2007

My earliest literacy experience that I remember was in the first grade, at seven years old. I was at Dewey L. Carter Elementary School, in a small classroom, with roughly twenty students. There were several books, stacked nicely on multiple colorful bookshelves, alongside the brick walls. My teacher’s name was Mrs. Lee, and she had an assistant named Mrs. Pigate. I remember Mrs. Lee reading us stories, out of the books on the bookshelves once or twice a week. I looked forward to those days every day. During other days, Mrs. Pigate would spell words out, on the projector and make us read them aloud, individually. She would also make us students spell words that she called out, letter for letter, in front of the classroom. I also remember being given a notebook to write our thoughts down on paper and make words in sentences and sentences into paragraphs. I was excited when I was given this notebook because I felt like I could share all my thoughts by writing them down into it. It was almost like a Christmas gift. I could not wait to use it alongside the rest of my friends and then share our thoughts. Our teacher told us that not everybody got a notebook because there wasn’t enough and she gave out the notebooks to the students she felt like loved to write. That made me happy to know that she noticed I liked to write. The other students that did not receive a notebook couldn’t have cared less because they didn’t enjoy to write. These memories from the first grade built a foundation for where I am today.