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 Task 1 challenges you to connect with your early literacy experiences, your experiences with learning with and through text in school, and to try and put into words your present literacy habits based on those early experiences.  In other words, how does your personal literacy "history" affect you as a literacy teacher? 

There is a quote from one of my favorite books that I like ... it goes something like, "If you don't know where you have been, how will you know where you are going?"  That quote comes to mind which I think about how we as educators have to retrace our literacy heritage in order to meet our students where they are and go forward with them.  Every experience you have had with reading and writing influences your attitude toward those skills, colors your attitudes, and in part, determines how effective you will be in helping your students become the best readers and writers (listeners, speakers, viewers, and users of technology) that they can be. 

So, let's go back in time a bit and see if we can connect to the child that was "us" when we first dabbled with reading and writing.  This trip might involve talking to relatives, past teachers, friends, etc., who remember you and your experiences at that time in your life.  You may have favorite books that you cherish (tell us about them) ... writings from your childhood (let us see them) ... photos of you on the lap of a favorite grandparent or aunt/uncle as you read a book together (we want to see those too) ... all these "artifacts" are pieces of YOUR literacy puzzle. 

This is your own personal journey.  It will be as meaningful as you make it. 

Literacy Autobiography (100 points)
Students will compose a reflective literacy autobiography that includes the following components: (please use these as headings in your paper for the paragraphs)
 
  • Your first recollections of reading/writing/literacy experiences; interview family members, etc., to refresh your memory, if necessary.  Include titles and impressions of the first books you remember reading.  Include any samples of your early writing (some people save these things) or descriptions of stories you remember having written at a young age. 
     
  • Elementary, middle and secondary school literacy experiences (be reflective and "dig deep")
     
  • Personal introduction and description of your previous and current home literacy environment, culture, attitudes and daily oral and written literacy practices
     
  • How previous and current oral and written literacy experiences impact your current attitudes, practices, uses and literacy instruction (reading, writing, oral language use) in the classroom (be SPECIFIC using real life examples and application)
     
  • Current changes occurring in your attitudes and practices (be SPECIFIC and reflective)
     
  • Turn your writings into a "presentation" of a nature that is appropriate for your students.  Examples include:
     
    • Your literacy autobiography may be submitted in one of the following formats:
      • PowerPoint Presentation
      • Book (see bookmaking ideas)
      • Webpage (with images)
      • Scrapbook (with text on each page) - you must deliver the scrapbook and it pick it up as it will not be possible to mail materials back to students via the US Postal Service
      • Video  production
 

On-Line Resources (brain-joggers):

Undergraduate students in LTCY 420 (reading methods/primary grades) are required to do 7 webpages and publish them.  One of the pages must contain a literacy "vignette."  The paper you are doing is much more in-depth and inclusive, but you might find it helpful to read some of these: 

Dr. Petty's Literacy Vignette

Student Web Pages This button takes you to the literacy web pages designed by students FALL  2002.
Student Web Pages This button takes you to the literacy web pages designed by students SPRING 2002.
Student Web Pages  This button takes you to the literacy web pages designed by students, fall 2001.  
Student Web Pages This button takes you to the literacy web pages designed by students, spring 2001.
Student Web Pages This button takes you to the literacy web pages designed by students, fall 2000.  (Scroll down the page.) 

Scoring will include grammar/mechanics.   Bibliography/resources APA style (5th ed). 

Rubric for this assignment found by clicking on "Evaluation" button on left panel of this page (or by clicking the blue "rubric" at the beginning of this sentence).

 11/02/2004 14:02:28 -0600  Hit Counter