My Reading Day

The familiar aroma of coffee fills the air as I enter the not so common area. I feel very bewildered in the labyrinth of hallways searching for my classroom just like I had stepped into corn maze as a child. At last, I locate the secluded room tucked away inside the massive building. Even though the number on the door matches the number on my schedule I am still second guessing if I am in the right place. The door opened up as students poured out. Finally, I took my seat at the back, trying my hardest to sit down unnoticed. My hands were shaking as I wrote the class name at the top of my paper. After what seemed like ages the professor proceeded to

My house is crowded with my relatives and friends; my friends and family are here me to wish me good luck and safe journey. My heart is full of mixed emotions. I am scared and sad but excited and happy at the same time as it is my last day at my house and in my country. Tonight is my flight to America. I’m moving to America, to be with my husband and to start a new journey of my life. I remember everything from my last day in Pakistan. I have never been way from my house before. I have always been surrounded by my friends and cousins. My friends have always been with me in my good and bad times and I cannot imagine a day without them. I never thought of leaving them. I didn’t realize how my life would change because of a ‘yes’. My childhood friend Sadiq, who moved to America ten years ago, asked me to marry him. Everyone in my family liked him so without thinking of anything else I said yes to him and we got married in a year, when he visited Pakistan. We were really excited to spend our lives together. What I didn’t realize until the moment I was at the airport that I am going to a new country, where I don’t know anyone other than my husband. I’m leaving all my family and friends here in Pakistan. I didn’t know how to react anymore now, I was sad and crying as I entered airport but I also felt happy inside my heart. When I was at the airport with my family, my grandma kept saying to me, “you have to call us at least three times a day when you get there.” My mom said, “Take

I really need to clean this house, it’s so dusty. Bending down to fix the bookshelf, I noticed that it was unorganised. “Goodness gracious, it’s such a mess!” I thought to myself on why I haven’t cleaned this part of the house. As I took out all the books, I noticed a very familiar book. It was a worn out journal with the cover slightly ripped, it was the a dark shade of purple. My eyes widening realizing what this journal was. Immediately I plopped down, turning to the pages as I read.

When I rang the doorbell at 8:45 AM, Julie Faulk came down the stairs and opened the door, letting me know that we were the earliest in the office. The steep, carpeted stairs lead me up into Bitch’s lending library

I took a deep breath as I walked through the doorway. The door was stuck open, hanging on just one of its hinges. It was clear that no one had been near this place in a long time. As I entered, a stench hit me. It smelt sickly sweet, almost like rotten fairy floss. I looked around the room at the faded and ripped wallpaper, and the broken furniture. The air was so thick with dust it was almost impossible to breathe, and everything was thickly covered with dust. The little light there was came from the cracks in the yellowed blinds.

Thomas Dyckman Mrs. Eason ENG101 12 Nov 2014 Accelerated reader: Accelerated Reader is a computer program in which tests students on their comprehension of the books they read. For example, a student would visit their school library to select a book of their choice (as long as it is in the AR program). Once the student has read their chosen book, they would then log in to their AR account and take a standardized test for comprehension of the book. If the students passes the test assigned to the book, they are awarded with the number of points assigned to that particular book.

For some unknown reason I do not recall any memories past my elementary school years. So who knows when I learned how to read and write? It’s funny to say that this is the whole point to this essay. Thinking about it I could always lie about it and just embellish the truth. But then again why should I lie about how my supposed mother first taught me the ABC’s with some flash cards or how she would read to me at night. When none of this true. I simply don’t remember, but if I did it would probably be the most boring thing ever. My story doesn’t began until the 7th grade. Who would have known that it was by a librarian that my passion for reading began when she showed how us book trailers. They were these mini clips that would form these books to seem like movies. It was a trailer on

