Tamra Dollar

Literacy: Practice to Theory

Dr. Watson

My Literacy Memoir

My First Reading Experiences My dad was the preacher of a

small Baptist church which meant I was in church Sunday morning, Sunday night and every Wednesday! I spent hours thumbing thru my Bible and underlining scriptures long before I could read. I loved looking at the pictures in my Bible….and wondering things like, "How did Noah get ladybugs into the Ark?”

Ms. Margaret Romper Room

Early Influences in Writing!Letters to Texas!

My parents say I was glued to the television everyday and actually believed Ms. Margaret could see me in her magic mirror. I wrote her letters and finally I was rewarded with the words, “And I see Tamra!”

Calling “long distance” in the 60’s was a luxury we couldn’t afford. As a result I became a letter writer. This is when I learned to write my name! My letters are stuffed in old shoe boxes and it’s fun to see how I went from pictures to words to sentences!

Blog: Why I Blame My Second Grade Teacher!

Race To Space!

I had a unique educational experience. I lived in Renton, Washington which was the hub of experimental space aviation. My school, Benson Hill Elementary, was an experimental school built during the “Race to Space” years. Reading and writing were not taught in isolation. Instead they were embedded in the science curriculum. If you click the link to my blog above my school picture you can learn more about my experience.

And Along Came My Brother!

My mom read to me when I was little. Truthfully, I was sick of Bible Stories, so when she read Doctor Dolittle I thought I had died and gone to heaven! When my brother, Rodney, was born, I was old enough to read all of my favorites to him. I started reading to him the day he came home from the hospital!

My Inspirations!

Nancy Drew mysteries were the first series I read! I was ten-years-old and I remember reading with a flashlight under my covers even after my parents told me to go to sleep! I read the whole series and have been an avid reader ever since!

I co-authored Exposed Heart with a friend. I wanted to mail a copy to my high school English teacher who would never give me above a B on a paper. She told me to my face that I wasn’t made to be a writer!

This is my college reading professor, Dr. Kingore. I saw her last summer and was able to tell her that she is the reason I became a reading teacher/literacy coach!

Not so pleasant!

My grandmother read this book to me. It’s a book to teach character like “bee obedient.” I remember a boy who disobeyed wound up drowning because he went fishing when he was told to do chores!

Boring and predictable!

…Not!!! Frustrating!

I never read Dick and Jane in school, but played with a friend who showed me the series! As far as instructional manuals, if there aren’t pictures I chunk

them!

The Reader I Am Today!

Stephen King is genius! I read this book recently and especially like the theory of “the butterfly effect.” It’s ironic that I enjoy the horror genre over inspirational since I grew up in a religious home! Go figure!

Being a Middle School reading teacher is my excuse for reading amazing novels like Hunger Games and Divergent! The truth is I’d read them anyway!

Confessions of a Literacy Coach

Addicted to Twitter blogging!

I’ve taught Read 180 for the past eight year and have seen unbelievable gains in my struggling readers. Love it!

Sold on Instructional and Digital Literacy!

What Reading Means to Me!