My Current Literacy Journey

Today my literacy journey continues on as I work towards my Master's in Reading. I had many wonderful reading and writing experiences throughout the years that have lead me to take the path I have taken. Through my experiences and my education I have realized that I am an interactionist. I believe in allowing children to explore books that will supplement lessons being taught and that they should write for real purposes. I also believe that every child can learn to read and write when provided with a variety of strategies in which they can relate to. I have a strong desire to teach children and to help them find this intense love for both reading and writing. I look forward to the day when I obtain my first teaching position and have the opportunity to share my passion for learning with my students.

I chose to create my reading and writing autobiography in the form of a blog because I really enjoy writing and updating my own blog as often as I can. I hope to add to my literacy journey blog throughout this course and throughout my teaching career.

Through college I became a fan of Mem Fox and wanted to include her read-aloud commandments below. Each is something that every teacher and parent should strive for daily!

Enjoy! :)

Ten read-aloud commandments
Mem Fox’s Ten Read Aloud Commandments

1. Spend at least ten wildly happy minutes every single day reading aloud.

2. Read at least three stories a day: it may be the same story three times. Children need to hear a thousand stories before they can begin to learn to read.

3. Read aloud with animation. Listen to your own voice and don’t be dull, or flat, or boring. Hang loose and be loud, have fun and laugh a lot.

4. Read with joy and enjoyment: real enjoyment for yourself and great joy for the listeners.

5. Read the stories that the kids love, over and over and over again, and always read in the same ‘tune’ for each book: i.e. with the same intonations on each page, each time.

6. Let children hear lots of language by talking to them constantly about the pictures, or anything else connected to the book; or sing any old song that you can remember; or say nursery rhymes in a bouncy way; or be noisy together doing clapping games.

7. Look for rhyme, rhythm or repetition in books for young children, and make sure the books are really short.

8. Play games with the things that you and the child can see on the page, such as letting kids finish rhymes, and finding the letters that start the child’s name and yours, remembering that it’s never work, it’s always a fabulous game.

9. Never ever teach reading, or get tense around books.

10. Please read aloud every day, mums and dads, because you just love being with your child, not because it’s the right thing to do.

I have also created a bookshelf to the right with books I have read recently or that I hope to read in the near future.

Hope you have enjoyed reading my literacy journey!