Kierston Sharp Mr.

Borrero English 1101 22 August 2012

Reading and Writing: The Past, Present, and Future My earliest memories are of me and my sisters when I was around age four. I am the youngest of three so they always loved to teach me new things. They would act like we were in school and teach me my colors, numbers, letters, and most importantly, words. I come from a long line of avid readers so exposure to books was the normal way of life. I didnt know it then, but by the older members in my family simply reading me bedtime stories and labels on things in the grocery store, it would mold me into an excellent reader and writer. By the time I was in kindergarten I was reading on a 3rd grade level. I wasnt as comfortable with my reading skills in the school setting because not everyone read well, or read at all. I felt like the special student in class because my teachers would gush about how well I did. At that point in life I only read in private, trying not to make myself stand out from the crowd or make my friends feel bad. As elementary school went on and I was placed in Academically Gifted programs, my comfort grew. There was a whole group of students just like me and I began to realize that reading and writing are a part of not only English, but science, history, and math too. After my speech was chosen to represent my school in the county Civic Oration speech I started to really embrace my knack for words. I no longer thought it was socially hindering me because academically my early exposure was helping me consistently be at

the top my classes, even the gifted ones. I was able to meet our governor because of my oration speech so through writing I had achieved more than the average ten year old. From speeches I began to write poetry. I wasnt nearly as good at it as I was a speech but it was the freedom of self-expression with no rules that made it appealing to me. The incredible thing about words is that you can formulate them in any manner you choose about anything to make them your own. Poetry books, novels written in poetry form, and other literary works became my newest obsession. Due to poets like Nikki Giovanni and Maya Angelou my

experiences with reading were enhanced. From that point on I never felt like an outcast by being a bookworm because I was collecting a little bit of knowledge about a lot of things. Being able to excel in both of these areas has made me more confident in my life all around. Not only in school but in my personal life as well. They are the bread and butter of being able to share your ideas; because you probably once read a text, written by an author using words, which made you believe what you do. Allowing you to communicate your beliefs to others. It tends to be a vicious cycle beginning and ending with reading and writing well. The key to knowledge is being able to study the opinion of others and build on it. Reading and writing have always been a way of life for me. Im truly blessed to love it and to have been introduced to it at such an early age. If I hadnt grown up in a family of readers and been encouraged to read when all of the other children werent I wouldnt feel nearly as strongly about it as I do. It has made me into a stronger student and a more well-rounded, cultural person. I believe that it is the gateway to all other subjects. In order to obtain optimum knowledge you have to be literate in all aspects.

Project #1: Multi-Modal Literacy Narrative Part 2: Cultural Domain Analysis Instructions (Part 1 Domain Analysis Chart): When introducing the Multi-Modal Literacy Narrative project, we established that your mind is influenced by different cultural/social systems that work both separately and together to shape your ideas, beliefs, and practices as a reader and writer. To analyze these systems, your first task is to complete the domain analysis chart in which you must reflect on each of the four domains listed below and identify as many practices, ideas/values/beliefs, objects, or significant details from each cultural/social system that you think has influenced your literacy and composition skills.

Home Mommy, daddy, 2 older sisters Very stable home life, I was sheltered from issues that arose in other parts of the world (poverty, violence) My mom was and still is an avid reader Working class family My mother has an in-house daycare so she stayed at home and always had time to teach me things before I ever went to school. I was read books every night before bed My dad is a retired marine and valued college experience; he pushed education Music was all around in my house so I was singing and learning lyrics at an early age We did brainteasers on long car rides and played spelling games Coming from an African American heritage, southern coloquialisms were often used in my house (hind parts, up the lane) My sisters went to college and would often share different novels they had to read for class if they thought Id enjoy them I was always allowed to have an opinion but I knew the difference between being opinionated and disrespectful We often discussed news, books, magazine articles at dinner; though we were all raised in the same house my sisters and I do have some opposing opnions about certain things. Everyone in my family is very silly so the phrase no pun intended was learned early. School I never had to switch schools in the middle of the year From the beginning of kindergarten I was

