Literacy Autobiography
“Consider
Your Roots”
For
this essay, you will write about aspects of your own literacy history.You
will explore how your past experiences with reading and writing shaped
and influenced your current reading/writing processes and your attitudes
toward reading and writing. Your audience for this essay can be 1) you
(raising your own awareness), 2) your classmates and instructor, and 3)
someone (friend or family) who might enjoy hearing your literacy story.
Rationale
for assignment: Until you explore in writing aspects of your past, you
don’t fully realize how these experiences influence you today.For
example, if a teacher in third grade tells a child that s/he does not write
well, that child may internalize that belief, which overshadows all subsequent
writing experiences.Students who
lack confidence usually appear to lack ability (they don’t try), which
is often accompanied by a negative attitude.On
the other hand, if a student has had some success and has been praised
by parents or teachers for writing, that student may approach writing with
a sense of anticipation and confidence.In
other words, writing about your experiences can help you realize why you
feel the way you do about writing and reading.
The
Assignment:
Part
I Write
4-6 pages exploring your personal literacy history (word processed, double-spaced,
one inch margins, 12 font, heading, page numbers, title). Although no formal
research is required, you will still do primary research: think about your
experiences, ransack your memories from early childhood until now, look
at grade cards or papers you saved, talk with your parents or other family
members who influenced you as a reader/writer.
Begin
by brainstorming on paper. Write down everything that comes to you!Here
are some ideas starters:
üDo
you remember a specific reading/writing experience that left you feeling
like a success or failure?
üList
significant people (in or out of school) who have influenced your reading
and writing.
üWhat
are some of your in-school writing experiences and how do you feel about
yourself as a writer?
üDo
you consider yourself a “reader”?A
“writer”?Why or why not?
üWhat
do you like to read and why?When
do you write in “real life”?
Part
II
At the end of your narrative, reflect on what your experience means: How
does it affect your attitude toward reading and writing? How do you think
your experiences might affect you as a classroom teacher? Then, ask some
serious questions about what your experience might mean about the teaching
reading and writing in our school system.
Reassurance:An
I-Search is a narrative.This is
a chance for you to talk about yourself—a subject you know quite well!
Each of you comes to this class with a variety of writing experiences so
write this piece the way you want to write it, in a style you feel most
comfortable using. If you find the task difficult, find yourself procrastinating
or not wanting to revise, or dreading reading it aloud to your peers—remember
that’s how all of us feel. Writing is risky business.