What Literacy Means To Me

  I Love Me! Written by Marvyn Harrison and illustrated by Diane Ewen is a children’s picture book that gives positive affirmations for little kids to help lift their spirits and build self-confidence every day. Brown Girl Dreaming is a poetry anthology written by Jacqueline Woodson.  In this book of verse, the reader is taken on a journey of Jacqueline’s life growing up in the 1960s.   It describes what she experiences growing up dealing with her disability, change, conflict, and family,  This book has won the following awards: Newberry Honor Award National Book Award for Young People's Literature Coretta Scott King Award Both of these books are very empowering to young readers because they were written to both encourage and inspire them to be great!

  There are so many books that shed light on life’s experiences, but it is always a joy when a book is written that a specific culture or group of people can truly relate to.  A realistic fiction picture book that I would like to highlight is titled Amazing Grace .  This book is written by Mary Hoffman and illustrated by Caroline Binch,   Each of us is wonderfully made in the sight of God and each of us are given our own individual gifts.  We are all created equally.  This book let’s Grace know that it is conceivable for an African American girl to believe that she can be anything that she wants to be, with hard work.   This supports the concept that she should not allow racial prejudice to discourage her from working toward her dreams .  The reason that I truly enjoyed this book is because it encourages girls of color to not set limits on their potential in life. The second book that I would like to highlight a contemporary realistic cha...

  There are four types of folklore, but the two that I am choosing to write about are fairy tales and fables.  A fairy tale is a short story that typically features magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings that usually ends in a happily ever after scenario.    A fable is a short story that features  animals ,  creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that have human characteristics, and illustrates or leads to a particular moral lesson .   They are similar because they both entertain us with a short story full of adventure.   They differ because fairy tales are meant to elevate us to new destinations full of beauty and splendor while fables are written to teach us important life lessons. An example of a fairy tale is Cinderella.   Cinderella was originally written by Charles Perrault and illustrated by Arthur Rackham.   It is considered a fairy tale because i t’s a story about a girl whose indifferen...

  This Is Not My Hat , A Ball For Daisy , and Watercress are all beautifully illustrated picture books that children of all ages can enjoy.   These books are considered picture books because they all rely on their illustrations to help the reader follow along with the story.   This Is Not My Hat uses clear, simple pictures that have a realistic look to them to help the reader follow the quest of finding the missing hat.   A Ball For Daisy is a wordless book that allows the reader to use their imagination to create the story about a little white dog and her favorite red ball.   Watercress uses realistic pictures to take the reader on a journey of understanding the importance of how our heritage defines who we are.   This Is Not My Hat was written and illustrated by Jon Klassen.   It has won the following awards: 1.       Caldecott Medal 2.       Notable Children’s Books 3.    ...

          Holes written by Louis Sachar talks about a teenager who is sent away to Green Lake Camp to do 18 months for a crime that he did not commit. Stanley Yelnats IV found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time to experience an unfortunate accident. The book is filled with some magic, the works of a horrible curse, finding true love, and that sweet taste of revenge!   This is all uncovered while doing a little bit of “digging”.   It is a captivating read that keeps you interested by grabbing your attention and making you wonder just what is going to happen next! This book has won: ·        National Book Award for Young People’s Literature ·        John Newberry Medal ·        Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award (now known as Vermont Golden Dome Book Award) ·        William Allen White Children’s B...

  The art of reading requires  the reader to use the  skill of  visualizing for true understanding.  In Hot Dog, the 2023 Randolph Caldecott Medal selected book written and illustrated by Doug Salati, the reader is allowed that freedom to develop the story for themselves.   The book uses very few words to take you on a day trip with a dog and his owner.  The author instead uses detailed imagery to draw us into the story.  Through pictures, we are immersed in the hustle and bustle that many experience in a hot overcrowded city that is then calmed by a seaside detour used to decompress from amidst the chaos.  The story then ends with both the owner and dog having a good night’s rest that was filled with pleasant dreams from their much-needed seaside get away.  Through pictures, Salati was able to construct details that added depth to the reading.   We became a part ...

  As a child, my parents always stressed the importance of reading.   Reading is a way to experience new things and explore the world.   I can remember my mother sitting by lamp light in the living room, reading her beloved mystery novels.   She would sit for what seemed to be hours entranced in the pages.   I was always so intimidated by the book’s thickness, thinking it was going to take her forever to read it.   My mom picked up on my fascination with watching her read and would sometimes allow me to hear the happenings that had such a hold of her attention.   By sharing these stories with me, she planted seeds in me that developed into my love for reading.   At first, I wanted to read mystery novels, just like my mother.   I loved trying to figure out the cases before the end of the book.   As I got older, my interest changed to adventures and humor.   Adventure books allowed be to travel to different places.   I read abo...

       Developing student writing is something that I will be focusing on in my ELA classroom.   Notebooks will be one way that I plan on introducing ways for the students to work through writing styles.   Two types of entries that I am really interested in introducing to my class are:  Reaching into a memory and  Writing with only your ears.   These two types of entries are particularly interesting to me because I feel they will allow the students to reach into themselves.   By reaching back into a memory, they will be recalling situations that they have experienced.   They will learn how to develop those thoughts and feelings into words.   I will explain that it does not need to be anything grand, just something that they remember (that relates to the prompt) and want to write about.   This will take away the pressure that students sometimes feel when trying to write a paper.   Writing with your eyes just see...

