Harrison Holder Literacy Memoir

Reflection
When reading over my past drafts for the literacy memoir, I can really tell a difference between the drafts. My introduction and conclusion are way more developed than they were when I had originally written them. Also while continuing to read through this final draft, I noticed how everything seems to flow a lot smoother from sentence to sentence and paragraph to paragraph. I think it is obvious that the corrections that I have made for this memoir are for the better. This is my fourth hard draft, the first two were to basically get most of my ideas down on the paper in chronological order, the third draft was mainly to focus on my introduction and conclusion which I felt was the major weakness at the beginning of writing, and the final draft is the one that I took to the Writing Center at UNCC to have someone else look over all of my grammar and fluency. Overall I am very happy with the progress of this memoir. It has made a lot progress from where I started to where I have finished up. I have learned so much more about myself that I had not even thought of while writing the memoir. Writing this brought out a lot of memories from my childhood, and how much I used to love reading. I can really see how I have progressed over the years; from being in kindergarten to just making it through my first semester in college. I have put a lot of time and effort into this memoir and I do think that it is reflected in my writing. As I ended my reflection on the second draft I said, With a few more corrections to be made it will be ready to be turned in and now it is ready to be turned in. I hope you enjoy my literacy memoir below.

Harrison Holder Literacy Memoir

Literacy Memoir
My literacy development began from the moment I was born, ever since then I have learned to write, read, analyze and reflect different types of literacy. In this essay I plan to share with you the sequence of events that brought my literacy level to where it is today. Starting from Elementary School all the way through High School multiple factors have taken a toll on my personal development, such as memories, experiences, culture, society, and my teachers. Also I want to explain the roles that my parents, grandparents and sisters had in my own development by pushing me to read when I would rather do anything else. Lastly, I will be explaining where I currently stand with the development of my literacy as I am just starting college. My literacy development began at Shiloh Elementary School. In kindergarten my teacher would read some stories to us throughout the day. They would be very simple and had mostly pictures in them. Then moving on through first, second, and third grade I would push myself to read longer, and bigger books with smaller pictures inside of them. At Shiloh we had accelerated reader tests (AR tests) that we could take in the library after we had read a book to see how much we understood the book and accumulate points. The amount of points we got on the test was correlated to the grade reading level of the book, and how big the book was. At the end of the year, the top ten students that had the most points accumulated would win prizes; such as a lunch or things that the principal would hand out to reward you. I thought this was the coolest thing ever so, I would read The Magic Tree House series, The Boxcar Children, and other book series I found that I liked. Then I would go to the library to take the quiz and get some points. I would also read Harry Potter, Artimis Fowl, and The Lord of the Rings and take quizzes on those as well. My dad would read to me at night on his bed before I would go to sleep and he would mostly read Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings to me, so thats how I was able to take those

Harrison Holder Literacy Memoir

tests. When I switched schools to go to Wesley Chapel Elementary School, they did not have the AR reading quizzes, so I did not force myself to read as much unless I found a book that really interested me. I read in class if I had to, but if I was at home I would not read that much. In fourth and fifth grade, we would have an assigned reading time, usually thirty minutes to an hour and then we would have to write a journal about what we read, if we could relate to it or what it made us think of. It eventually got to the point where I would fake read during school because I would be forced to read books that did not interest me. Then through most of middle and high school I did not read near as much as I used to at Wesley Chapel. I had three good English teachers in high school that helped me understand grammar a lot more than I originally did, expand my vocabulary and help me understand the writing process. They would make me diagram sentences, make vocabulary cards and take spelling tests all to help nourish my literacy level. My freshman teacher, Mrs. Youngman, really helped me focus more on my grammar, she would teach us nouns, verbs, adverbs, conjunctions, and prepositions. She would also give us spelling tests once a week on lists of words that we were given; they would have spelling and some definitions. Also she would make us diagram the sentences to teach us more about grammar. Mrs. Youngman as well as my senior teacher, Mr. Kassel, taught us how to read Shakespeare, which was written in old English and required you to pay full attention to what was being said and how to understand what they meant. Mr. Hill, my sophomore English teacher taught us stems. He would give us one stem and four words that went with the stem and we would have to draw a picture of it as well as list three things it made us think of. My schooling had a huge impact on my literacy skills, by getting me to read and write about books, and to understand others.

Harrison Holder Literacy Memoir

Outside of school my parents would try to make me read at home; they would take away privileges that I had if I didnt read a book that they wanted me to read. A few times it would work, and they would find me a good series such as Alex Rider that I would be done with in less than a month. They also found a series called Pendragon that I enjoyed a lot. Recently, my parents got me a kindle fire for Christmas to hopefully spark an interest back into reading again. Also my cousin showed me a series called Eragon, which is still one of my favorite book series. That book series is about a guy named Eragon who find and hatches a dragon egg and becomes a dragon rider. Then the whole story continues to explain his progress and how they overthrow the last dragon rider king. My grandpa would also encourage me to read more by giving me books that he thought I would like. Anytime I saw him he would either give me a few books to read or ask me what I thought about the book that he had given me last. I have read a lot of books now that I reflect back on it, but when I compare that to how much my sister reads then it does not seem like I have been reading at all. My sister could be up until three in the morning reading and then would continue to read all though out the day. My family had the biggest impact on my literacy outside of school. Currently I have just started college at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and I am taking English 1101 and 1102 my freshmen year. My literacy level is still increasing, but not as fast it did when I was younger. I still do not enjoy reading and writing all that much, but when forced to do a reading for school it will get done. My writing is at a lower level than my reading, essays do propose some trouble as I never was properly taught how to write an essay. The basic idea was taught to me, but never put to practice. Overall I am fairly happy with my current position, but any improvements would be more than welcomed.

Harrison Holder Literacy Memoir

Being in school and out of school has really influenced my literacy levels. Literacy has never been an easy thing for me; it has always been one of my weaker subjects. But, with all my English teachers throughout my elementary, middle and high school to the AR tests that I took, and from my family trying to get me to read by finding a series of books that I would like really helped me to be where I am now in my literacy level. Even though I do not enjoy reading that much at all anymore, I am really glad that I am as literate as I am today. A high literacy level has allowed me to work through school, and I will eventually get a well-paying job over those who are not literate. I am really pleased that everyone and everything had helped increase my literacy skills to where they are now. My literacy level will always be developing as I continue to grow.