How did reading and writing change as you entered elementary school?

Writing and reading became different as I entered elementary because I was expected to be reading and writing at certain levels, and if you weren’t at the level you could not pass the grade. I dedicated lots of time into learning how to read and write because I did not want to fall behind. I remember staying in during recess and practicing my reading and writing. It was a struggle.

“Interactions between people and written texts include images where a time-bounded interaction between people and texts or other literacy-related artefacts is taking place.” For example, going to the library to work on assignments can be seen as time-bounded interactions between people and texts. What I mean by this is that student are here at Chico State for a certain period of time. They are enrolled into courses that last for approximately 5 months and depending on the individual they choose the library to study and complete assignments/projects. Every semester, students come and go and schedules change. The classes they are in vary depending on major, minor, and other required courses. Work load and assignments differ every semester. There are groups of students who come to the library to work on assignments/projects together. In this case, what brings them together is the class that they are taking with each other. The class they are in can be seen as a time-bounded interaction because it brings them together for a certain period of time (in this case for the academic semester).

In relation to school and my image that I selected, literacy is mostly found in a library atmosphere. There are many types of literacy practices that can take place within Meriam. Participants are mainly students and staff/faculty. If one has never been inside the Meriam Library then they would have a hard time trying to distinguish the setting of the photograph. A reason for maybe not knowing is the fact that there “aren’t” any visual artefacts such as book shelves that are being displayed in the picture to make it known that it was taken in the library. It is simply students who are engaging in literacy practices. However, there are artefacts such as desk, chairs, couches, and laptop computers that are displayed in this picture. Students in this picture are discussing and disputing written texts of various sorts.

Hello everyone! My name is Angela Bautista. I am proud to say that I am a first generation, low income college student. I’m the first person from my grandmothers side to come to a 4-year college. I’m from a small town called Santa Paula, which is located in Ventura County in Southern California.  My hometown is about 45 minutes southern of Santa Barbara. It’s true what they say, the sun is shining year round! This is my third year here at Chico State. I transferred here in the fall of 2012 and I’ve fallen in love with Chico. The college, small town feel is what I like most about this place. I love the strong sense of community, it’s a trait that my hometown lacks. I am not an English major but I am majoring in Sociology and minoring in Child Development.

The English language is something I have always struggled with. I remember I wasn’t a big fan of it. It was something I never looked forward to in elementary school. I didn’t like reading. The reason why I didn’t like reading is because it wasn’t encouraged. If it was then I think that I wouldn’t have struggled as much, especially with writing. It’s like what Szwed said, “It should not be surprising to see differences in literacy between members of different ethnic groups, age groups, sexes, socioeconomic classes, etc.” My reading and writing ability has improved over the years. When I took my placement test in Junior college, in 2010, I scored low in English and was placed in the lowest English class. I was basically retaught the fundamentals of writing. Starting from the bottom only helped improve my ability to write better. It’s been a work in progress and I’ve come a long way. I enjoy reading scholarly articles and writing papers because it gives me a better understanding of what happening around me.