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Hello World
On November 28, 1994 my mother had her third child--me! -
Bed Time Stories
Being the third child, there were many rituals my mother had already practiced with my older siblings. One of them was reading the book "Goodnight Moon" before putting us to bed. My mother would read it while we were in a dark, blue room-- just like the book. She would rock me in a chair back and forth to the words. This was something she did with me every night so that I would hear the same words over and over again. Today this is still one of my favorite books. -
Reading Circles
As young as I can remember I was surrounded by books inside and outside of school. When I was in kindergarten my mother signed me up for my first reading circle. I was extremely nervous because unlike the other children I did not know how to read. Even though I didn't have the capability to read big books, I still started to make inferences about reading. I could connect a picture of a lake to the word lake based on what I saw. This was a nice way to slowly introduce reading into my world. -
Highland Park Heaven
Every Sunday my mother would take me to the library in Highland Park, a town next to where I am from (Deerfield). This was always a luxary for me because their library was a lot more fun than ours. At the time I did not know how to read, but there were many games, puzzles and computer games at my disposal. I was subconsciously injesting lieracy and didn't even know it! I considered this uneducational but I was actually learing a lot from just working my mind in that environment. -
Tests In First Grade!
In first grade, my teacher had us do spelling tests each week to strengthen our vocabulary. We started with only having five words a week all the way to twenty words. In the beginning I did not study for these tests but my parents soon stepped in and made me practice. I still have these at my house. The words were as basic as "dog" and "hat". However, for a child who does not know anything this could definitely help out. Over the course of the year there were definitely words I learned -
Silly Spacing
When I was in second grade, I finally picked up the act of reading and could even form long sentences. However, whenever I wrote my words were super close to each other. My second grade teacher instilled a method of spacing my words out by using large popsicle-sticks in between words. Not only did this improve the coherency of my writing: it helped improve my spelling. I could see more clearly the words I was writing and thus was able to form sentences that made more sense. -
My Musical Friend
When I was in 4th grade I decided to pick up an instrument-- the violin. For once in my life I had to decode a "language" other than English. I learned the sound of notes and what string they correlated to. Playing this instrument was challenging because it involved reading while playing: a tricky double task. Even though I ended up quitting the violin, it taught me how to read something that at first seemed foreign to me. -
Becoming a Bat MItzvah
At the age of thirteen it was time for me to become a women in the eyes of the Jewish people. This tradition is not just a party celebration: it involves chanting several blessings and Torah portions. When I was younger I went to Hebrew school and learned the basic Hebrew alphabet and prayers. What I did not know was how to put vowels with words and tropes. Just like the violin, this took a lot of practice. However, when I put it altogether, I was very proud. -
Writing Galore
Before I could get my 8th grade diploma and book my way out of Middle School, I had to produce an autobiography for English Class. This process entailed writing several papers on different genres. I had to write such personal narratives, mysteries, and non-fiction papers. This was the first time my creativity as a writer shone through. What was notable about this project was that for once I was writing different genres, not just reading them! -
Reality Check!
When I entered High School after a successful eighth grade I thought I had practically mastered all skills of reading and writing. However, after reading many difficult texts, I quickly found this to not be the case. Luckily, my teacher decided to go over reading techniques with our class. The most beneficial I remember is re-reading a text you don't understand. He pointed out that doing these strategies does not make you a poor reader: it actually makes you a stronger one. -
Poetry? Please!
Sophomore year of High School the routine of going to school started to feel boring or monotonous. One part of my day that made it better was English class. Each day Mr. Berger-White would start the class off with a poem. He would get extremely into the poem and say it full-heartedly. At first I thought his poems were a joke and even laughed to myself. However, I suddenly started appreciating the poems each day. This class was the first to help me realize poetry is important and beautiful. -
Started College at ISU
My time in college and learning of new literacies has only started! -
Crazy Communications Class
Arguably one of the most scary general education classes I took as a Freshman was communications. The reason I was so nervous is because speaking is a form of literacy that involves producing thoughts on the spot. I knew I wanted to be a teacher which requires talking in front of children, but I was afraid since my peers were present. However, after doing three different speeches I learned that talking in front of people is not that scary-- it is just a different way of expressing knowledge! -
Technology Savvy Teaching!
Last year (sophomore year) I embarked on my first technologically savvy class-- Teach 306. This class was centered around teaching literacy to children through technology. I had to function in a whole new way which definitely involved a learning curve in the beginning. I used to be really into technology when I was younger, but not when I became invested in school. I did not have the chance to spend time understanding technology until this class. I now feel more confident teaching by technology.
