Taylor Henry Literacy Ethnography

I am grateful for this literacy ethnography assignment because it allows me the opportunity to reflect on my literacy upbringing. A literacy ethnography is a systematic exploration of ones literacy practices. I believe the best way to reflect my on my literacies is through chronological order.

Me (center) at 3 years old, my father (left), my uncle (right) and my cousin (lower center)

According to my mother I began reading when I was around three years old. My favorite book as a child was The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. This childrens book is about a caterpillar that eats his way through the entire book and at the end he nestles into his cocoon and becomes a beautiful butterfly. Every night before bed, my mother this book to me and eventually I began reciting the book myself. I dont believe I was able to read the book, I was only able to recite it by memorizing the words.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar was only the first of many books that helped me learn to read and understand language and proper grammar. In elementary school in third grade through

fifth grade, I participated in the academically gifted program. Each month I would receive a booklet with the required books as well as questions to answer about each one. At the end of the year the group of students in the program would travel to the local middle school and take place in a competition with students from the other elementary schools in the district. In this competition, the teams would work together to answer questions about the books that were in the booklets weve received. The winning team would receive gold medals and the other teams would receive honorable mention ribbons. Unfortunately my team never won a gold medal, however Im grateful for the opportunity I was given. My literacies expanded a little more in middle school, but I think that my literacies expanded the most once I reached high school. In high school, I was able to read large and more complex novels. I realized that I preferred fiction rather than nonfiction. The fiction I do enjoy however is the type of fiction that can actually happen. I also enjoy historical fiction such as The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird. During my sophomore year of high school, I took a Shakespeare class. This class exposed me to the work and genius of William Shakespeare. Prior to the class I was under the impression that Romeo and Juliet was his only famous story, however I was terribly in correct. I read many of his plays as well as watched many films on his stories. I also learned that many novelists and playwrights get their inspiration from William Shakespeare and his many plays. Of all the plays I have read, I believe my favorite one would be As You Like It. The play tells of the importance of family as well as love and it is also shows a lighter side of William Shakespeare in contrast to his many tragedies. During my junior year of high school I was introduced to more contemporary literature. I read books such as The Catcher in the Rye. I was very excited when this book was assigned because I was familiar with the large amount of controversy it caused in the 1950s. Reading this book gave me a look at how life was in the 50s from the perspective of a teenager, and although this book was written over 60 years ago, it showed me that the teenage mind works the same no matter the time period. High school was a great time for my literacy development. I learned to appreciate literature both classic and modern, and as a result of reading so many novels and writing so many papers, my vocabulary developed. I can only imagine the amount knowledge I will gain in college. My first semester in English 1101 has already taught me so much.