Literacy Account In elementary school I was always put in the lower reading groups because I really lacked comprehension

skills. Even now today the reading portion of the SAT kills me because I just was never an avid reader so I never developed those critical skills needed to succeed in comprehending texts. I started to really improve my critical reading when my dad and I read Tom Sawyer. Another series that I began to read and develop was the Harry Potter series. All these books I read with my Dad though so I wasnt really alway completely confident with reading novels alone. I also had to find a specific genre I was comfortable with so that I wouldnt get bored. In third grade I started reading small biographies. For some reason these really sparked my interest and I became very advanced in history and began to improve my comprehension. I was better at answering reading questions after those. Now after I have started reading classic books in high school I became very good at analyzing characters and picking out a lot literary devices with in stories. Overall I have really improved my reading skills but I still have some things I need to work on. Since I was little I have had a very vivid imagination. I used to write many short stories in elementary school. Although I would always get off track and change course from the subject and obviously I had terrible use of conventions because I was such a young student and there is so much to learn. Even though I am creative it is very difficult for me to make a piece of writing sound smooth. I lack focus on transitions probably because I like getting to the points of things. When I was in fifth grade I wrote a short essay about my experience on an airplane and it was put in the paper. That was a huge confidence boost for me and was very exciting for my parents. Later that year I wrote another short essay on my experience at a YMCA camp. That essay was chosen to be read at a YMCA Camp Whittle reunion which is where I attended camp.

That was probably the highlight of my writing because it focused on creativity. Which is what I think writing should focused on even though I know conventions are important in text grammar changes so much its hard to know whats right and whats wrong anymore. Currently I am a decent writer I have some creative thoughts and my research papers in high school were always adequate but I still have a lot to improve on, (which is probably evident in this paper). My history with composition is an interesting one. Actually up until a few minutes ago I didnt know exactly what it was, (insert laugh). Composition is probably my favorite part of writing because I like the feeling of straining your mind and I think that composition is that part of English. It takes a lot of thought to figure out how to arrange an text and how it should be composed. I started not being able to correctly compose a piece at all in elementary school. Then when I got older I was able to figure out how to compose a piece with more flow by using the regular five paragraph system. First paragraph being the introduction the next three the body and then the fifth being the conclusion. Usually it was shown to me as some kind of food to remember the order like a hamburger or a some kind of sandwich. Things like that visual posters really help me. All though on the contrary my AP US history class taught writing in a very different way. That writing composed of only analyzation given documents or prompts. My teacher told us to forget about the five paragraph system and write a real essay. That is why I think composition is cool cause you view it in all different ways. It can be about the organization or the actual material. Some people look at a paper and dont care what is in it as long as it is organized it is good. Others view texts being completely disorganized and composed of horrific grammar but has an awesome message or theme as a good piece. It just depends on the type of person you are. That is what makes writing, reading, and composition interesting .

Your Name:Christine Sorensen Course #:1100-028 Date:8-28-12

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

Work

Immediate Family: Father, Mother, 2 Tween years: babysitter I would read Brothers stories to the kids I babysat Extended: Sister-in-law and 2 nephews Also I learned a lot household skills like Fathers mother has a library named cleaning and cooking for her Learned different ways people lived Mother is from a religious Italian/Irish cultures or any other kind of traditions family Father is from a strict German family High school years: Lifeguard Father has his bachelors learned pool chemistry Mother did not go to college learned how to interact with people Moved from Pennsylvania to charlotte while trying to be polite to California to charlotte learned lingo for the pool My father read to me a lot as a child Became very observant and realized Mother does not read a lot how when you are at work you become Father reads all the time invisible Not a very emotional family Started to read a lot of books out of Very independent boredom Mother is tough to be but not to my tried to work at a tanning salon younger brother My boss treated people like slaves My family is well off but I am definitely realized how rude people can be and not spoiled I had to pay for my car how terrible people can treat others open minded let me do what I want Intramural sports are so weird and get things done the way I wanted They wont use subs which is so unmoney isnt everything happiness avoidable when you are paying people comes first 7.25 and most of them dont have cars money does not = happiness Made me feel like a quitter Mother liked to put on a show Father liked to put on a show Brother reacted to this by closing in his emotions School Neighborhood / Community / Peers

