Early Language Encounters
What fun stuff do you recall about your early experienecs with language? Please share your thoughtful, detailed, edited responses below.
Truth and Tragedy
In literature, a tragedy is a work in which the protagonist is brought to ruin as a consequence of a tragic flaw, a moral weakness, or the inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances. The tagline for The Other Wes Moore is "The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine. The tragedy is that my story could have been his." What do you think the author means by this? Considering the definition above, do you see the Other Wes Moore's story as a tragedy? Pull your thoughts together and explain in one complete paragraph. Include text evidence in your response. Proofread and edit carefully before publishing.
I don’t even remember the very first time I was introduced to a book. My parents started reading to me at a young age and from what they tell me, I loved it. When I was one year old, my mom said she read me my first book. It was called, “Goodnight Moon”. She would read it to me almost every night before I went to bed. Once I was read that book, I didn’t want to stop reading. We have a big bookshelf in our living room. My parents told me that I would sit in front of it, and just pick up a picture book and just flip through the pages, admiring the pictures, and trying to read the captions. My favorite song to sing when I was six months old was the ABC’s. The first word I ever said was “momma”, and that was when I was eight months old. When I went to preschool, I loved my teachers, and they taught me all of the color words. This was important because every time I saw any object, I would announce the color of it, and be so proud that I knew what color it was. I loved reading and writing from the first time I was introduced to it, and still love it today.
ReplyDeleteLooking back on my childhood there is one memory that sticks out. Every year the night before the first day of school, my mom would read to my brother and I, “The Kissing Hand.” We read the same book every year and I remember it always made me feel so much better about the following day. Once I finally learned how to read, I would make everyone listen to me read and show them what I learned. I remember always wanting to be like my older brother so whatever book he would read, I would always try to read the same one after he finished reading. It did not always turn out well and I would always ask what a word was or what it meant. Learning to write was a little easier for me. I have always had nice handwriting and I did not have to practice much, but when I did I would write on the glass door in my kitchen with dry erase markers to practice. The same thing with spelling tests I would practice on the glass door and would clean it when I was done.
ReplyDeleteEven as a child, I loved to read. In kindergarten, I would read Junie B. Jones books to my class because I was the only one who was that far ahead. When I was even younger than that, my mom would sit down with me and read to me as she rocked me. Or when my grandma babysat my sister and me, she would sit both of us around her and tell us a story. I used to love to read advanced books in front of my classmates to show off my reading skills. I was never a fan of Dr. Seuss books, something about the rhyming words never appealed to me. From what my parents tell me, I was a very later talker. My older sister would get me whatever I needed when my parents couldn't figure it out. Since she was like a personal translator, I'm guessing I didn't feel the need to talk when she would do it for me. Ever since I was a kid, I loved reading, and I still do today.
ReplyDeletegood job allie.
DeleteI started reading on my own when I was about four years old. I can remember learning sight words on flashcards and having spelling tests. One of my favorite books was “The Rainbow Fish”. I recall tracing letters in preschool to learn how to write. When I first learned how to write numbers, I wrote twos and fives backwards. I don’t think I have ever spoken in front of an audience, but I have sang in front of an audience many times. My first stage performance was a Christmas program in preschool. I’ve always been a pretty quiet person, but I started talking at about two years of age.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I don't really remember the first time a book was read to me. I do, however, remember loving books as a kid. My favorite series growing up was "Junie B. Jones." I had another series that happened to be my favorite as well, but unfortunately I don't remember the name. I loved reading as a child; I still enjoy it a bunch. I do remember learning to print my name. A vivid memory I have is my cousin and my sister both trying to help me figure out if I was left or right handed. They decided my writing looked better with my left hand, and I still enjoy writing to this day. I did have trouble pronouncing some words as a kid one that I remember clearly was the word "seashells" I would always mix it up and say "she shells" or "sea sells." The first time I spoke in front of a group of people at once it was actually my family at a family function. My grandma told me that I couldn't let people pick me up anymore because I was getting too big. My oldest cousin then picked me up and the room was silent as I said, "Nana said you aren't allowed to pick me up anymore." Reading and writing are still activities I enjoy to this day.
ReplyDeleteAs the youngest member in the family, I was forced to learn quicker than my siblings did. I admired my sisters and wanted to be able to do everything that they could. Out of the three of us, I was the fastest to walk, talk, read, and write. I was running around the house at ten months old screaming “dada.” When I was two, I remember crawling into my grandmother's lap for her to read to me. We would sit on the couch for hours as she read numerous Dr. Seuss books. She liked to change the stories to make them more unique, and it always made me laugh. When it came time to finally start reading on my own, I picked up on it fairly easily. I would sit in my mom’s room and read books to her. I loved to read “The B Book” by Stan and Jan Berenstain to her. When I got tired, she would read “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch to me until I fell asleep. From that point on, I continued to read every night and eventually graduated to chapter books like “Junie B. Jones” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”
ReplyDeleteFrom a young age I learned to love books. As a young child, my favorite book was Where the Wild Things Are. I would always have my mom read it to me before bed. The book was so magical to me. Being read to before bed is one of my fondest memories as a child. I wanted to be like my older sister and go to school. So when my older sister would do her homework, I would sit by her and eagerly try to understand what she was learning. All I wanted to do was go to school. My grandma was a teacher and during the summer she would teach my sister and I so we could get ahead. That’s when I mostly learned to write and read. I am very grateful for my early education because it has gotten me to the high level of education I am at today and got me started on my love for books.
ReplyDeleteI do not remember the very first time I learned to read or write, but I can remember that reading was one of my favorite activities when I was about seven or eight years old. The first books I remember reading by myself were “Junie B. Jones” and “Magic Treehouse”. I owned just about every single version of these books and would read them constantly. I can remember reading these books on long car rides to my brothers sporting events, or even reading them while the game was going on. For school, I would have to record my minutes each day that I read in a daily reading log. I also remember participating in a reading challenge where the first person to read ten books wins, and I won. Even today, I always like reading a good book.
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember too much about when I was first introduced to books. I do know that I was young. I would listen to my parents read me books a lot. One thing that I remember very well is reading with my grandparents. Every time I would go over to my grandparents, I would ask to read books that they had. I would sit there and listen to them as they would read me books from Dr. Seuss, or other authors that were fairly similar. I really enjoyed spending time reading the books. My favorite book was “Green Eggs and Ham”. The first book I read on my own was “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.” I loved reading all of the Dr. Seuss books. Once I was able to, I read most of the books. I don’t remember the exact book that I struggled to read. I know that the word that was making it tough was “machine”. It was a book all about machines and I just couldn’t figure out how to pronounce it. I would ask my parents and then forget in less than a minute. When I was young, I never did a spelling bee. I took a lot of spelling tests though. I was normally pretty good at these tests because I was good at sounding things out. At some point when I was young, I enjoyed reading so much that I wanted to try and make my own book. Considering I was probably 6 or 7 years old, I wasn’t very good at it, but I would show my parents my stories every time I made one.
ReplyDeleteI don’t remember when I learned to read or write, but I do remember how my mother would read to me every night before bed. Each night it would be something different; one day it would be “Toestomper and the Caterpillars” and the next day it would be “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie”. Those were my favorite books growing up, and I would ask her to read them over and over. As I got older, I started reading on my own and the first books I learned to read were “Bob Books”. Once I finished the “Bob Books” my first real book was “Magic Treehouse”. I loved those books and tried to read every single one, but I don’t remember if I ever accomplished that goal. When I was little I loved reading so I would sit on the couch, facing away from the television, and get into a good book while my parents watched a show. For school, I had to record the amount of time I spent each day reading in a reading log. I also remember participating in a reading challenge that the library held over the summer. My love for books has grown tremendously and I love reading a thriller every now and then.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was in preschool, my teacher, Mrs. White, would have us write out our name 10 times. We would have to do that twice everyday before we could eat lunch; doing this really helped with my spelling and writing skills. After we got done writing and eating lunch we would all sit in a circle on a rainbow carpet with the alphabet printed on it, uppercase and lowercase. Mrs. White would read to us Dr. Seuss books most of the time, but every Friday she would read “One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish!” This book taught us colors, counting, reading, and animals.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, I hated reading. I would do anything within my power to avoid
ReplyDeleteanything involving books. Even summer reading, where we would could read to get prizes, wasn't worth it. Although I don't remember reading, I do recall that my parents would try to enforce reading a half hour a day as a rule. I manage to avoid it more often than not, but sometimes I would be forced into reading "Ugly Fish" by Kara LaReau or "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. The efforts of my parents to get me to read likely contributed to my success in language arts classes.
