Reading Logs Are a Waste of Time
It hurts to read that, doesn’t it!? Well, just know it hurt me to type it out.
But it’s true.
If you look at the way most teachers use reading logs, it really is a waste of time. Think about it. What do you really want students to accomplish as a reader in your classroom? What do you want them to think and feel about reading?
I want all students to see reading as the pathway to learning more about the world and themselves. I want books (articles, ebooks, etc) to open new doors and expand their experiences. I want children to read something that makes them ask questions and want to engage in conversation. If it’s a fiction book, I want them to feel like they are living with the characters in real time.
How does jotting down the title, author, and number of minutes I read each night help me accomplish any of the above? It doesn’t.
Reading Should Not Be Used As Punishment
When we take something, like reading, that should be choice-driven and fun, and add a reward-punishment system to it, like mandatory reading logs, it too often causes children NOT to want to do the thing we are trying to get them to do: read. The unintended result is students writing on their log just to avoid getting in trouble, and worse, feeling they’re being forced to read to comply with the teacher’s demands instead of reading for pleasure.
How To Make Reading Logs Work
There’s no need to throw the baby out with the bath water. If you’re really in love with your reading log, consider making some of these changes so this is seen as a reflective tool rather than a forced, compliant accountability measure:
Add a column on your reading log for students to record their weekly goal. If you’re trying to build reading stamina, this could be a daily minute goal. This should be different for each student based on their current reading abilities.
Include reflection questions at the bottom of your log. Author of Mindsets & Moves: Strategies that Help Readers Take Charge, Gravity Goldberg, suggests trying one of these: Am I choosing books I enjoy? Am I challenging myself as a reader? I would also add: Am I trying different kinds of books?
Allow space in your class for open conversation about all the different ways we interact with reading. Maybe one student didn’t read a book last night, but they read a recipe aloud to their parents and helped cook a meal. That has value and counts as reading!
If you’re using reading logs as a way to force students to read each night, you’re wasting your time. But if you’re using them as a way to give student more ownership of their learning, then carry on and log away!
Want to make sure your child has a strong reading foundation so they can easily move up in reading levels quickly and without you having to feel like you’re forcing them to read? Learning to read is fun in the Raising Readers program. Click here to learn more.
Related Posts:
