, I wanted to be able to read as well. In first grade I was always very envious of Adam Presler and his ability to read level 4 and level 5 books as a first grader. My older sister introduced me to the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park; I would read those books one right after another. I never enjoyed reading until I could read at my own free will. I never really enjoyed the Accelerated Reading program but looking back at it, it helped me realize what types of book I would later enjoy. On a boring road trip the summer after eighth grade I picked up the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and was instantly hooked. I have read the Twilight series three times and might read them again. I don’t remember exactly when I first started writing but after I learned to write I would frequently makes lists of all sorts. I started typing when I got an instant messenger account in fifth or sixth grade to chat with my friends online. I became a better typer in sixth and seventh grade with Mrs. Gile. The person that influenced me in middle school to read more interesting and difficult books was Mr. Olson. The books he showed me increased my reading ability by a lot.
Schroeder pd. 2
My parents were the first to introduce me to books. My mom was a stay-at-home-mom when I was younger so she would typically read to my older sister and me. My grandma has been a librarian ever since I can remember; and every time she came to visit she brought along plastic bags full of fun picture books that my sister and I would flip through, and scan for hours. My older sister is and was a really good reader and I have always wanted to be like her; since Miranda could read, I wanted to be able to read as well. In first grade I was always very envious of Adam Presler and his ability to read level 4 and level 5 books as a first grader. My older sister introduced me to the Junie B. Jones books by Barbara Park; I would read those books one right after another. I never enjoyed reading until I could read at my own free will. I never really enjoyed the Accelerated Reading program but looking back at it, it helped me realize what types of book I would later enjoy. On a boring road trip the summer after eighth grade I picked up the book Twilight by Stephanie Meyer and was instantly hooked. I have read the Twilight series three times and might read them again. I don’t remember exactly when I first started writing but after I learned to write I would frequently makes lists of all sorts. I started typing when I got an instant messenger account in fifth or sixth grade to chat with my friends online. I became a better typer in sixth and seventh grade with Mrs. Gile. The person that influenced me in middle school to read more interesting and difficult books was Mr. Olson. The books he showed me increased my reading ability by a lot.
For me, becoming literate started long before I could read or write; it began with learning how to talk. For the first four years of my life, I lived in Germany. My mom spoke no German, and my babysitter spoke no English. Therefore, I would only say certain words to my mother and others to my Oma Jutta. My first words weren’t “no” and “papa”, they were “mutti” and “now”. With my mom, I would read “Green Eggs and Ham” and “The Foot Book”. Then with my Oma Jutta, I would read "Die kleine Raupe Nimmersatt". Regardless of the language, I loved reading, and by the time I turned two I was able fool anyone into thinking I could read. Needless to say, when I started kindergarten in South Dakota, it was rather frustrating when people didn’t use all of the same words as I did. Soon enough, though, the German in me began to fade as I became immersed in an English-only world. After kindergarten, I was through with my Dr. Seuss days. It was time to move on to bigger and better things: Junie B. Jones. I was simply enthralled with this character who could do anything and was afraid of nothing. Then, in third grade, perhaps in a Junie B. Jones sort of way, I asked my teacher if I could read a big book. It was one that my mom was reading, too. When she asked which one, I responded, “Harry Potter and the Saucy-Sore-Ers Stone.” Obviously, given my horrendous attempt at the title, she told me that the book would be too difficult and I was not allowed to read it. Well, that made me mad. So, I read it anyway, and although it took me the remainder of the year, I loved every page of it. I thank that third-grade teacher everyday, because had she not forbid me from reading Harry Potter, I would not have developed the love of literature that I have today.
Paul 2
Being literate is something that most of us take for granted every day. Several years and influences have created—and will continue to create—this talent for me. However, I have not always particularly enjoyed reading; of course I would always bring books like “Goodnight Moon” or “The Rainbow Fish” up to my Mom and have her read them to me when I was younger. It was reading books by myself that I absolutely hated, until second grade. Mrs. Beasley was my teacher and while requesting to set my AR goal unreasonably low, she challenged me to move it up. I only agreed because all my friends had much higher goals and made it a competition. She helped me find books at the library that would be interesting for me; knowing I had to meet a higher goal I went straight to reading my first Junie B. Jones book. After completing it in a single night I realized that reading was not as bad as I thought, and I was actually pretty good at it. Discovering this filled me with pride as I started reading to my younger sister each night to show off my skills. Any time I had the chance to read I would read—road signs, menus, and even magazines. I have always enjoyed writing; my first memory of writing is copying short stories and coloring attached pictures that would hang in the hallway outside of our room in elementary school. In middle school I wrote my first story, a fairytale that we had to wright and illustrate. I spent several hours out of class and was proud of my final project, I made my Mom keep it and we still have it today. My first experience of typing was NOT a positive one. I absolutely despised computer class, constantly being behind in class and having to be told not to look at my hands under the cardboard cover, were the daily endeavors. Aside from these struggles, I am thankful that I was taught how to type because it makes life a lot easier. Literacy is a never ending process and will be something that I continue to learn and enjoy throughout my life.
Smith, 1
Extraordinarily literate. I don’t think I can classify myself into a category upon professional, accelerated readers but it is eccentric to comprehend how much you really do learn from books—not just the plot of a mysterious book, but every single word and syllable that are entailed on the pages. When I first started my reading career, I remember my mom would be relaxing on her rocking chair, which was located upstairs away from the chaos coming from my family and right as my bedtime approached, I always interrupted her pleasure time and shoved a book into her hands and scooted onto her lap. Without any complaints, she read to me in her calm, soft voice. We started off with picture books, multicolored pictures with very few words placed on a page. After reading thousands of picture books, my mom started reading poems, riddles and folk tales to me. One of my favorites was “There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly.” Once I had those all memorized, we moved on to chapter books. To this day, I still remember reading all of the Junie B. Jones books. At this stage, my mom and I didn’t always find time to sit down and read together, manufacturing me to become more independent with reading. Some days I would hide in my closet and just read out loud one of the Junie B. Jones books. As elementary teachers forced the AR goals to us (the student’s lives) is probably when I agreed to read and by 3rd grade, reading became to be an ambition of who would read the most books and the heftiest books. Mrs. Wescott, my 3rd grade teacher, made it inevitable to me that reading was an escape from life and the intelligence you gained from comprehending a book was miraculous. Gaining a few years, I found that typing and finding the letters o the keyboard held my strongpoint. In 6th grade, my first year in middle school, immediately I learned the location of the letters and symbols on a keyboard and I would always race with myself of how many words I could type in a short period of time. As time progresses and I get older and busier, I find little to no time to sit down and engage into a book. But on a daily basis, I recognize from multiple peers all of the infinite knowledge that they gained through an appealing book. Only to find myself feeling guilty and jealous, I feel more appreciated for the easy access I to have for an unlimited amount of literacy that cannot be taken for granted.
Smith, 5
Forever and ever my baby you’ll be. "Love you forever" by Robert Munsch, was my favorite book growing up. I remember my mother reading this book with such enthusiasm that made me feel as I had just read the book for the first time. My mom was obviously a great advocate of reading and assisted my sister and I with every book we read. The way she illustrated a book with different voices for every character, she secretively made reading an exciting event that I wanted to have a part in and not something that I felt was another item on my list of chores to complete. However, as I continued to grow and learn more about the severity and seriousness of reading, I felt that it started to scare me in the fact that I would never be as good as some of the students in my class, or even my mom. I remember my sister picking up on reading much faster than I did, which disturbed me significantly. At times I think back to the look on my mother’s face that portrayed nervousness because getting through a book was often a struggle. She would have me sit down every now and then and read her a book, which I was not excited to do because I knew I wasn’t the greatest at it. But as time went on I remember a few teachers who took a little extra time and strived to help me, unsurprisingly they happened to become my favorite teachers. Being able to read has clearly been exceptionally beneficial. Looking back as a senior in high school, and realizing that all the work and time I spent in reading or writing or any other subject, has made me into the student I am today. I’ve been blessed with this opportunity and recently fully comprehended how important being a literate student is. I am proud to be the extraordinarily literate person that I am today, which wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t experience the struggles I had or put in the effort I did. Overall, I want to thank all of my teachers, who are so much more than just teachers. Forever and ever your student ill be.
Anderson 1
The process of becoming literate began at a young age when my parents would read book after book to me. The book I remember the most is “Go Dog Go” a book by Dr. Seuss. Dr. Seuss is probably the author that had the biggest impact on me because there were so many different and fun books to read. Since kindergarten, I have been learning how to read and how to write. I remember envying everyone up until about middle school because I thought I was such a terrible reader while everybody else was so advanced at it. Writing on the other hand, came easy to me for the most part, except when it came to my b’s and d’s, those seemed to get me mixed up all the time. Mrs. Petree, my 2nd grade teacher, helped me conquer these two major lessons. She was always so sweet and so patient while also being able to have fun and enjoy teaching. She was one of my role models when it came to literature because I was able to learn a lot from her. Also my parents and any of my past teachers who have helped me become more fluent in reading and writing, and continued to push me, are also people I look up to.
I remember having computer class in elementary school, but learning how to type fast and accurate became important in middle school. I absolutely loathed learning how to type, it was so frustrating. As time went on and with practice, it became easier and I became a lot better at it, and I actually enjoyed it. It’s a good thing I never gave up on it because today it’s a tool I use for reading and writing. This perseverance I had was an important lesson I learned in middle school, which has helped me become the more mature and also a better student.
Swenson 7
My literacy most likely came from my parents. Growing up, my parents had little tolerance for illiteracy, and had me spending lots of my summer days doing flashcards for mathematics, science, and English. I seldom had a break from academics, and soon came to understand earlier than many how important it really was. My mom usually read a story to me most night before I went to bed as a child, and having been read so many stories, I cannot recall one being read more than another. Pertaining to a specific author, I also can’t think of a single one who had more of an impact on my life than anybody else. Personally up through today, I have more enjoyment reading stories of the great North by Gary Paulsen, such as “Hatchet,” or any of the “Tucket” series.
I do not remember reading or writing for neither first time, nor do I remember typing for the first time. I feel I have done so much of all of it throughout my lifetime that most of it has evolved into a smudge in my memory of which is very difficult for me to interpret. I think middle school was a huge wakeup call for most students. Compared to elementary school, there are almost no similarities, and compared to high school, it can be recognized as a sort of prologue. Middle school had a good effect on my by getting me ready for high school, when things really matter the most. When it comes to looking up to one person in particular, I can’t possibly narrow it down. The smart students in elementary school were once called nerds, and throughout our schooling careers up until now, they have gained much more respect than those who have not taken a more trying academic path. I guess in the end these are the students we have all looked up to, and many students still hope to have a success story like they have had.
Jackson 1
I actually had a very difficult time learning to read. When I was little, I remember being placed into a special reading class because I did not learn how to read like the other children. This was around second grade. None of my teachers had really taken the time out to help me read. I had problems with ADD so the effort was never really put in. When I finally did learn how to read, I was actually really stellar at it! I had the highest AR goals and excelled in the classroom setting as well. I read a lot of the Clique series books. Those books really inspired me to read and helped me learn things on my own. I also learned how to type on the keyboard by myself. I wasn't always accurate, but I was always one of the faster typers in my grade. I did make significant strides in middle school. I vastly improved by comprehension skills. I learned to look at the big picture and to read into tiny details. The only thing I really remember about writing for the first time is that I had terrible handwriting! It was nearly indecipherable and still isn't wonderful. I was immersed in language all over. Mostly in sports, church, school, and at home. My sister was in high school when I was starting to read and write so I would always be following her around. Sometimes, her friends would try to get me to read or write something. My teachers would read to me a lot. It was frustrating at first, because all the other kids knew what she was reading and I was clueless. I couldn't figure out what was going on or how these kids knew how to read and I didn't. It didn't seem fair. However, since reading is one of my strong suits now, I figure it probably worked out for the best.
Since the time I was little reading has fascinated me. My earliest memories are of my mother reading various books to me and teaching me along the way. When I was five years old I started reading everything I could find. Shortly after my mom had to teach me how to read a second time because she found that I was simply memorizing all the words and sentences, without understanding any grammar or sentence structure. Once I had a decent handle on how to read properly, it became a priority to me. I was a particular fan of the magic treehouse series, and can boast having read every single one of them. I eventually progressed to more advanced works, some of which I remember, some I do not. During this time reading was nearly all I did, covering multiple series and dozens of books over just one summer. I learned to become immersed in the world of books, and in time the words would play out like a movie before my eyes. I was envious of my father, who would wake up early and stay up late reading massive complex books on politics and theology. Though the subjects were not of particular interest to me, I wished that I could understand the level of literature he read. Once and awhile I would pick up one of his books and read a few pages, but most of the time it was complete gibberish to me. Eventually I moved on to more classical literature like Robinson Crusoe and a Tale of Two Cities. These works finally helped me begin to get a handle on the fine art that is literature. Today, I’ll admit that I don’t read nearly as much as I should. However, when I do, I still find myself getting lost in good book.
Bingen 7
Learning to read is an essential skill for anyone in modern society. Personally, I remember wanting to learn to read from a very young age. My parents regularly read books to me at night, and, admiring them the way that I did, I wanted to be just like them. I remember my mom reading books to me the most, and I would always stop her and try to learn what the words she was saying looked like on paper. Eventually, I had every word in several books memorized. I did not necessarily know what they meant, but I could read the words. Over time, I began to read every sign along the road when my parents would drive me around. Again, I did not really know what they meant, but I could read almost every word I came across. That all changed when elementary school came along, when I began to learn what words meant. I loved reading big books, and consistently had a high AR point goal. By far, my favorite novels in elementary school were those of the Harry Potter series, and their author J.K. Rowling had a profound impact on my future reading success. Being so young, I felt that if I could read those books, I could read anything else I came across. For as good of a reader as I was at this young age, though, I was not nearly as good of a writer. Most of the papers we were assigned in elementary school involved creating an original story. However, I found myself to be a very rational thinker, and lacked the creativity needed to write a compelling story in elementary school. After writing countless papers and essays, though, I have honed my skills, and I feel that I can now convey my thoughts in writing very well.
Tellinghuisen 7
I will always have the memories of my parents reading to me before bed every day. Some days I had my father, and some my mother. I loved it a little too much, and looking back on it now; I realize they probably did a round of rock paper scissors every night to decide who was the unfortunate one to read me stories for half an hour. Like every child, I had my favorites. Sesame Street books quickly rose to the top of the pile. These nights mesmerized me to the idea of written words. I never accomplished much but I would attempt to read in the only way an adorable little toddler could, with gibberish.
My first legitimate remembrance of my own complete reading has to be in the first grade with my teacher Mrs. Nueble. (Someone please help me out on that spelling if you had her with me) As childish and slightly girly as they were, she introduced me along with everyone else in my class to the Junie B. Jones books, a small novel series with countless titles. She read many of these to us, but when the year was over I didn’t stop. I picked up where she left off and continued to read the books for a few years after.
I proceeded my reading thereafter through series after series. Reading became more and more of my life around those years. I read many popular series such as Magic Tree House, Hardy Boys, Harry Potter, Fire Star, Percy Jackson, Warriors, Little House on the Prairie, as well as the series following Laura Ingalls Wilder’s daughter. There became times when I never put books down, not only that, but I would reread many of these titles more than twice. I embellished in the fact that I could completely immerse myself into a story and only come out when I wanted to. I was a weird child like that.
The constant reading I believe is the biggest factor in my own literary development. Like I said, I constantly immersed myself into these titles, studying them, memorizing them, loving them. Some of these books were not always easy for a child of my age at the times I read them. The challenge presented in that was a tremendous teaching tool; my vocabulary grew, my reading speed increased, and my reading comprehension was advanced. Thus preparing me for the English classes of high school.
I wouldn’t call myself ‘extraordinarily’ literate, as I discovered while reading Christopher Hitchens’ memoir “Hitch-22”. Actually, no one would call me extraordinarily literate. Who decides what literate means, anyways? I had thought before reading Hitch’s memoir that I had at least a grasp of what great literature was and how to understand it, but learning about his profuse appetite for books and coming across the titles of innumerable books I had never read, let alone heard of, has led me to realize that I know next to nothing about literature. I’ve read a few books, but nowhere near the amount that I should’ve, and that I need to. Additionally, I’ve found that simply reading a book is beneficial, but analyzing it with intellectual rigor is infinitely more satisfactory.
A few of the authors that I’ve come to admire and adore (and attempt to emulate) are as follows: Kurt Vonnegut, Cormac McCarthy, Martin Amis, Lemony Snicket, J.D. Salinger, Vladimir Nabokov, and, more recently, James Joyce. I recently listened to a podcast called “Tangentially Speaking”, hosted by Christopher Ryan, a sociologist and extraordinarily well-read man. The episode that I listened to had Frank Delaney as a guest. Mr. Delaney was a BBC broadcaster, journalist, and now authors books. More interesting to me, however, was Delaney’s interest, or rather, obsession, with James Joyce’s Ulysses. Upon hearing Mr. Delaney speak for ninety minutes almost exclusively of James Joyce and his best-known novel, I grew excited. Something about literature, something mysterious and exciting and unknown, the notion that something is hidden in words that others might read a thousand times yet look over, sucks me in. This, more than anything, is why I’m eager to start next semester and begin reading and analyzing classic stories.
Henderson7
Becoming literate is a continual process and it never stops. I have been reading for many years. I remember my mom and dad reading to me at home, especially during Christmas time. At school, every teacher I had in elementary school read to me as they did to the whole class. An exact day, month or even year is hard to identify as the first day I read a book on my own. Obviously I started out with picture books like "Green Eggs & Ham", then I moved onto books like "The Magic Tree House" series. There are many books in the series in which I read about thirty-five of them. I do not know why I liked to read those books. Lately I have been cruising through some of the books I read when I was a child and I can not read a tree house book longer than five mins. In elementary school, we had AR parties and attendees had to reach a goal set by taking quizzes on books they read. I made most of my AR goals because I didn't one to be the oddball that didn't make it. When it came to my fellow classmates, I do not remember specific people I envied. My writing experiences have been terrible because of my awful handwriting. When I was younger my handwriting looked like a doctor's signature, a blob of lines. When I got older my handwriting developed but then I developed a tremor and ruined my good handwriting. When the computers were introduced, I was excited. No one would have to attempt to read my terrible scribbles. The teacher that empowered me the most would have to be Mrs. Gile, she pushed me to type better and faster. I don't know if she was pushing me just because she didn't like me that much or if she actually wanted me to be better. Over the years I would have to say many teachers pushed me to read more and read higher levels but in general I would say I read what I wanted when I wanted.
Swanson 1
Back in the day, it was usually my mom reading books to me. At night she would read the same book every night for a week and during the later parts of the weeks, she would have me read it to her. I very much enjoyed it. A teacher that also helped me out about reading was my first grade teacher Mrs. Adams. To be able to read the higher level books and novels, i first had to get through the "learning stage" books, and she was there to help push me through those books and enhance my reading skills. She definitely deserves credit for helping me out. Throughout the second grade was when I was reading the most and fascinated with books. That year is when my AR goals were at its peak. When the third grade came along, I don't know what, but something changed in me that made reading not as near as enjoyable as it was always was to me. Sports came into my schedule and I guess I just pushed reading to the side and focused on having fun and playing sports. When I was reading though, you would always see me with a Magic Tree House book. Those were my favorite books. A kid that I envied during those years was one of my greatest friends back in the day: Jon Heiberger. I always wished I could have read the books he was reading back in first grade.
As for writing and typing, I don't remember writing my first sentence. I never enjoyed typing on the computer correctly. At the beginning it was very difficult for me to type accurately and fast as the teachers wanted you to. Eventually I got the hang of it(though I am still not what you consider fast and accurate). A teacher that really helped with my enhancement with writing is Mr. C with this years Composition class. I really never enjoyed writing essays and there were not the best, but Mr. C helped me out a bunch this year with writing and I thank him a lot for it, it definitely will help me out in the future.
Brockey 1
Never had I read for enjoyment. Never had I been read to. Never was I excited to read. One road to avoid when on a journey of literacy is a self-provided road. Without assistance in my literacy development I neglected all books unless the book was a mandatory 'read' to achieve a certain grade. I had always had a library book but simply possessing something does not mean that a person uses it, or enjoys owning that item. Every day I would hurry home to quickly resume the level of whatever video game I was currently playing whether it but Super Smash Bros melee, or something like the Prince of Persia. My mind was set on video games and that was all that I did. This what my life for longer than it should have been. The Christmas of 2011 I receive a box set of Ian Fleming's James Bond series. I was given every book from Casino Royale to Octopussy & The Living Daylights. Spontaneously having these books bestowed to me I am forever in the debt of my God Mother. She is the one that has sparked my literary value. She has made me realize that books can be worth while. In the first book, Casino Royale, Bond gambles, womanizes, and all out “mans.” I recently had a realization that deep down I want to be James Bond because of his all around aura of awe that he emits. Apart from the sick part of me that wishes to be a fictitious character, I believe this is a reasonable wish due to absolutely everything that makes him what most men want to be. I am still sprouting literately and hope I can only go forward from where I currently am at. The discovery of James Bond has given me a good start and a will to read but I must evolve and find more books to continue my growth.
Hall 2
My exceptional literacy skills started developing at the age of one. Growing up in a household with two older brothers, I had a plethora of books to choose from. I remember every gloomy night when I would cry, just to get my parents to read me an extra book. In the beginning, I started with the popular Dr. Seuss picture books. The vibrant colors within the pages drew me in. Later, I excelled onto the Laura Ingalls Wilder novels. Heather Williams, the author, had a way of carting me into the story. The moment I opened her books I emerged into a character’s role. Today you will find me reading the exceptional Nicolas Spark books. Every book Nicolas has produced has boundless literary devices. My immersion into the English Language happened at a young age. My parents (and myself) are strong believers in talking to your children immediately after birth. Although they cannot understand you, hearing sounds and words will help cultivate their language more rapidly. At the age of three, I only wanted people to read to me. I don’t remember the exact feeling I had, but I believe I was scared to mess up, so I chose not to read. This stage lasted until I was five years old, when I finally thought I could read by myself. This lead into writing. Learning how to write was so memorable to me. Every day, I would come home and practice the alphabet because I wanted to be just like my older brother. However, just like most children at this age, I would get tremendously upset when I couldn’t figure out how to spell or write correctly. These feelings made me envy my brothers skills. It was not until sixth grade that I started to enjoy reading and its entirety. Mrs. Mohr, my English teacher, helped me find books that were interesting to me. To this day, I still appreciate the compassion she showed toward reading. She made it intriguing for me. After many triumphs and trails, I am pleased with how literate I have become. Being literate is vital in various aspects of life and I plan to gradually excel my knowledge in such ways as I continue to learn.
Jackson 5
The first books I like were probably the I Spy books but as i’m sure you’re aware they aren't that full of words, but mainly large pictures full of a plethora of stuff to find. I started collecting the books early on and still have the collection today. This collection ,however, does not make it off my bookshelf very often or at all the the past four or five years. As for books with paragraphs of words on every page I don’t remember ever really liking to read, but would read for the points for AR. I would purposely start the year off with a somewhat low goal so the progressions of points throughout the year would also be not too challenging. During this time a read a lot of the Great Illustrated Classics books, such as "20,000 leagues Under the Sea", "Treasure Island", and "Phantom of the Opera". Once and awhile in between grabbing a Great Illustrated Classics book i’d get a Warriors book written by Erin Hunter. These books were interesting because I have two cats and with my imaginative mind i could picture my cats living a mysterious other life with a clan of cats such as those in the books. I also started to get into the Redwall Series written by Brian Jacques. Reading the Redwall series i realized how the stories were continuous even though the books weren’t really numbered, so I would have to look up the year they were produced to find the order. The Redwall books brought about a vastly different atmosphere from the Warriors books as the Redwall characters are spread across a huge area that is not inhabited by humans and these creatures are the superior species. Some of these books I felt like after I started them that I did enjoy reading them.
I don’t remember writing for the first time but every once and awhile while cleaning i might find some early homework of mine that I must have been proud of at the time. After reading and seeing that I can really tell how much I’ve improved as a writer.
Berg 2
Never, in my memory, have I enjoyed being told to read or write. Thinking back on how I have become literate, I understand that it has not been by my choice but rather through the help of my family and teachers forcing me to learn. Of course I started off with picture books being read to me but sadly I cannot name any specific favorites that I had growing up. Instead I can name a group of children’s stories that I recently found in my house that I have reread just for fun, Disney’s Storybook Collection. I know that I read most of the Junie B. Jones books throughout elementary school and all of the Harry Potter books to help me work my way through AR (accelerated reader). Even though I dislike reading, I would rather read than write any day. Writing has never been my strong suit but I have been able to keep up with my peers quite effortlessly. I do not remember who first introduced me to writing but I’m glad they spent the time to teach me and other students. I am right handed but every now and then, while in math class with Emali McGee, we use our left hands for both taking notes and some assignments. In my opinion, our non-dominate hand writing is easier to read than some of the other students dominate hand writing. Writing with my left hand has taught me to slow down and pay close attention to what I write down, this is causing me to appreciate the swiftness and ease of writing with my right hand. Also, learning Spanish has shown me how lucky I am to have grown up learning how to read and write in English considering that English is such an advanced language that takes a lot of skill and patience to master.
