Education Week

In fourth grade, my teacher read many books to us out loud because listening is easier than reading when you are young. She first read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, and then The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was my first “real” novel that was not filled with pictures. I loved the plot of this book because it was sad with a happy ending.  I asked my mom to buy me a copy of my own because I loved it so much; it is probably the only book I have ever read more than once (shocking, right?). The Invention of Hugo Cabret is another book that I really enjoyed because it consists of pretty much all black and white pictures. This book made me realize how much I liked reading graphic novels because books are easier to read with pictures that follow the story. My mom also bought me a copy of this book to re-read, but I never did; maybe I will sometime this year. After reading The Invention of Hugo Cabret, I began reading more graphic novels, such as the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series.

I own and read all of these books. My fourth grade teacher has had the greatest impact on my literacy because she got me to enjoy reading different types of works that I did not think I would enjoy. In addition, we had a poetry unit where I had to write my own original poem. I was not a fan of writing poetry at first because I had no clue what to write about while my friends had their creative juices flowing. After my teacher made corrections, I edited it to make my poem perfect and then I entered it in a poetry contest and my poem was chosen to be published!  I was so proud to have written a poem by myself and for it to be published in a book. Ever since this class, I have appreciated poetry, especially writing poetry. I definitely think the teacher you have affects your view on literacy and, thankfully, I have had some pretty great English teachers throughout my education.