Went to elementary school in CaliforIn California I loved to play outside nia My brother got made fun of so I beHad to stay in during recess so they came sensitive towards him could teach me things I didnt underUsed to play a lot of team games stand A lot of different cultures I learned how to be a very creative Everyone in California thinks the world writer in California revolves around them I was very good in math in elementary In North Carolina I met a lot of people school I was always off the charts that had more of a backwards way of I moved to North Carolina and I exthinking celled in Math and Science but I found I became open minded to both people English to be more difficult who were open minded and people who Also history was so easy because the were closed book we had in 9th grade at my high I saw that even though it can be frusschool was the book we had in 7th grade trating that you have to except the fact in California that people are closed minded Always in low reading groups because I My friends parents used very colorful was terrible at diagnostic tests language Still bad at diagnostic tests (LOL) I was always at my friends house I College how open minded you have to even would sometimes be apart of other be to succeed families Mother used to be very sad Even the first few weeks of college I My friends families were liberal in the have realized that if you really put your religious sense and at an early age I mind to something then you can do what learned a lot of different traditions you want to do Parents drank alcohol a lot High school I always felt restricted like Learned a lot about science I was only as smart as the classes I was Knew too much about my parents to in young and so did my friends College gives you so much option and My parents friends in California were a choice bad influence The laid back life in California my mom got really used too Observed that people work harder in NC than in CA gernerally Went on a lot of trips in California with friends

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: Home influenced my literacy because it disabled me from succeeding in tak-

ing full advantage of my education by not pushing me to do my work. I did appreciate the freedom but sometimes I wish my mom would have made me read. I think though that made me the independent person I am today and without that quality I dont think I would be doing as well in school. I might have got a better score on the English part of my SAT but I wouldnt be as good at time management. I found that at home money does not make happiness and if I do what I really want to do I will be happy. Also my parents are people who like to look like they are happy but they really arent and I am in search of why they do that still.

2. Work: Work has influenced my literacy because I started to read a lot because of

how bored I was lifeguarding. I also saw the importance of reading while babysitting and seeing how other families made it so important to their daily lives. Both jobs demonstrated to me how invisible you can be to a customer of a sort and how people dont know you are watching what they are doing when you actually are not even trying to be creepy but just because that is your job. I realized how much people can treat their works like they dont have feelings for job that is only $7.25 like if you are going to pay me that much I am going to give you a minimum job. Also I need to find
a job I really want to do in order to actually be happy and I would rather have no money to go shopping. 3. School: School influenced my literacy by forcing me to read and take advantage of

my education. At home no one really pushed me to do things I just did what I liked. I really like math and science and history so I would do those subjects. However English I hated to do on my free time so I would just do that in school and thats some of the only exposure I got to English for a time. College showed me how as long as you are motivated and you stay on track you can achieve a lot of great things and even your main goals.

4. Neighborhood / Community / Peers: My neighborhood influenced me in my lit-

eracy by picking up lingo that my neighbors in California would use compared to what people in Charlotte use. Also people are more open minded in California but close minded to people who are closed minded. When I moved to Charlotte I saw this as a problem and saw that I need to be open minded to both and respect all views because that is that persons view and you cant take that away from them. People need to just experience different cultures though to realize that. The laid back attitude in California made my mom depressed when we left. Also people generally worked harder here in North Carolina than in California and that made me more motivated.
Your Name: Christine Sorensen Course #: 1101 Date: 9-9-12

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: Kathleen Ledford 1.) 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 English teacher my senior year of high school and I interacted with her in the class room and over email 1.) 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: When we read King Lear I had a really good time learning and growing in my literacy during seminars. Also Wuthring Heights was the best book ever and I enjoyed the activities we did with them. Finally the book Brave New World it was an awesome book and the activities and interpretations we discussed in class really helped me. 1.) 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: My experiences were all positive because I gained confidence in English through her class so thats why I appreciate it. 1.) 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 think that my sponsor helped push me to understand literacy better and not be afraid of being wrong or learning it.