The phone rings.    “May I please speak to Lynette”?    “This is she”.    The change in tone of her voice causes my body to stiffen.    “I regret to inform you that your mother has passed”.    “Passed what”?    “We tried to revive her, but she just didn’t make it”.    Silence……. I ask, “what are you talking about”?    “I’m sorry ma’am, but your mom has passed away.   Who do you want us to call to collect the body?     Again, I ask, “what are you talking about”?    As my limp body collapses on the bed, I hear her ask,  “Ma’am, are you okay? Are you alone?   Is there someone else that we can call”?    Her voice turns to a murmur until the sound of the dial tone brings me back into reality.

  The Book, Head, and Heart Strategy for reading is a wonderful approach to aid in comprehension.   In book club # 1, these connections resonated with personal experiences that I shared with the characters in the book.   The book , New Kid was about someone that was introduced into a different situation that made them feel isolated, alone, and misunderstood.   The author tells the story of being the “new kid” in a school that is not only different from anything that you have previously known, but also the struggle that some face when trying to fit in.   When I was in elementary school, my brother and I were the only African American students on a particular campus.   To top it off, English was not their primary language.   We attended school in this district because my parents decided to move and lived next to border of Mexico.   A district where a majority of the students were Hispanic and were learning English as a second language.   Learn...

  How I Experience Reading   When I read a book, my mind transforms into a blank movie reel that is waiting to be developed by the author.   It is very important that the author uses words with intention and purpose.   As I read the words, my mind creates the atmosphere that develops my setting for the story. These words also permit me to develop a makeshift appearance of what each character should look like.   Enough information has to be given to ignite my imagination with the ability to project these images.   If I cannot picture what the book is trying to say, I tend to lose interest in reading it.   As my mind becomes engaged in the story, I begin to pull from prior knowledge and give life to the scenes.   I’m able to envision sights and assign sounds as the author continues to outline the vision for the movie that has begun to play in my mind.   As I become more and more engaged in the book, the roles of an antagonist and a protag...

  How Do Readers Read?   How does your current book travel around with you?   What exact part of your backpack, pocket, purse, or whatever is involved?   I wish that I could say that my book traveled in a special place that would protect it or keep it in tact.   No such luck for me!   My current book travels with me via the passenger seat of my car.   During the daytime hours, a majority of my time is spent driving to meetings and appointments.   The evening hours are spent trying to either prepare a meal, attend afterschool functions, or assist my daughters with their homework assignments.   On other occasions, I’m tied up in other organizational meetings for the church and community.   There are hardly any downtime hours in my day so having it in the car allows me to have access whenever time permits.     The alternative to my car is the nightstand next to my bed.   One might think that this would be the ideal pl...

Today, I spent a few solemn moments thinking of my father.  This memory was triggered when a song that he loved to sing at church came on the radio.  As the music filled the car, a lump developed in my throat.  As I began to sing the song, tears began to fill my eyes as my voice faded and I began to hear his voice singing ever so clearly.  I was definitely a daddy’s girl!  It has been five years since he has passed and my emotions come and go in waves.  I was blessed to be able take care of him the last five years that he was here.  This was not always a pleasant time, with respect to our relationship, but it allowed me to understand him a little better.  I miss being able to talk to him and ask for advice, but more than that, I miss his unconditional love!  I wrote an acrostic poem to document my feelings of him. W - wise I -    insightful L -   loving L -   loyal I -    irreplaceab...

When I think back to how things transpired in the classroom during my secondary school days, I don’t really get that excited.   All I can remember is going to a room for an hour listening to the instructor lecturing about that days given objective and then completing a worksheet afterwards.   Now don’t get me wrong, there were days when I would be anxious to get to class.   Those where days when we had group activities, some type of presentation, or “someone” had peaked my interest.   But let me tell you, those days were few and far in between!   I remember being introduced to the school debate team during my junior year of high school.   It’s funny how I reluctantly went to that first meeting thinking that I was going to be in a room full of boring individuals that wore thick glasses, were socially awkward, and lacked the fashion sense that I thought I had…lol.    That first meeting, changed my whole perspective about literacy!   For the ...

Empowerment My word for the semester is empowerment.  Literacy opens the doorway to limitless opportunities.  A word that directly corresponds to this for me is empowerment.  When someone is empowered, they have a strength and confidence that cannot be measured.  Obstacles and challenges that present themselves don’t appear to be as unachievable because the quest for more knowledge is welcomed.  When a person is empowered, they are more open to attempt new things.  This strength makes wandering into the unknown more of an adventure than a challenge. Empowering students in secondary schools allows for the development of self-confidence and fosters a need for continued growth.  Once they see that the only thing standing in their way is themselves, things begin to appear differently. They then become sponges for knowledge; in turn creating an atmosphere to learn. During this semester, I want reflect on ways that the infor...