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Mom would read to me
I was just learning how to talk when my mother began to read books to me. A favorite of mine was "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom." -
Mom had me read to her
When I was getting to the age to begin Kindergarten, my mom would have me read a story to her. -
Kindergarten
This was when I first began my official "academic" reading experience. -
First Grade
More independent reading was encouraged. This was the start of "take home" reading logs. -
Second Grade
The Reading logs became school-wide and was met with a reward at the end of the year. Students that read more than 20 hours a month over the course of the school year, independently, would be invited to an "Ice-Cream" party at the end of the school year. -
Third grade
This began more intense reading comprehension skills being taught. Setting, plot, theme, etc. were introduced and applied. -
Library Cards
To assist with reading log hours and "book reports," my mom would take us to a city library where we could pick out a few books that weren't read in class or school. This allowed me to read books above my grade level, but also stories that interested me more. I found independent reading to be fun at this point. -
"Hunger Games"
After Elementary school, I had sort of "fell-out" of independent reading. When the "Hunger Games" series dropped, I fell victim to the hype and read those books as they came out. I credit that series to getting me back into reading in my free time. -
History
I started to find History very interesting around 11 or 12 years old. History led me into reading a lot of "non-fiction" and "historical fiction" books. -
Middle School
Higher expectations were set on comprehension and grammar. Rising action, climax, resolution, etc. were introduced, as was SOAPSTone. -
Movies
After reading "The Book Thief," I became motivated to start reading the books that had movies made afterwards. Most times historical fictions, but (as previously mentioned) Hunger Games assisted with this motivation as well. -
Mrs. Penkalski
My senior year English teacher is one of the greatest helps I have ever had when it comes to many aspects of Language Arts. In the context of reading, she taught me how to properly annotate texts to help further comprehension. Deeper than that, she taught us important lessons on critical thinking and reading discussions.