Basic Prompt
As you begin this essay writing process, reflect on your experiences and attitudes about reading as a child. Regardless of our backgrounds, our ideas of literacy often become deeply engrained as good or bad without much thought about how these views have come to be. As a result, many of us have definitions of literacy-of reading and writing-that could benefit from a thoughtful and honest close self-examination.

Choose a Topic: Please draw from the following as you develop your essay focus for our children's literature class:
• Narrate an early memory about writing or reading that you recall vividly. Then explain
why this event is significant to you now.
• Describe someone who taught you to read or write and explain this person's
significance in your life.
• Identify a book or other text and explain its significance for you in your reading and
writing.
• Narrate an experience with a writing or reading task that you found (or still find)
difficult or challenging.
• Describe a memento and explain how it represents an important moment in your
reading/writing development.

Then Create a Narrative: Use sound writing and story-telling skills to organize and articulate your story. Make sure to stay focused on your one, main idea.
Key Elements
• Create a well told story. Bring your narrative to life by using concrete and vivid
details.
• Develop your main idea. (make sure you only have one main idea)
• Develop the significance or affect of your experience
• Use strong, complete, varied sentences
• Organize paragraphs in a logical way, using topic sentences
• Demonstrate effective, engaging, and clear writing
• State the main idea of your essay somewhere in your introduction, and then make
certain that every supporting paragraph relates to and supports that main idea
• Use concrete, vivid descriptions and focus on a specific event
• Consider using dialogue between the characters in your narrative, if you feel
comfortable
• Proofread!