Sponsor #2

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 father 1.) 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: We used to read books together and he would help edit my paper 1.) 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: My experience was mostly negative because he was very difficult to work with when it came to giving constructive criticism and just being mean ): 1.) 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 had angry and sad emotions when it came to this situation because I wanted him to be able to help me but it just didnt work and it made me lose a lot of confidence in my writing. 1.) 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: (Compose your response here)

Sponsor #3

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: It showed me how hard it can be to work with someone that doesnt like to work with people that arent as strong of writers as they are. 1.) 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: Ms Barton 1.) 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: Ms Barton was my English teacher my sophomore year of high school. 1.) 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 felt very discouraged because of the book selection that was available to read that year for tests and reports were just not my mojo and I just did not really understand them as well and she wasnt that helpful to get me to understand them. 1.) 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: She made me think literacy was something that was very difficult to achieve and understand.

Sponsor #4

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: Lanie Phillips 1.) 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 gave me books that I would be interested in and we analyzed them together and it helped me really get a grasp on literacy 1.) 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 felt like I could become an avid reader from this 1.) 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: Gaining confidence in reading is something that I had always wanted so this made me very encouraged and happy and I was very inspired from this experience

1.) 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: She makes me think that you can achieve anything in literacy

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 complet-

ing this activity.

I learned that literacy is very impressionable on someone or can really discourage someone depending on the person. That anyone can achieve high rewards in literacy. My father might have been someone that I would have hoped would have been a positive influence but ended up not being. I think that two of my sponsors are in agreement but the other two are not. My positive sponsors would probably be more patient as I was trying to become more literate while the other two would not be. That my friend Lanie Phillips really made an impact on my literacy.

Memo: My narrative is a painting. I will bring it to class and turn it in.

Christine Sorensen English 1101 Mr. Borerro 1 October 2012 History Of my Literacy Defense Essay In second grade my best friend Lauren took rigorous art classes. That made me very jealous. My mother finally gave into my begging and allowed me to join Lauren in taking them. They were very pricey but definitely taught me an enormous amount of art techniques and how to interpret art. That is why for my literacy project I chose to do a painting. Visual art is the form of expression I feel most comfortable with. There are so many different ways a piece can symbolize metaphors, theme, and create an interesting story with in those principles. This is how I am able to only use one genre because a painting can describe so much without words. For ex-

ample my literacy history in a paper would be all over the place because I have had so many ups and downs. In my painting I just interpreted that into a roller coaster, an object that has many twists, turns, ups and downs. Some experiences that I have had with my genre as I previously said dates back to when I was seven years old going on eight. I was in second grade and I thought I really understood the world. Then I saw my best friend bring home the coolest projects from this place she used to go once a week. My face would practically turn green with envy every time she would show our class at school or our moms. Finally I was able to convince my mom that I really needed to take these classes and if I didnt something terrible was going to happen. My first class was a real confidence boost they said I had a natural talent for being able to percept depth in a scene and color structure. On the contrary though, some days I would get really upset because my instructors would be really hard on me because I couldnt understand what was wrong with my project. Art is a genre that helped me realize experiences in life that illustrate the world isnt a straight path there are many hills and turns you have to take. Art is something that I have always seen as a text being able to illustrate that so easily to me. As our class was debating whether something was a text or not I was very defensive that a piece of art work was a text. Just because something doesnt have words doesnt mean it doesnt send a message or has meaning. Almost every graphic I see I can see some kind of message in it. There are so many different principles of art that can create metaphors, emphasis, passion and control, rhythm, and most importantly communication. The ways artists draw lines whether they are organic or linear is something that can be interpreted in a message. Emphasis is a principle of writing and of art. In writing someone would want to emphasize a particular part of a piece to give the story theme, so would an artist for the same reason to give the piece theme.

