My Literacy Timeline!

Literacy Timeline

·         At about 11 months, I was told that my first word was “dada”. Dada is referring to a Serbian term that means older sister. She use to always play with me as a baby and I think this is why I picked up on the word

·         As I approach to being 1 year old, I begin to form a larger lexicon. By now, I know the pronouns given to my family. I.E: Mama, Tato (meaning dad), Baba (meaning grandma), Dedo (meaning grandpa), Dada (older sister), Apo (older brother) etc.

·         Although, my first words learned were mainly Serbian words to describe family members, my first language was English.

·         At the age of only 2, I remember that everyone use to say that I was going to have my own talk show because of how much I was talking already

·         The age of 3, I learn the alphabet sing along

·         The age of 4, I am starting to write and read little by little

·         At about the age of 5, my grandfather was coming from Serbia (one who I had never met before) I could only speak the basics of Serbian so I was a little nervous about communicating with him. He had asked if I requested anything from Serbia and I asked for a Serbian alphabet book that would teach me how to read and write in the language

·         My grandfather is now here living with my family for a year. I am 6 years old and have learned to speak almost fluent Serbian. Not only am I speaking it, I have learned the alphabet and can now read and write in Serbian.

·         In school, I am learning the language German by Mr. Krenzor. The first thing I pick up on is the German alphabet. I think this is influenced by knowing the Serbian one so it made it easier.

·         In the 3^rd grade, reading was encouraged greatly. During silent reading I would always read “Marvin K. Moony Would You Please Go Home” by Dr. Sues. Also, at this time I am drawn to poetry and the poetry book “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. My favorite poem in there was titled “Sick”. I use to be able to recite the whole thing and still to this day I remember bits and pieces from it

·         In the fourth grade, I read my first and favorite chapter book. “Because of Winn Dixie” I read that book more than just a few times.

·         It is now the summer of 2005, and my parents are going on sending my sister, brother, and I to Serbia for a month to visit family. I had never been there before so this was exciting to me, but I was also very nervous. In Serbia, I was thankful my grandfather taught me Serbian because I was now a pro! I made friends with all the local kids so easily and they were impressed that I spoke the language well.

·         In 2007, I notice I have a love for creative writing. My English teacher Mrs. West would teach us many techniques and to this day I incorporate those techniques in writing

·         Junior high gave us a lot of basic writing assignments that really made me a better writer

·         I noticed that in 9^th grade (2009) I had a love for giving presentations and speaking upon the class. I always volunteered to give my presentation first. I feel like I never really had stage fright and that it just came more natural for me.

·         Entering high school in 2009-2010 was a breeze for me. I had already known many people that attended the school so I adjusted quickly

·         In 11^th grade (2010-2011), writing assignments got harder and harder each time. They were preparing us for the big test…the “ACT”

·         Taking the ACT was not very hard; however I wish I had more time to complete it. I feel like I could not stay focused on the writing portion because there was so little time and all my thoughts were running through my mind.

·         Senior year was a breeze for me. My favorite class was dance class and marketing because it was the classes I got to express my creative side

o   In dance class, the literacy part was important in the selection of music that I choose. Iy had to be the perfect song to go with the dances my partners and I made up

o   Marketing was a blast! I maintained an A in that class all year. I enjoyed making PowerPoints in that class and doing stuff like making advertisements and once we had to make a commercial…that was my favorite!

·         Leaving high school was very bittersweet.  I feel like it marked the end of my childhood, yet a beginning to my college career. I learned a lot in high school to get me to where I am today in my education like writing, speaking, and creative thinking.

Free Write: Digital Literacy

1) Teachers thoughout elementary, junior high, and high school could have better prepared for the requirements in college by doing more hands on learning experiences. I feel like grade school was very systematic and predicatable. We would learn a lesson and have book assignment right after. I would have appreciated doing more activites that applied more critical thinking.

2) In my career field, I anticipate on dealing with a lot of technology. I expect to be learning on how to use my creative skills in the digital world. I believe if I take the right classes that Oakland University will prepare me for this.

3) I generally write better in a relaxed setting. I do not like having boundaries because when I am writing with boundaries I feel like I am not writing what I mean and that I am just writing to write. However, when I write in a relaxed setting I am writing what I feel and express myself in a truthful manner.

4) If I was to be a teacher in this day and age I would do the best I can to better prepare my students for their future. As we know, the digital world has taken a turn in this generation and more technology is being used. With my students, I would focus on hands on activities that involve using more technology. I also think this will create some more excitement to the students.

5) The tone of this piece by Virginia Heffernen was very meaningful to me. You can tell that Heffernen is writing what she feels and the truth of the matter is we must focus on making our digital literacy skills better. In the future, who knows what kind of jobs there will be, but we do know that we must provide some kind of base foundation for the students entering the future.

What We're Doing When We Blog

1.  Some features of a blog are that of you can write as freely as you choose. There are no boundaries in a blog or a set of written rules for blogs. Print sources are usually more bland and informational.

2.  Hourihan feels that blogs are a communication revolution because it’s almost like people can get to see what you are thinking and what is going on in your mind.

3.  I think keeping a blog for this class will be advantageous to my learning because it will help me explore the thoughts of others and see their perspectives on things. I do not feel that there are any disadvantages to keeping a blog; to me it seems totally harmless.

4. Publishing is a rather stricter than a blog. When you publish something, you are usually dealing with facts and information. When you blog, you are focusing more on opinions and things that intrigue you.

Summary and Response (Mother Tongue by Amy Tan)

 Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is a very relatable narration to me. She discusses how she grew up speaking two languages and how it affected her as an individual. Amy says that language is powerful and can express emotion. Amy had to translate for her parents and this wasn't typical for all young children. I myself grew up in a home speaking a language other than English. Although both of my parents speak fluent English, my grandparents did not. Still to this day I do some translating for them. I embrace this! I love being able to speak two languages; it is quite essential for me. I have become a better writer and communicator because of this.

Free Write

1. In a blog, you are able to express yourself freely and not have any boundaries/guidelines to follow by. They differ from print sources because they are more personal and are free, whereas, a print source can be very long and informational.

2. Hourihan feels that blogs are a communication revolution because it is like keeping an online journal. A journal can be something very personal and interesting to see other's thoughts and opinions.

3. I think keeping a blog for this class can help classmates get to know each other better. This is an advantage because people can ask each other questions comfortably and communicate with one another. The only disadvantage I can think of is that if someone cannot get their internet to work when they need/want to blog.

4. Publishing is very straight forward. You have something to publish you would make sure it is your perfect piece of work. Blogging is somewhat different. In blogging, you would be more free a good reflection of what you are thinking.  

Why writing is important

Writing is a very big subject in life. Writing is seen and done all around us. I am majoring in communications and as you know writing will be very essential for me to exceed and succeed in this field. Writing is an expressive way to transcend ideas. Writing for my career would have to be catchy. No one wants their radio personality or sports broadcaster to be boring and bland! Writing is a great way to reflect your thoughts and topics. My writing and communication skills obviously need to improve, but then again whose doesn't? In general, everyone can improve at something even if they have already mastered something. I certainly need to work on holding the audiences attention and tune them into what I will be saying. In order for me to do the best I can, I must try the best I can and this can be accomplished through determination.