Work Being a hostess, seeing unusual names, interacting with many different kinds of people Exposure to restaurant jargon (heard, right behind, coming in, 86) As a server I learned to write things in short hand Being able to read abbreviations for tickets and becoming familiar with the words commonly used in the restaurant to be able to put orders in efficiently Learning about different cultures through conversation with people at my tables; becoming more culturally aware Because of how precise I was about things I read manuals front to back so I knew how to do everything efficiently and correctly This did lead me to a promotion; I began making schedules for my workers Scheduling made me have to work with an entire grid of text that included numbers for the times people were to report at work. I had to make sure that there was someone scheduled to do every job. It became problem solving within text

Neighborhood / Community / Peers I grew up in a military town (Jacksonville, NC) There were many people from all over the world, stationed there by the military

reading on a high level At first I saw reading as being nerdy and something that made me a social outcast My teachers were my main advocates in making reading cool We played word games and even games to talk discuss different characters in the book, situations, etc. to make sure that we were comprehending I scored very high on my standardized writing tests but my writing was organized exactly like my teachers examples I eventually began expanding my writing because of different examples I was given. It was clear that everything wasnt so concrete, they were up to my interpretation and style choice In elementary school I learned about different genres I started to read chapter books in second grade and got enraptured in new worlds My vocabulary expanded with the new literature that I read In middle school I was in AG classes for English and was exposed to higher level texts like Shakespeare As a high school student I took honors and AP English classes. They introduced me to literature such as Atonement and other classical works

Military jargon was always around and it was normal speech for me (Semper Fi, 96, ASAP, PT) The library on base had much more of a selection than the one in town so thats the one me and my mother would choose to frequent Coming from a small town made me want a big city life I was always determined to attend college in a place unlike my home At home in Jacksonville I know all the roads but after moving to Charlotte Ive been forced to pay more attention to my surroundings. (Exit numbers, street signs, directions) Finding buildings and learning acronyms for things on campus have been my newest source of literature.

Instructions (Part 2 Domain Analysis Narrative): Now that you have completed the chart and generated some ideas about the cultural/social systems you engage with, it is time to flesh out those ideas, and analyze/explain how you think each domain has influenced your literacy and composition. For each of the systems listed below, write between 75 and 100 words to explain the major details of each cultural/social system and how the qualities of each system have influenced your literacy and composition (this means you will compose four short analyses total). You may complete your essays below. Simply type your essay next to each of the headers.

1. Home: My home has been the main influence in my reading. From a young age I was taught letters, words and other educational things before I ever went to even preschool. My family as a whole got me into reading and writing. My home life from adolescence has taught me to value my skill in reading and writing. Without them school would not have come so naturally and I probably wouldnt be as knowledgeable about the wide range of subjects that I am. 2. Work: Due to the nature of my work experience, I was introduced to many different cultures. Helping people whose first language was not English was the highlight of my literacy while working. However, I also got exposed to many different types of texts whether it was the abbreviations on

the computer that we put our orders in or getting well acquainted with the different items on the menu, reading and texts were all around. This was an experience that neither home nor school could give me because it was so specialized to the restaurant way. 3. School: School is where I got my most diversified exposure to literature. We did accelerated reader for points so there was a tangible reward for reading which motivated most of us. I ended up reading every AR book in my elementary school library. As I got older and began reading more advanced literature my opinion on the world and how I saw it I was no longer reading childrens books the worlds cruelties became more realized; not just the cruelties that could be of the real world but also other magical worlds that compared to ours. 4. Neighborhood / Community / Peers: Growing up in such a diverse place seems to be easier than an area which contained only one kind of people. Im a military brat so the jargon, language, and texts were always around. Whether it was my father using them, older veterans in the community, or reading from memorials in town like the Beirut Memorial, I soaked up all of the militarization of my town. It has helped when reading things from war eras because I can visualize all of the things they are talking about and relate them back to real world pictures.

