Blog #1 My Literacy Learning

When I think about how I began to love reading, two people come into my mind. My mom is the first. She always bought me a book for Christmas, Easter and my birthday every year. She would always read me stories when she put me to bed. Even to this day I sometimes receive children's books from her as a gift. She was the one who bought me books when I was in kindergarten and read with me. This greatly impacted my learning. By the end of kindergarten I was able to read simple books on my own or with little help from my parents. My literacy journey continued as I grew up, which was largely due to my aunt. She was a kindergarten teacher who focuses heavily on literacy concepts in her classroom. I remember that when she came up to visit she would read with me and encourage me. She taught me tricks so I could pick up a book and decide if it was too hard for me or not. She would pick a random page out of the book I was reading and every time I came to a word I didn't know I had to put up a finger. If I put up 4-5 fingers on a single page then the book was too hard for me, and if I had less fingers then it was just right. I think that this reading strategy was huge in helping me learn to read. I have seen from my experiences working with students that if a book is too hard, many times students get frustrated. When a student is constantly frustrated then they are discouraged to read. I absolutely love to read, but I can imagine that if I hadn't learned and used that strategy myself I might not love reading. This is something that I keep in mind now when I am working with students on reading. I make sure that I pick materials that are challenging, but will not be so difficult that my student will become frustrated.