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Pre-K to Kindergarten
Around this time I was able to read certain words or sentences within books my mother read to my sister and I. Flashcards were a popular "toy" every kid had -
My First Bible Stories
Religion was a big thing in my family. Because we were too young to read the bible, these children texts on Bible stories were read to us every night to teach us the value of religion. -
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1st Grade-2nd Grade
I was able to read most text from books and worksheets assigned to me. Teachers and my mom found out that I was reading with scrambled letters rather than reading the words. They found out through my failed spelling tests. -
First Trip to the Library
Dad brought my sister and I to the library. Got our first library cards and left the building with 2 bags full of books. "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" was my favorite. -
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3rd-6th Grade
My reading and spelling got better as my mother sat down with me every night making sure I understand my home and that my spelling was impeccable. -
Island of the Blue Dolphins
In generally I didn't care for reading. Assignments were always read chapters #-#, give a summary of what happened. However, I enjoyed this book in 4th grade and the other activities tied to this book. Dioramas of the island, creating the tools the main character made, and trying abalone. -
Beginning Band
Exposure to Italian text found in music. Piano=soft, not the instrument you play on. -
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Textbooks
I never really cared for textbooks once I got to the secondary grades. Most of the time I skimmed through the paragraphs and looked for keywords I was suppose to go over for class. -
Advanced Band
Got into the advanced band. Harder music, more Italian text. Used cognates to understand what "Furioso" means. Raises hand and asks band director if we're supposed to be angry/furious. (Furioso=With Fire) -
Caterpillar
I found myself reading in scrambled letters again in 8th grade. I learned the embarrassing way as I was reading a passage out loud for Health class. I was doing pretty well, easy pace as I read to the class, then I hear my Health teacher yell, "Gamiao! It's capillaries, not caterpillars!" -
Shakespeare
The English had a different type of English?! I had a hard time passing my English class and then comes Shakespeare. I struggled to find his hidden meanings in his works and I was uncomfortable with the perverse meanings found in "Romeo and Juliet." -
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College Years
All the new terminology and vocabulary I had to learn for my Biology and Education classes came as a challenge to me. I found myself reading the text over three times to fully comprehend their meaning. -
The Praxis Tests
Unfortunately, reading was never one of my strengths. I had to read passages numerous times to understand their meaning and because of this, I had to retake the Praxis I text 3 times because I had a hard time passing the Reading and Essay portion of the test. During this time I worked in substitute teaching while I tried to complete these tests. -
Elementary Music
As I landed a job as an elementary music teacher, a lot of my reading was primarily nursery rhymes and folk songs. I started to see how easy it was for students to learn the text through rhythm and finding patterns.