Project #1: Multi-Modal Literacy Narrative Part 3: Literacy Sponsor Analysis Instructions (Part 1 The Charts): Fill out the chart to describe a sponsor who has shaped your views of literacy. While you need to describe at least four sponsors, keep in mind that each sponsor should have their own chart. Also keep in mind that your responses should be detailed, and should be formulated as full sentences. Sponsor #1

1.) Identify the Sponsor: In the space below, identify a sponsor that you feel has impacted your current views and/or practices of reading, writing, and communication. If the sponsor is a person, give their name; if it is a text, object, or institution, describe what the sponsor is, and if necessary, where it is located. Your Response to Questions 1: My mommy

2.) Making a Connection: In the space below, describe your relationship with or connection to the sponsor. If they are a person, how you know the person, and if the sponsor is a text, object, or institution, provide context about when or how you interacted with this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 2: My mother is one of the people that gave me life. Were very close now that Ive gotten older.

3.) Tracing Experiences: In the space below, briefly describe experiences or memories that you have had with this sponsor related to literacy. While these experiences can be positive or negative, try

to identify was many experiences as you can that you feel impacted your current view or literacy. Your Response to Questions 3: She is in my first memories of reading and words in general. She exposed me to books at a very early age by reading me my favorite book T.A.C.K.Y about an eccentric penguin. She helped me read recipes as we cooked dinner or baked cookies together. When in the grocery store she read labels and signs to me. My mother was my first introduction to literature and still to this day gives me advice on things I might enjoy reading.

4.) Tracing Emotions: In the space below, briefly describe your emotional response to each of the experiences and/or memories you accounted for in question three. Were your experiences happy, sad, discouraging, encouraging, inspiring, terrifying, etc? Describe the emotional response you had or have, and explain why. Your Response to Questions 4: I think about reading my favorite book and a smile comes across my face subconsciously at the thought of it. When I think of reading recipes it makes me feel nostalgic and melancholy because me and my mother havent done that together in years even though were close, we both live busy lives.

5.) Ideologies of Literacy: In the space below, consider how this sponsor influenced the way you think about literacy, and briefly describe the ideas, views, and/or beliefs of literacy that you gained from this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 5: I was taught that reading and writing are the most important aspects of my education because they tie everything else together. My mom made me see that even if something isnt the most fun to read you can gain some bit of knowledge about a certain subject. She also however, encouraged me to find many different series, trilogies, and individual novels that I fell in love with. She would say things like you need to read more when Id ask her what a word meant; meaning simply that if I read more I would have probably been exposed to it. She had taught me that words equal empowerment.

Sponsor #2

6.) Identify the Sponsor: In the space below, identify a sponsor that you feel has impacted your current views and/or practices of reading, writing, and communication. If the sponsor is a person, give their name; if it is a text, object, or institution, describe what the sponsor is, and if necessary, where it is located. Your Response to Questions 1: Northeast Creek Park located in Jacksonville, NC

7.) Making a Connection: In the space below, describe your relationship with or connection to the sponsor. If they are a person, how you know the person, and if the sponsor is a text, object, or institution, provide context about when or how you interacted with this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 2: I found this little spot in the park by the water. Id go here to read and when I was frustrated from writers block.

8.) Tracing Experiences: In the space below, briefly describe experiences or memories that you have had with this sponsor related to literacy. While these experiences can be positive or negative, try to identify was many experiences as you can that you feel impacted your current view or literacy. Your Response to Questions 3: I would go here all the time once I found it my sophomore year of high school. I had been going to this park since I was small but I had never been in the part that I dubbed my sanctuary. It helped me to read amongst nature because it sat right on the water. In fact I read an entire Harry Potter book there. I would also escape there when I had writers block during my Senior Paper. It provided me a quiet place to go into another world without the distractions of technology and the real world