Literacy was a difficult skill for me to acquire. Although I do not remember the details of my plethora of picture books, I do remember my fancy for Dr. Seuss books. My favorite of his works has to be Green Eggs and Ham. Reading Dr. Seuss was my introduction into the wonderful world of books. Eventually I outgrew the childish picture books and ventured forth into the abyss that was reading. Around first grade they began to require us to read books and begin our true journey to literacy. It all began with Accelerated Reading, the schools ploy at requiring students to read. Picture books would no longer make the cut for my goal. I had trouble with my first real book. To combat my fear of the novel my parents found it acceptable to coax me into reading with a stimulus. I remember upon completion of my first real book I was promptly given my first pokemon game, forever establishing a lifelong connection. When it comes to envy of fellow classmates for their reading comprehension, I found it impressive that children my age were reading such massive Harry Potter books. I knew in my childhood it would take practice and a mastery of the English language in order for me to concur those behemoths. I believed once I finished one of these books I would be a master of literacy, able to read as I please. On the road to literacy several book series caught my attention and where my stepping stones to that first Harry Potter book. Series such as the Narnia books, and the Guardians of Ga’hoole. It must have been fourth grade when I first attempted to comprehend the first of the lengthy Potter series. I begin the book and suddenly I realized that these were not as advanced as I had first perceived. There are seven Harry Potter books and I read all of them in grade school. Once I finished that first one I had accepted that I was finally a master of my ultimate goal, literacy.
Antrim 5
I have always struggled with reading and writing. As a child I remember thinking that I was never able to become an amazing reader and writer. Therefore, I only read when I was forced to read, like for AR, or when I wanted to read my favorite book, Corduroy. Corduroy was my favorite book because I adored the pictures the artist had drawn. This might have inspired my want to become an artist nowadays. My mother was my savior. She read to me when i needed it for an assignment in the younger grades. At those ages and level of reading, I would have never understood what a book was talking. Mrs. Sayed, in sixth grade, influenced me to write more. Mostly I read books by Meg Cabot. This author engaged me in her books and made me desire to continue reading. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, at the time was the hardest and biggest book I had ever read. It had challenged me and made me realize that I was smarter than I thought I was. From then on I craved challenges. I wanted to see how smart I could become. All this reading only slightly improved my writing in middle school, although middle school is when I improved in almost every area of school. Mrs. Sayed, in sixth grade, influenced me to write more. Writing is still not my greatest skill, but much improvement has happened since I have started this class. I wish this composition class would continue on into this next semester. Mr. Christensen, so far has been my biggest influence in my improvement in writing. From taking this English class I have a better understanding of what college will be like. In college, I hope to have influential teachers like Mr. Christensen.
Hegland 7
The first book I ever really loved was Harry Potter. Previously, I had read short, little books every now and then, but I never really became engaged by a series. When I was in third grade, I went to see the third Harry Potter movie, and I was inspired to read the series. Once I started, I read every book (that was out at the time) within six months. They were my favorite books and I read them over and over again for several years.
After that, I read a ton. I loved books, and took weekly trips to the library where I would check out five to ten books at a time. In middle school, I knew the librarians well and they would make exceptions to the two books at a time rule for me. I remember being third place for AR points in seventh or eighth grade. Since then, I have stopped reading quite as much. I still read every now and then, but I find myself easily distracted by other things. Now the majority of the information I read is found online in the form of articles. There are advantages and disadvantages to both these sources of information, but I think it is important to find a balance, and I do enjoy reading the books assigned for school.
Writing has impacted my life as well, but I was never as serious about writing as I was about reading. I wrote and illustrated books with a friend that we read in front of the class in 1st grade. In 6th grade, when I moved away from Brandon, my best friend Bailey Quanbeck and I kept in touch through emails. We would often write stories back and forth, taking turns writing paragraphs. Bailey continued on to spend much of her time writing stories and concentrating on her writing, where as I was more attracted to reading books.
Nitz
Period 7
Due to the inordinate amount of moves, national and international, in my lifetime, my friends were constantly changing. I could never permeate the unseen barrier surrounding the group of friends who had known each other for years. The thing I was able to immerse myself in, though, was reading. At every school I went to, I was the “weird kid with a million AR points”, but I didn’t mind the epithet.
I loved The Series of Unfortunate Events, because I was absorbed by the mystery of Lemony Snicket. Who knew that VFW really just meant volunteer fire department? (That was a key mystery in the series). Inkheart was fantastic, Bridge to Terabithia made me cry for two days, and Eragon was so enthralling I read it numerous times. One of those times was in the hot tub at a hotel, and unfortunately, I dropped the book in the water. Not to worry though, I rescued the book; it was fine, except for a now missing cover and warped pages. It was a library book, but instead of being disappointed that I had to pay a fine, I was secretly happy because the terrific novel was now mine.
Although I’m deeply ashamed to admit this, I lowered my AR goal when 8th grade came around, the time when it was severely uncool to have a double digit goal to reach. I hated this. Reading was something I had an enormous passion for, and yet I pretended to be apathetic. Looking back, I regret changing myself, the one that I had been satisfied with for so long, in order to appear more “normal”.
