Q and R: Quack! and Reading to Children

Q is for Quack!. Quack! was a program that I watched in my high school English classes. It was used for SAT word prep and consists of clips from movies, television shows, and other facets of popular culture. We would be introduced to a word, given the definition, and then it would be used in place of another word in the scene. Each video had about twenty words, and I can remember these being an entertaining part of English class.

These videos introduced so many new words into my English vocabulary in a fun way. They make up part of my literacy history because I gained so much knowledge from them. When looking online to find examples of the videos, I saw that they make them for many subjects. I hope to use these videos in my future classroom because they truly bring a different and exciting method to learning new words.

R is for Reading to Children. Throughout my literacy history I have found that I like giving back by reading to children. This started in junior high and high school when I would volunteer reading to children in the elementary school. Then at college I worked in an after school program at Washington Intermediate by assisting children with their reading skills, and in the present day I read to my friends' children every chance that I get.

Reading to children is a great experience because I get to see them light up from the action taking place in the story as I share my passion for reading with them, and sometimes I even get a blast from my past as I read books that I enjoyed as a child like Curious George and Litter Critter. For example, my friends' son is three years old. He's gotten into the habit of asking me to read to him when I come over, and I always happily oblige. One night we read ten books, and he just wouldn't fall asleep because he wanted to read more. I enjoy asking him questions about what is occurring in the story, having him predict what is going to happen next, and having him "pretend" to read to me. Reading to children is a hobby that I've had for quite some time, and I can't wait to have children of my own someday so I can pass my reading legacy on to them like my parents and grandparents did for me.

Sometimes we break away from reading to play superheroes