9.) Tracing Emotions: In the space below, briefly describe your emotional response to each of the experiences and/or memories you accounted for in question three. Were your experiences happy, sad, discouraging, encouraging, inspiring, terrifying, etc? Describe the emotional response you had or have, and explain why. Your Response to Questions 4: When I think of my memories I feel kind of sad. A lot of times when I was in this place it was due to needing to get away from something frustrating or overwhelming that was going on in my life. Though it brought me closer to the characters in my book, I was in a sense running from my problems when I was here. Very rarely did I go to this place when I was in a good mood and wanted to celebrate, I was usually under pressure and upset. It was my safe haven

10.) Ideologies of Literacy: In the space below, consider how this sponsor influenced the way you think about literacy, and briefly describe the ideas, views, and/or beliefs of literacy that you gained from this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 5: The situations that brought me to this place made me rely a lot on nature to calm me down and clear my head to write. But more importantly, it made me appreciate being able to get lost in a book and moreover, appreciate an author who can captivate me like that. Something like Harry Potter was the perfect book to read in a place that had such natural enchantment about it.

Sponsor #3

11.) Identify the Sponsor: In the space below, identify a sponsor that you feel has impacted your current views and/or practices of reading, writing, and communication. If the sponsor is a person, give their name; if it is a text, object, or institution, describe what the sponsor is, and if necessary, where it is located. Your Response to Questions 1: Mrs. Rachael Livermore

12.) Making a Connection: In the space below, describe your relationship with or connection to the sponsor. If they are a person, how you know the person, and if the sponsor is a text, object, or institution, provide context about when or how you interacted with this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 2: She was my AP English 4 teacher, first semester of my senior year in high school

13.) Tracing Experiences: In the space below, briefly describe experiences or memories that you have had with this sponsor related to literacy. While these experiences can be positive or negative, try to identify was many experiences as you can that you feel impacted your current view or literacy. Your Response to Questions 3: She was a major force in getting me out of my little kid literature phase. We were in a sense training ourselves for the content that would be on the AP test so she exposed us to many different classical works. We even named our class fish The Great Gatsby after reading the book. Out of all genres, classics were my least favorite but she opened my mind to the knowledge I could gain. It even went with my US history class because I was more aware of how things were during those periods of time due to the readings we did. Of course we touched on Shakespeare and abstract poetry as well. Mrs. Livermore forced me to read adult literature with racy innuendos and taught me to analyze it for real meaning.

14.) Tracing Emotions: In the space below, briefly describe your emotional response to each of the experiences and/or memories you accounted for in question three. Were your experiences happy, sad, discouraging, encouraging, inspiring, terrifying, etc? Describe the emotional response you had or have, and explain why. Your Response to Questions 4: I feel progressive when I think of Mrs. Livermore. She got me to be a more mature reader and writer. She molded me into a more analytical thinker and a more open minded reader.

15.) Ideologies of Literacy: In the space below, consider how this sponsor influenced the way you think about literacy, and briefly describe the ideas, views, and/or beliefs of literacy that you gained from this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 5: I learned that vampire stories and tales of witches and wizards have a lot of their roots in classic literature. Just because you dont absolutely love something that you read because it was written or published decades ago, doesnt mean that you cant get something from it. You can still appreciate it and the fact thats its survived this many generations of people who still see it as basic repertoire.

Sponsor #4

16.) Identify the Sponsor: In the space below, identify a sponsor that you feel has impacted your current views and/or practices of reading, writing, and communication. If the sponsor is a person, give their name; if it is a text, object, or institution, describe what the sponsor is, and if necessary, where it is located. Your Response to Questions 1: Mrs. Cruz 17.) Making a Connection: In the space below, describe your relationship with or connection to the sponsor. If they are a person, how you know the person, and if the sponsor is a text, object, or institution, provide context about when or how you interacted with this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 2: She was my elementary school librarian, she took on the role of finding me challenging literature to read

18.) Tracing Experiences: In the space below, briefly describe experiences or memories that you have had with this sponsor related to literacy. While these experiences can be positive or negative, try to identify was many experiences as you can that you feel impacted your current view or literacy. Your Response to Questions 3: She helped me pick out my first chapter book and encouraged me to read higher level things. Now that I look back on it she was so wrapped up in what she thought were my prodigal qualities that she pressured me to read books that I wasnt quite ready for. I was ahead of my

class but I wasnt a genius by any means, certain things I had to work my way up to.