In kindergarten, I went to Disney for the first time during spring break. The day we flew home was the first day back to school. A fellow classmate and I were tied for first in a reading challenge. Each day we would receive a special book from the teacher in a worn-out plastic bag, and we would read it to our family members. Getting to read my new special book to my parents and sister was usually the highlight of evenings. However, due to flying home from Florida, I missed school. This meant that she was going to pass me in the reading challenge. I vividly remember crying when I found out that she was going to be a book ahead of me in the reading challenge. I cried before we left and multiple times at Disney. Who in their right mind cries at the happiest place on earth? I did as a six year old kindergartener who was going to lose in a book challenge. When I won, I was super happy to tell my family, but I later realized it was all just for fun.
ReplyDeleteEver since I was a toddler, I have loved to read. My love for reading had blossomed when my mother started reading to me every night before bed. She would read to me everything by Dr.Seuss, but “There's a Wocket in my Pocket” was my favorite. I had also enjoyed reading Junie B. Jones books as I got older. My parents had told me I've always been a fast learner and learned how to talk when I was very little. I enjoyed stories, It allowed me to have a wild imagination to entertain myself before my brother was born. I had also enjoyed reading to my younger cousins and my younger brother. My reading level was advanced when I was younger, I had joined reading groups all the way up till middle school. If It wasn't for my parents reading to me every night and opening up my imagination, I don't think I would enjoy It as much as I do now.
ReplyDeleteI do not recall many memories about the first couple of days I learned to read and write. I have never been a huge fan of reading books. Now and then, I would stumble across an intriguing book that captured my attention. While growing up, I enjoyed writing a lot more than reading. However, I can remember some very fun reading memories when I was much younger. I can remember every night before I would go to bed choosing a huge stack of books for my mom to read to me until I would fall asleep. My favorite books included, “Little Quack”, “Froggy Goes to School”, “Frog and Toad”, and many more. I enjoyed listening to my mom read books much more than having to read them myself. After hearing the same stories repeatedly every night, I picked up on a lot of vocabulary. Over time, I began to use this vocabulary without even realizing it. When I began reading on my own, I enjoyed reading books like the “Goosebumps” series and “A-Z Mysteries”. I got addicted to these series, and I read just about every book in each series. I loved to read before I went to bed and when I woke up in the morning. Nowadays, I enjoy reading if it is a really exciting book, but I am still not a huge fan of reading books. To this day, I still enjoy writing more than reading.
ReplyDeleteI am going, to be honest, I don’t remember anything really. I do, however, recall being read to in Kindergarten. My teacher would always have my class sit in a circle, and we would sit criss cross applesauce as she read to us. I loved it when she would read us picture books. She would always show us the pages as she read them. I enjoyed all the graphics and the spectacular story that went along with it. The reading caused me to catch along fast. I learned to read and write more quickly. I followed along and understood words faster than the other kids in the class. If my teacher didn’t read to us, then I wouldn’t have been able to comprehend and understand written language.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I do not recall the first time I read a book myself, I do remember my love for books growing up. When I was in preschool, I remember the class sitting on the carpet as our teachers read to us. I remember one day we ate green eggs and ham after reading the book "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss. I, to this day, can still remember the horrible taste of the cold ham and scrambled eggs they colored green with food coloring. When I was in Kindergarten, we did a similar reading time. I preferred when we read in class than when we napped, and for a five-year-old, that is saying something. My favorite book series was Junie B. Jones, and as a kid, I would go around with my grandma buying all the books. I still own all of the books in the series today. However, my favorite memories are the ones shared with my parents. Our bedtime favorites included "I Love You Through And Through" and "Guess How Much I Love You." Reading time was a special bonding moment growing up, and I am so glad that today I can still cherish those memories that began my love for books.