The silly facade has been gone for a long time now, and for the better. I think reading is pretty dank.
Mutschelknaus 2
When my parents started reading to me at a young age, I became infatuated with literature. I loved to read books, especially books about dinosaurs. I would always bring a book about dinosaurs to my parents and they would willingly read it to me. Once I was in elementary school, I was introduced to many other books that caught my attention. “Magic Tree House” was undoubtedly my favorite series of books throughout elementary school. I almost read every book in the series and enjoyed every one of them, but my interest of books grew to a more mature level and I broadened my horizon of books. I started to larger books like “Hatchet.” The larger books sparked my interest and kept me entertained even longer than any of my previous favorites had been able to.
Reading came fairly easy to me, but writing was a different story. I have never been and extraordinary writer. I have had my fair share of struggles and I have to admit, I simply do not like writing. I do not get any enjoyment out of it like others. However, when I was in 2nd grade, there was a contest among a variety of schools that anybody could enter in. All you had to do was submit a story you wrote and the judges would give you ribbons based on the quality of the story. I figured I might as well enter and I ended up writing a story about a boy following a rainbow to try and find a pot of gold at the end. He had to face many challenges on the way and he ended up making it to the end of the rainbow, but a leprechaun informed him that there is no gold at the end of rainbows. That story is definitely the least scholarly thing I have written, but I ended up receiving a ribbon in the superior category. This experience was the first time I had to write anything for school. It propelled my writing advancement and helped me become the writer I am today.
While I was growing up, my mother would read to me almost every night. We would go lay down in my bed and she would read aloud the “Harry Potter” series to me, with me reading the words along the way so I could learn how to read. My favorite picture book that I read when I was a child was “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.” That book also helped me learn the alphabet. One of my favorite authors while growing up was Mary Pope Osborne, the author of the famous series “Magic Tree House.” I am pretty sure that I read every single book in that series. Another one of my favorite authors was Daniel Handler (a.k.a. Lemony Snicket) who wrote all of the “A Series of Unfortunate Events” books. That series is my favorite of all time. All through elementary school and middle school, we had to do A.R. I think that program helped me immensely with learning to read, even though I did not like it at all. I had one of the higher goals and reading ranges for my class, so I was a pretty good reader. However, I remember that Kim Zahn and Drake Van Egdom always had higher goals than me, so I was kind of jealous of those two. I think Mrs. Petree was the most influential teacher for reading that I had, because after lunch we would have story time for about ten minutes, and I actually enjoyed that. I do not really remember my first time writing, but I do remember learning how to type really fast. Mr. Gerdees was my computer teacher in middle school, and he would make us take tests and use programs that helped us advance our typing abilities. That helped me out a lot, because I could not imagine taking this class and not being able to type swiftly. I was not a very good writer before I came into this class, and I still do not know if I am very good at it, but I definitely have become better at it.
Grothe P.2
Becoming literate has been a steady process ever since the 1st grade. It very well could’ve started before then, but I for sure remember starting to read back in the 1st grade. Reading was never really a priority for me, and in general, this is still the case. The only time that I read now is when I’m not on my time, which amounts to the bus ride to CTE and back. Getting back to the point of how I became literate, though. Throughout Elementary School, I really enjoyed reading chapter books such as The Magic Treehouse, and from what I’ve seen, a lot of other people feel the same about this series. They were easy to read, kept your attention, and the chapters set goals for you to accomplish. By this, I mean that you could say, “I’m going to read 2 chapters today,” and that’s easy to accomplish, especially with a rudimentary understanding of literary composition. Also at this time, the Harry Potter series was also quite new, so I settled with eventually reading those, finishing 1 every quarter. These books in particular impacted my reading ability immensely, mainly because they introduced large words that I’d never seen before, therefore expanding my vocabulary at the same time. They also fulfilled my AR goal, back when that was still a thing, which made me happy to read them as well. All the while, I had always looked up to Drake Van Egdom, because he regularly scored 100+ in AR points every semester.
Going into Middle School, I started getting into more classic books for the English classes, and I was also exposed to one of the favorite series of books, Pendragon. Pendragon books, if I remember right, were also quite lengthy like some of the Harry Potter books, but the story interested me much more, since I got bored with Harry Potter around the 5th book. Initially shown to me by Carson Pruett, these books quickly became my obsession.
As for writing, before this class, my writing was quite mediocre. The overall composition wasn’t thought out, and I pretty much typed whatever came to mind. My first draft was technically my final draft. All the while, my handwriting gradually became readable. As for typing, I owe it not to all the programs that we used (don’t get me wrong, though, because they still helped a lot.), but to an online game called World of Warcraft. Nerdy, right? I believe I owe my fast-ish typing to this game, just because I would talk to people a lot back then, and the only way I did so was by typing. Over time, I just naturally became faster and more efficient at typing, although I still make mistakes every now and again. Like I said earlier, though, becoming literate has been a very slow process for me, in fact. I’ve come a long way from back in Elementary School, but I know that I still have a long way to go before I become exceedingly literate.