19.) Tracing Emotions: In the space below, briefly describe your emotional response to each of the experiences and/or memories you accounted for in question three. Were your experiences happy, sad, discouraging, encouraging, inspiring, terrifying, etc? Describe the emotional response you had or have, and explain why. Your Response to Questions 4: When I think about her it makes me kind of angry that she wasnt as concerned with the process of making me a good reader as she was with my talent. I was still young and needed to be developed not forced to read things that didnt interest me.

20.) Ideologies of Literacy: In the space below, consider how this sponsor influenced the way you think about literacy, and briefly describe the ideas, views, and/or beliefs of literacy that you gained from this sponsor. Your Response to Questions 5: For a while I purposely stopped reading my books so fast so I wouldnt have to go to the library as often. She kept me from something I loved because she forced it on me. I had no opinion in my own life and the pressure put on me to excel above all the other kids made me not enjoy reading as much anymore. It wasnt really fun for me because I had to live up to different standards than everyone else instead of just enjoying it.

Your Name: Course #: Date: Project #1: Multi-Modal Literacy Narrative Part 3: Literacy Sponsor Analysis Instructions (Part 2 Reflection): Now that you have documented details about each sponsor, I want you to reflect on what you have learned. In the space below, compose a reflection in which you consider some of the following questions and compose a short reflective essay:

 Did you learn anything about how you learned to read and write that you did not know before? What ideas and beliefs about literacy stood out the most during this activity? Have your feelings about your sponsors remained the same over time, or have they changed? If you were to compare one literacy sponsor to another, do you find that the views and beliefs they have are in agreement with one another, or is there tension between beliefs and values? What was the most significant discovery that you made while completing this activity.

I never realized how much reading had impacted me at such a young age. I had a wonderful sponsor as my mother but a terrible sponsor in the form of my elementary librarian. I was reading at a young age but I never wanted to feel different I just wanted to do something that I enjoyed. I still believe that reading is the key to all knowledge and Mrs. Livermore showed me that love of reading something and appreciating it are two completely different things. I need to appreciate the classics in order to understand where a lot of todays literature derives from. I have however found out that I evolved as a reader because of those people and the park. I got to enjoy escaping to another world when I was in my place in the park and get away from all the worries of real life even if it was only for a short amount of time. All of these things combined have made me worldlier and its made reading and writing different things for classes not such a drag.

Memo: I did a poetry book that I turned into you during class

Kierston Sharp English 1101 October 1, 2012

Defending Poetry

Throughout this Multi-Modal Literacy project I was forced to dig deeper into my own personal meaning of literacy and the importance of it. The freedom we were given is what gave me the most trouble when deciding what genre I wanted my final narrative to be in. I chose a poetry book to convey my literacy history because poetry has always had a special place within my life. When we are first introduced to literature whether it be at home or in school, it is usually very standard. Our adult teachers would not want to throw too much to us at once; so for the longest time I thought that all writing was composed in a certain structure. Eventually I was introduced to poems but they were all whimsical with no real meaning or feeling behind it. Then, when I was about nine years old my sister showed me a poetry book that she had checked out from the library by a lady named Nikki Giovanni. Almost as if I was in a lovesick trance, poetry became my life. Even at such a young age, I was the newest family poet. I had learned via exposure to her books that for one, anyone could write poetry; for two, my topics could be about real life things, not just silly Shel Silverstein characters. Coming from an African American family, my perspective on life was much different than the white kids I interacted with in school. I identified with the struggles of being a minority and a female which were the topics of many of Giovannis poems. I wrote poems pertaining to