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ReplyDeleteI remember in first grade I used to read the Magic Treehouse Books. After I read my first Magic Treehouse book it became my favorite book. The Magic Treehouse books made me love reading. I also remember reading a lot of sports magazines and books. When I would go to my grandparents house the first thing I would do was read the sports section of the newspaper and cut out the sports pictures and scores. Then I would glue the pictures and scores on pieces of paper and make little paper books out of them. I would be so happy when Fitch football was on the front page! I also used to go to a lot of YSU Football games and I would read the game programs over and over. I love to read, and it’s my favorite part of English Class!
From a young age I had a love for reading, but I distinctly remember reading my first book called “Goodnight Moon.” I would read it to everyone in my family to show off my reading capabilities. Every night, either my mother or grandmother would have me read a book. I remember reading faster than my supply of books, so I would go to the library and pick out what would become some of my favorite books. With those books, I could relate to the characters when I was beginning to figure out who I was. I remember a book when I was younger, although I can’t name the title, it had a big impact on me because the main character had a peanut allergy. While having a peanut allergy as a child was scary, the books made it seem normal and made it seem less scary. When it came to writing, I was always writing stories I thought of. Most would be completely fictional and very imaginative stories, but I wrote them down thinking a few sentences would make me a famous author. I realized how powerful words can be, even though I was still too young to pronounce the word “specific” correctly. I realized that I can communicate and relate to other people from a young age by reading a poem for a Winter Concert at my preschool. I have always had a love for reading and writing from a young age, and my love for reading and writing continues today.
ReplyDeleteAt night, my mom would read to me. Within school, I would read small books that would further my reading. It wasn't until 3rd grade did I start to love reading. Magic treehouse books brought me into a world of fantasy. In 5th grade, I was introduced to the Hunger Games. My mom would always read "Go Dog Go" by Dr. Seuss, "Goodnight Moon," and "Snuggle Puppy." The first book I read on my own was "Go Dog Go!" My reading was encouraged by my Grandparents to continue reading. They'd always buy me books, as they still do today, and ask me what they were about. Today, my favorite book is "Queen of Shadows" by Sarah J Maas. She is my all time favorite author and her Throne of Glass series is amazing. In preschool, I learned how to write my name. My "S" would always be backward. It wasn't kindergarten when a mean sub yelled at me to fix it, that I actually fixed my name. I went home and cried about it to my mom. A lot of the funny things I said were swearing words. I spent tons of time with my Dad so I inherited his sarcastic nature.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was little, I quickly developed a love for reading. My mom would read to me every night before bed, which led me to create this love. She would read mainly Dr. Suess books to me every night, which quickly became my favorite series of books to read. I was very fond of the Berenstein bears books also. All this reading led me to develop a 3rd-grade reading level in preschool. The first book I read was also a Dr. Suess book titled "Are You, My Mother". I am glad I was read these books at a young age because although they are wacky, they teach many good morals to young readers. Although this flame of passion for reading has partially died, I still have a fondness for books, especially ones written by Dr. Suess.