Regarding that art is so visual I was able to fully recognize and understand these principles and connect them to writing more thoroughly. Art is something that gave me strength in my ability to analyze. I have always been a problem solver but mostly with math and science not with reading and writing. Art helped me find meaning in a text. Behind the words that are right there, there is a reason why they are there. That is something that I wasnt able to grasp in reading and writing till I understood art. There is close to always a reason why the lighting is positioned a certain way in a piece of art. Just as there is close to always a reason why a story is written in first person or third. It gives a text a tone that helps interpret a message and reasons. Art, specifically visual art, is a genre that has strongly effected my literacy on the reading and writing spectrum. The way I value writing is based on my experiences with visual art and that is how I consider writing to be good writing. I have come to realize that I only value writing if it sends a message or has a theme. I dont always appreciate writing with no depth. For example, those poems that just sound pretty do not have meaning they are just there to be there. In my opinion every art piece no matter what even if it is an impressionism piece of a couple of hills it has some kind of meaning. To me that is what makes good writing something that has depth. Ascribed to the fact that my genre was a painting it is critical that I have to point out themes to emphasize. My first theme is the roller coaster which demonstrates the ups and downs of my literacy career. It starts I a a slight incline then takes a small dip. This is when I was in elementary school and I was doing really well at spelling in the first few grades then it came to real English. In fourth to sixth grade I just did not understand English because I never read. I always flunked diagnostic tests. Even though this was all going on because I was still so young I didnt think it was that big of a deal. During my seventh grade year I really struggled in English. I

moved during my winter break to North Carolina from California and it was a difficult move for me. The curriculum was very different and my teacher was not a patient with me to help me understand how things worked in that school system. I ended up with a D at report card time and I cried my eyes out. Luckily I was able to pull of a B in the class at the end because I worked my butt off and really tried to understand reading and writing. Although I still had a long way to go. The twist/loopty-loop in my roller coaster shows the transition from middle school to high school. My high school teachers were all mediocre till my senior year. Even though they were all mediocre English was very different for me because the classes became a lot more rigorous in reading books. Things got better my sophomore year when we read a Mid Summer Nights Dream and that is when I really discovered my ability to use critical analysis. Also my junior year I became very good at analyzing when I was in AP US history and I had to analyze primary sources. My final incline on the roller coaster is when I had Ms. Ledford. She really gave me a lot of confidence and gave me different ways to interpret texts. The dark cloud in the end represents the difficulty for me to see what is going to happen to my literacy. Another part of my painting that I wanted to point out was my was the kiosks at the theme park. They represent my sponsors. The left side of my painting where the sun is shining is the Lanie Fun house and the Ledford Lost and Found. My Lanie Fun House represents that she helped make reading fun for me and introduced me to good books. Ledford Lost and Found represents that I was kind of lost with my literacy when it came to reading and writing and in her class I kind of found my niche in her class. On the darker side where it looks like a rain storm is coming in is a greasy burger place. It is named Father because if I were to eat a burger before getting on the roller coaster I would probably throw up. My father was really hard on me when it came to reading and writing because it comes so naturally to him and I dont think he under-

stands why it doesnt come easily to me. The other is the dunk booth which represents the confidence lost in my literacy. The dunk booths that I have seen are usually filled with clowns that are mean and make fun of you. I really dont like them. My painting uses almost all symbols and metaphors and that is something that I have felt really explains themes. The conventions that are used to help tell my story are the metaphors, symbols and emphasis. The emphasis of the roller coaster being in the center of my painting and being red. Including all the metaphors and symbols that surround that. Some benefits to my genre would be that I think sometimes when I write papers I can lose my flow and things become confusing but in a painting I can lay everything out and explain them easily. There are definitely limitations though. One of them is that without this essay someone that found interpreting paintings a difficult task wouldnt understand my painting at all. Overall my genre being visual art was something specific to me because art is a big part of my literacy history and it is probably the only way I would be able to fully explain my history in the way I have viewed it.