the way that I saw life once I realized that it didnt matter if my white teachers or friends could relate. It had clicked that I could express myself without using punctuation, complete sentences, or a specific format. It was the most freedom I had ever experienced with words and it has stuck with me ever since. This profound effect is why I chose to put my literary history in the form of a poetry book. A lot of times poetry is the best way for me to express myself so I thought it would be the most efficient and logical means of conveying my entire literary history. This genre has taught me what is appropriate to put in certain types of literary works. Theres a distinct difference between an essay and a poem because of the guidelines. Though Id much rather write without rules, theres a time and place for everything. Being so good at defying the common laws of writing with poetry, has increased my formal writing skills as well. When I engage with other texts, errors jump out at me so not only am I a better writer but Im also a tedious editor as well. Now that Im getting older and assignments like this allow more freedom I value poetry much more. I can take liberties that arent allowed in standard writing to add depth to the message that I am attempting to convey. In my opinion, good writing does not have to be proper and uniform. The only requirement is that it gets the meaning across to your audience in the way that you intended. Anyone can write a paper when given a guiding principle with a standard format, but it takes inventiveness to come up with your own poem; especially a book of them that are telling a story. In my poetry book I used many different types of poems in an unconventional way. I used an acrostic, or name, poem but instead of using just one word for each letter, I told about how reading impacts me and made the lines flow into one another. I used a couplet in my

Reading through the Ages poem because of the whimsical rhythm it tends to convey. As the poem progresses, however, the meter gets more complicated as I talk about myself at an older age. I did this to add depth and symbolism within. The main topics of my poems are my literary sponsors and my perspective of the world. I chose to write the poem on a page made up of sticky notes because they stand for the different phases of my life and how I felt about reading at the time. I used the poem about my community to explain what people outside of the military say and how it correlates to military jargon. Semicolons were used to create a pause in the text so that the audience got a better understanding of the differences. Though the formatting of that particular poem is odd and created by me, once the audience realizes the pattern, I think it will be appreciated and much easier to read. Another literary sponsor I spoke about was Northeast Creek Park back in my hometown. Id often go there to think, read, write, and clear my mind. I decided to display this poem in haiku form to represent the nature feel I was trying to convey. My favorite selection is about being literary freedom via poetry. It embodies my entire reasoning for writing a poetry book. It introduces my favorite poet/inspiration and my intentions for writing a poetry book. All of the lines have end rhyme which is the most uniform part of the poem. I add capitalization to emphasize, questions to make the audience think, and my beliefs to make them comprehend the message that Im trying to get across. I was also able to add alliteration and a sort of pun with the phrase literal liberties to add flavor to an already thought provoking poem. It is the epitome of self-expression but in a way that average people can understand and relate regardless of their background or exposure to this type of text. The last poem pertaining to my exterior appearance and the judgment that Im often given is to show my point of view. Im very well read and educated yet when people hear me speak theres often a look of utter shock because of

how confidence I am with my oratory skills. I am instantly labeled unintelligent because of my skin color, piercings, or quirky style of dress. This poem was to all of the people who expect less of me just so that I can show them that my exterior does not affect my mind. By adding a poem like this I feel like I added texture to my book. It is a real world problem, faced by many people on a daily basis. The key theme I wanted to emphasize with this book is the ecclectiveness of my poems, poem types, topics, and formats in which I put them. My personality is very vivacious and chaotic most of the time so I felt the need to put my book in a format that would express my beliefs, my history, and my personality. By using different textures and fonts, and accents like string and duct tape, I feel that I succeeded in making an eccentric book that instantly makes you wonder what is going to be inside. Just like my appearance makes people wonder what I have to offer as well. A poetry book for me stands for the freedom of self-expression. It doesnt matter if the topics are imaginary or real-world issues; anyone can author their own life in that format. It was the best way for me to convey my experiences because I have loved poetry since it was first introduced to me and it goes so well with my free-spirited personality. It enabled me to tell stories, represent my sponsors, and most of all, I was able to convey my literary history in an abstract but comprehensible way.