Literacy Narrative

1.       “Her tongue became dry and her lips were cracked, but she only was aware of being terrified of the water.” Page 130 paragraph 9 Lydia’s Story

2.       “She described it as ‘rushing like the Colorado River’”. Page 129 Paragraph 6 Lydia’s Story

3.       “Then, one morning, she woke to find that her feet and the sleeping bag were soaking wet, and there was standing water throughout her house.” Page 129 paragraph 5 Lydia’s Story

“As Lydia was telling her story I heard strength and resolve in her voice.” Page 131 paragraph 12 Lydia’s Story

4.       -Touching Spirit Bear

-Writing little books on books we read

-Reading groups with different levels

-Teaching younger students to read, “Reading buddies”

5.       Touching Spirit Bear is my favorite book. I want to share this because it changed my attitude about judging people before we knew them. In the book, a boy bullies and beats up another kid who hasn’t bothered him at all. Instead of going to juvenile hall for Cole’s actions he goes to a circle of justice meeting, and is sent to live on a remote island by himself. Through the book he learns how to respect his surroundings and change into a better person.  My 4^th grade teacher read this book out loud to the class, and it slowly changed from a book to fill the silence while I did someone’s hair to asking for this book for Christmas a year later.

6.       Many kids were read aloud to in school when they were younger. I’ll have to explain the classroom setting and how the book changed for me. I’ll have to show them why it is my favorite book, and explain with detail how the books affects me to have others understand what I am serious about in the book.

7.       Affectionate and serious about the book, but humorous about my childhood and about how kids don’t understand what seriousness is being thrown at them.

8.       Will be printed out and could add the book itself to the narrative.

9.       The walls were a buttery yellow, with several paintings on them. Vines and leaves on one wall and students art hung in frames around the room. Book shelves covered the base of the walls, and the windows were always open. Outside there were trees and birds were constantly singing. The desks were in rows of three, with special self-managers located next to the teacher’s desk. Computers were on one side of the room, old and beige with loud keys that stuck when pressed too hard. Cubbies were next to the sink, and to the right there was a Japanese box turtle named Tortel. 30 kids were in the room, and at the front they sat on couches and wooden chairs for storytelling and reading. We played with each other’s hair and tried to stay quiet while the old sassy teacher read Touching Spirit Bear.

10.   The birds outside whistling secrets to each other, while the teacher animated the books words. Kid’s giggles to the left and right and from time to time you could hear a soft “ow” when some ones hair was pulled too hard. Pencils scratched on paper while others drew, but I was quiet and only made comments when the teacher asked about the story.

11.   Deep inhale and you would smell dirt and grass from the recent recess. The teachers perfume loomed in the air, as did her lunch she struggled to eat on time while teaching. She aired out the room with the air from the windows which clung to every ones shirts making them smell a sweet mix of sugar and evergreen.

12.   Comfortable and at home in this space. Tired from the long day but intrigued by the new book.

13.   The dryness of the air and the leftover peanut butter and jelly from lunch.

14.   The teacher had silvery grey hair and a pair of unrimmed glasses. She was pleasantly plump and wore loose t-shirts and slacks with black crocs. She had a small tattoo on her ankle as well. My closest friends wore shorts with t-shirts and we all had bangs. Other children wore jeans and a sweatshirt with the schools name on it. Everyone was tired, and barely kept their eyes open as we sat around on the cold floor.

15.   The only dialogue was the teacher reading aloud. Other than that kids would whisper about who likes who or ask for certain braids in their hair.

16.   We all sat on the hard floor or couches. No one really used the wooden chairs, they were even less comfortable than the floor. We all looked attentively towards the teacher who read to us the book of her choice. When she got excited she would jump while reading or her eyes would expand and we would all follow her words.

17.   This story is important to me because it showed me my favorite book. This book has helped me understand not to judge people and to show compassion toward others that we may not know. In some ways the book has helped me relate to others who have read it, and even others who have not. We can compare books and share our feelings on why the book impacted us. This particular book was important at the time because it showed how kids affect other people lives at any age. It also showed us family values and why it is important not to let your own family change your values. You are your own person and the book showed a younger self that I could be whoever I chose to be and change no matter how old I was. My life would not be the same without this book. It is possible I never would have learned to accept myself as I am and change my attitude towards my life. I needed to see that everyday is precious and we must live life as well as we can even with challenges. Understanding how to be compassionate has helped me in many ways. When my friends talk to me about a certain situation in their life I can help them figure out a helpful solution. I learned what it meant to be willing to do anything to help someone and this book even helped me decide what I wanted to do when I grew up, which was becoming a teacher.