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Katelyn Reed

Dr. Jan Rieman

English 1103

December 7, 2010

Self-Assessment: Revising this paper for the last time felt good but took a lot of thinking.

Thinking back to the comments made, I needed to insert some things about my writing

experiences and growth. Therefore, I added lots about how my writing started and how it

progressed to where I am today thanks to my sponsors. I also went back and reworded or

reordered some other areas that after re-reading felt a little weird and not in tune with the rest

of the paper. This, to me, is the best version on this paper that I had written.

Rustling the Pages

A small child picks up a book and opens it to a middle page. Bright colors and pictures

adorn the three words that lay on the page. The child reads “See Jane run.” and a smile spreads

across their face that seems to lighten up the room. Literacy is a precious gift that anyone can

receive. Learning to sing along with the alphabet to reading those first few words in a book and

writing your first complete sentence can mark a path to success and greater knowledge later in

life. Throughout my life, many people have stepped up to become my sponsors of literacy in

addition to the numerous technological advances through the years that have aided me in

learning how to read and write.

Without my parents, I would not be where I am today and my academic standards would

not be as high as I make them to be now. Since the day I was born, I was surrounded by voices

reading books to me. I learned how to talk at the age of nine months, so reading took me just a

few years. Every night before going to bed my father or mother would come in and read to me
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my favorite books. I do not remember how many times Baby Bop’s Shoes, Corduroy, Do

Bunnies Talk?, and Goodnight Moon were read to me. In fact, I used to say the words to myself

as they read to me because I knew the stories by heart. By the time I reached kindergarten, my

mom would take me and my brother to the public library and allow us to pick one book each for

the week. I would always scan the shelves for the book that was filled with the most pictures and

colors. I wanted pictures because it was easier for me to learn what the words said because I

knew that they had to describe the sketched out scene. I wanted a book with lots of words too

because I knew that if there were a lot of words, that meant a lot of detail and I could picture it

more easily as it was being read to me. Library trips continued on for another few years, but I

was now getting books for birthdays and Christmases from my grandparents and aunts and

uncles. I was now beginning to truly love reading and was truly privileged to have parents and

family who supported my love for reading. Besides the reading, my family also started me at a

young age on learning how to write my name and the ABC’s. I can remember having easels and

large scraps of paper that I would doodle on and my parents guiding my hand in spelling out my

name while saying each letter as it was written. By the time school began, I was ready to further

learn reading and writing.

The first day of real school, Elementary school, a whole new world of learning to read

and write was introduced to me. As a young child, I never knew so many objects could inspire

me to read. I would sit at my desk and read the name tags in my little group, the words on the

blackboard and whiteboard, and the posters that hung on every wall that were filled with new

and interesting words. Multiple banners that spelled out the alphabet framed the cubbies. Small

reading books and text books were given out to every student. It was so exciting! I wanted to

start reading right away. My teachers, in Elementary school, would sit down with me and help
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me learn the more difficult words to read through lots of sounding out and syllable sounds. I

always felt a new sense of pride when I could come home and show off some. I would run into

the house and pull out a book that we were reading in class and beg my parents to listen to me as

I read passages to them and then explained what had just happened. I would not have been able

to do so without learning how to read the words first. The same went for writing. I would show

off my big sheet of lined paper I would bring home every week that had a sprawled out

sentenced of a few words with a matching picture. To this day, my mom has kept every single

one of my school papers and projects as memorabilia and it is a lot of fun looking back over that

stuff now and looking at where all of this writing began.

Another sponsor that helped me in my years of learning how to read first appeared in

second grade. At the time, text books came with CD’s which would play recordings of different

stories and different lessons on phonics right out of the textbook itself. Every week I sat in my

desk and followed the words of the stories and the lesson’s examples while listening to the

monotones of the man’s voice on the CD. Kids around me would fall asleep, but I was eager to

learn and would have my finger following each word as it was read aloud. Reading became

easier and easier for me as time went on. At home my parents gave me a Leap Frog reader, one

of the hottest toys and learning devices available at the time, with books and tools that would

give me an extra aid in surpassing my level of literacy. Through the Leap Frog, I was able test

myself on my level of reading while still learning. Being able to interact with the device helped

me learn those new and harder words that I would normally stumble over. Before I knew it I was

on my way to quickly growing my personal literacy.

Within just a few more years, when chapter books became more interesting to me, the

thought of reading a book with over 100 pages did not scare me. I would use the skills I was
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taught and context clues to figure out the word and its meaning. I read the American Girl and

Little House of the Prairie book series and really realized what books can do for you and provide

you with for your future. Whole new worlds opened up to me; I knew exactly what it felt like to

be the characters and to live in the variety of worlds they grew up in. I began reading the Harry

Potter and Twilight series next and quickly fell in love with the story. Being able to read these

books opened up whole new worlds for me to fall in love with and imagine myself a part of. My

writing has also dramatically improved over the years. Having ‘Young Authors’ in my school

system taught me how to write freely and express myself starting in about third grade. I also had

writing test in second, third, and forth grades that my teachers would prepare us for all year long.

I learned how to write a standard essay by the time I was in fourth grade. But all of this has just

piled up to where I am today with my writing capabilities and where I am headed to in the future.

Literacy is a special and important thing to learn. That small child that read the words

“See Jane run.” has grown up now and attends college to become a teacher and help others learn

the importance of literacy. It was me who was so delighted that I was able to read those three

little words all by myself when I was just a toddler excited about getting to go to kindergarten.

Learning to read and write was never easy and never simple. Tools and lots of family and good

friends helped me along that path. The support is never ending and they all believe in me, which

drive me to go further and surpass what I already knew how to do. They are all considered my

sponsors and personal cheerleaders while learning this vital tool. Reading and writing opens up

worlds for one to wander through, all different and unique, just like rustling through the pages of

an old book.