It had been the third day in a row that I was stuck in there with those two, watching my friends have a great time with a book shoved in my face. It just got drilled into my head that reading meant I had done something wrong. This distaste for reading continued through my life, faking my way through reading log descriptions and forging my parents’ signatures, up until about seventh grade. I was a bit angsty in middle school. I got into some trouble and veered off course a bit. Mrs. Caudill, though, saw the good in me and didn’t give up on my character. She offered new and creative ways to express ourselves, and it renewed my interest in English in a big way. I remember the first book I had read since elementary was a recommendation from her, Unwind. I fell in love with that book immediately. I actually read it a few more times later in high school. It just changed my entire perception of reading. Instead of using it as an escape from my life, I used it as an example of how my life could be worse. I think that’s why I enjoy the horror

At the beginning of the transition the students had D.E.A.R. time or (Drop Everything and Read). Ms. Balderas said that they had to integrate reading into the science curriculum because they had to accommodate RTI in English Language Arts and Reading (ELAR) classes. During D.E.A.R time some students could use technology to have the stories read to them while others read the book by themselves. The students that did not have a book had to get a book from the books provided in the classroom. Some students read at their desks while others read in a carpet on the floor. This method allowed students to read in a comfortable location even though some were

My second ah-ha learning moment was found on page 5 of the WebQuest under Task #3 (Basal Readers for Reading Instruction The Reading Textbook). “Accelerated Reader -not really a program, but teachers use to give grades”. Why is this program not really considered a program? I vaguely remember participating in this program, when I was in school. Our program was titled “The Accelerated Reading Program (AR)”. It consisted of students going to the library checking out chapter books to read and being tested over the book. Each test that you take and score an 80 percent or higher, you would receive points toward winning prizes at the end of the school year. There were prizes such as a boombox, CD player, watch, video game system, mini tv, etc.

On a Sunday afternoon, I was sitting in the library, exhausted with two textbooks laying on the desk, unopened. Evidently, I was not doing anything productive because I could not bring myself to open my textbooks and review for my two tests tomorrow. Ten minutes passed by and I decided I needed to walk around to clear my mind before I dive into my studies. As time passed by, I continued to roam the second floor of the library and down the stairs to the first floor of the library. I wandered over to the research center of the library and walked up and down the aisles until I stumbled over a

As I sit in the “Teen Room” of the Cresco Public Library, located in the center of Cresco, IA on the corner of 4th Avenue and North Elm Street, I can hear the sound of silence, with a hint of blowing air coming from the air conditioning. I hear a truck revving its engine outside the tall, screened windows. I see shelves lined with varying sizes of books, their shiny covers reflecting the sunlight. I can see the hundreds of titles, all running vertically along the book’s spines, in many colors, fonts and sizes. I can feel a sense of calmness, as there is little to no movement inside the room. Looking out the window, I can see a tree barely starting to turn the colors of autumn, still full of green leaves, and another tree already blazing orange

I sat in the very back of the classroom shielding my face with any book that was in sight. That way wouldn’t get called upon to read, but I guess my camouflage of books wasn’t good enough. I was assigned a part in the book to read and I could tell you, I was not happy. As we began to read I could see that my character’s part was starting to inch closer and closer. My heart started to beat out of my chest and the more my throat started to knot up. I was having second thoughts about even coming to school that day, but as I began to read, I started to get more into the book. It began to catch my interest and from that point on I started to realize it was more than just reading a book word per word. There was more to the story than what the paper full of writing would

My journey through reading and writing started once I started school. I don’t remember the early years but they laid down a foundation for me. It got me to where I am today. I love reading for pleasure but I want to be more open to different types of genres. I’m not the best writer but I try my best to write well. I have a strong approach to writing an essay but when it comes to actually writing, I don’t feel too confident. I hope that this year will help me become a better reader and writer.

I chose to take a day of silence from 2:00 pm to 10:30 pm. This day of silence was done on my way home for Thanksgiving. I spent 2 hours in the car in complete silence, without music or any other imported noise, breaking every 30-45 minutes to stop and take a short walk as suggested by the instructions. The final hour in the car I played light classical music and hymns, to combat drowsiness. Then, after getting into the airport, I sat at my gate with noise canceling headphones in and read. I read from the Bible (both Ruth and Luke in their entirety) prior to my plane ride, Parker Palmer, and a novel called “Me Before You” that examines the life of a paralyzed man who wishes to commit doctor assisted suicide. My day of silence was completed exactly 30 minutes prior to landing in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Thanksgiving.