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I would look forward to my “book in a bag” weekly reading. For as early as I can remember, “book in a bag” was the start of my reading journey. The mystery of what new vocabulary or what rhyming words would be in the book in my bag kept me engaged.These books laid the foundation of my literacy skills. My index finger would run under each word as I would stop and think for a moment before I read them aloud. I vividly remember the feeling of checking off my log after a night's worth of reading. I would sit on my Mom’s lap under the light from the lamp on the coffee table, and read my book three times for my check mark. If I began to stutter my Mom would step in, hinting to me the beginning sound of the word. The satisfaction of handing my teacher my bag back with my log completely filled out and a new set of words mastered is what I looked forward to every week. When I went over to AES and read to the kindergarteners, my kindergartener brought over her “book in a bag” and it took me back to when that was me. My “book in a bag” days have shaped me into the reader I am today and let me reflect back to when I first started reading.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I was not a fan of reading books but I loved writing. Every friday in second grade we would have to write a couple of sentences about a given prompt. For some reason, I would just fill up the front and back of the page with a story. I remember during parent teacher conferences, my teacher, Mrs. Crum said that she was going to take all my stories home to her kids for them to read. Even though I didn’t like reading books that often, I was a big fan of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” or “If You Give a Moose a Muffin.” Those books were funny to me at a young age and that's why I liked reading them. Even today I prefer writing over reading but I will read a book if I have to.
ReplyDeleteThe first memory of writing that I have is with my dad. We would always sit at the kitchen table, and he would force me to write; he made sure it was perfect every single time. I remember crying so many times because he would scream at me. My dad wanted to make sure my handwriting was perfect for school because his handwriting was terrible. My dad would take my folder from school, look at all the papers inside, and if it wasn't what he wanted he would scream at me and make me rewrite all of it, even if I didn't have to turn anything in. The first thing I can remember about reading, was when my mom started reading me this one book. It is called “Love you Forever” written by Robert N. Munsch. She would read it to me every night, and I started reading it too. I don’t remember much from my younger grades and learning the basics of reading and writing, but I have a vivid memory of my family teaching me.
ReplyDeleteI truly don't remember much about my childhood let alone my first experiences when it comes to books, however, I do remember that I used to sit on my grandfather's lap and he would read to me “Walter the Farting Dog”. Everytime he would read this book I would die laughing, but ever since I've gotten older I just don't find any books funny anymore. I also never really remember having a major issue with simple writing and reading. I think that I learned to read rather well compared to other people my age. When it comes to a school setting I remember sitting on the carpet while my teacher read to us at the end of the day. She would only read to us if we were able to solve a riddle in the form of a puzzle. I used to be the worst at those and would always just stand there while my other classmates would breeze through it with no problem.
ReplyDeleteDue to my poor memory, I hardly remember most events from my childhood; so, I asked my mother what she remembers about her memories of me learning to read and write. My mother told me I used to write my e’s, a’s, and p’s backwards; according to her, I used to start from the bottom when writing my e’s. One thing I do remember is writing on most surfaces I wasn't supposed to write on. I would grab markers, crayons, colored pencils, or pens and start writing on the walls of my house. I wrote on the walls, the kitchen table, and even the dresser in my room. Safe to say, I got in quite a bit of trouble as a child. Another thing I remember when I was learning to read and write were the many flash cards my mother would make, and place on random objects in the house so I could learn to read words. She put the index cards on things like the refrigerator, the table, the sink, the couch, and even the walls; this is also how I learned to count. My mother had the numbers one to fifteen going up our steps to the 2nd floor of our old house. I also remember loving to read Dr. Seuss books like “That Cat in the Hat” and “Fox in Socks.” I would sit with my parents on the couch with a book, and they would either read the book to me or help me figure out any words I didn’t know.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I don’t remember when I first started reading, I do know it was a huge part of my childhood. At only a few years old, my mom enjoyed reading to me; she realized how much I enjoyed it also. At about 4 or 5, she would usually read to me while I was taking a bath or when I was in bed. She read me books like “Corduroy” and “Goodnight Moon”. Once my reading level started to increase, I began reading book series like “Amelia Bedelia” and “The Baby-Sitters club”. In elementary school I loved being picked to read for the class, so I could show what new book I was reading. My mom was always patient with me when learning how to form sentences and say new words, which is one of the reasons why I enjoyed reading so much at such a young age.
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