Kramer 2
I don’t remember any books in particular but I recall being enthralled by them. My mom always jokes about me reading and rereading one book in particular--which followed a farmer through his daily chores on Christmas Day. It was about a farmer during christmas time. Shocker, two things I highly enjoy to this day. Although I never saw it as my parents pushing me to be better, every night before I went to bed I read a book. A little bit of sibling rivalry always pushed me to strive to be smarter and better than my brother--regardless of age. Elementary school came and I was so proud to have an AR goal, at times I resented it, but usually it gave me a tall goal to strive for. I recall being jealous of Ryan Rykhus when he got his AR goal before I did. After the breeze through elementary school, middle school took over more of my times and reading became less of a goal and more of a boredom cure. Throughout high school my choice of books have become more challenging and sometimes more controversial. Learning a second language taught me the most appreciation for the art of reading, writing, and even speaking. Spanish has taught me things about English I never knew and helped me to better understand a few syntax key points. I often miss the simple picture books we read as children. As I tutor kindergarteners, I am reminded how literacy is a gift--not a right. I love watching them strive towards clarity and perfection. I am extremely thankful to live in a place where we are taught as young children to read and write. Whereas in other countries, women my age are being mutilated and shunned for merely wanting to achieve what I have achieved long ago. I cannot imagine living in a word where I depend on another person to write, read, and translate almost everything for me. I hope that one day I will be able to influence others as I have been. I will be forever grateful for the advantages I have been given, and I look forward to passing that to others.
Sternburg 1
Just like most everyone else, I too was introduced to reading by my parents. Every night before bed, I was read to, and I was always encouraged to try out the words myself. Some of my fondest memories of childhood were going to that cramped brick shack know as the “library” and picking out books for the week. Since my mom was a librarian, books have always been around. During the summer when I was young, my mom would take me to work with her. While she organized files, and re-shelved books I would sit in the corner with a book in one hand and a bag of Skittles in the other. My favorite books as a young reader weren’t novels but nonfiction. Specifically, I loved reading Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections and the Eyewitness Books. I loved these because they were my little windows into the incredibly interesting aspects of the world. I didn’t have a reading role model, but I did have my cousin who was more of a reading nemesis. He was cool most of the time but sometimes he was extremely annoying. Probably due to the extensive praise from his parents and teachers, he got the idea that he was some sort of genius. Every time I came to his house he’d brag about his superiority over his class mates at school and his “advanced” reading ability. Apparently, the advanced books he was reading didn’t contain words like “humility,” “gratefulness,” and “decency.” His arrogance angered me so much that I vowed to read harder books than he did in an attempt to shrink his enormous head. During middle school I did my fair share of reading but not nearly as rigorously as some of my peers. I had a few favorites like Hatchet by Gary Paulson, Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, and Hole in the Sky by Pete Hautman, but saw them in the same light as my favorite movies. It wasn't until eighth grade that I began taking books seriously. Before I just saw them as entertainment, but something in Mrs. South’s English class changed my mind and ever since then I have understood the importance of books.
Asking me how I became so literate is an awkward question for me to answer because I have an extraordinarily hard time remembering things beyond last year. However, if I have to speculate, then I would say most of my literacy comes from extensively reading murder mysteries, romance novels, and every single Sherlock Holmes mystery. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle litters his stories with complex vocabulary, and I'm not ashamed to admit I kept a dictionary beside me the first time I read through his works. From the other books I read, I learned what sounded correct without truly knowing why it was correct. I guess you could say I subconsciously picked up the English language without realizing it. However, if you think on it, every child learns how to manipulate language without knowing the rules of grammar. Taking it from that point of view, my advancements in literacy were strengthened by my penchant for writing stories. By using what I'd gleaned from those endless pages of what was usually tense anticipation on my part and applying that knowledge to my own plots, I reinforced what I had learned. I just didn't know that I was starting sentences with gerunds or infinitives or the like. I just went by what sounded right. I still write like that. If it pops into my head, it goes down on paper. As for the rest of the prompt, as I stated earlier, I have a horrible memory.
Garrow, 2
As I was growing up, my mother and my father both read to be almost every night. I always wanted to read the same book every night but my mom would not let me. The book I wanted to read every night was Love You Forever by Robert Munsch, which is my favorite book and always will be until I die. I never had one author engage me, even though Munsch engaged me pretty well with his book. I always liked to read many different types of books, not all by the same author. I believe I agreed to read with my parents because of the pictures but as you read the book you become more intrigued with the actually story than the pictures in the book. And as you grow older, you become aware that books are more than just pictures, they are longer and more descriptive. I always envied students in my elementary class that had it easy when it came to reading, when they had an AR goal of 75 or something. For me, I did not struggle reading, it just was not something I wanted to pursue in my free time. Other kids are not involved in sports so when they have free time, they read. I cannot remember the first time I started writing. I just remember it was the early steps in elementary school when we had to write funny stories about what happened to a turkey on thanksgiving, or a funny story about Santa Claus during Christmas time. I just remember how easy it was to write when you were little because you had a crazy imagination, and you were not judged on how stupid your writing was. I believe I read more when I was in middle school than I ever did in elementary school or high school. I think it was because of the numerous time I had during class, because I would get my homework done during class.
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