Home Reading Logs Or NO MORE READING LOGS....That's the Question?

Let's just be honest, I hate to correct reading logs.  I mean how do you grade the quality of someone's reading at home.  We have all had this conversation with one of our students...."Good Morning Jenny!  I see you read the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  last night.  That was my daughter's favorite book when she was little."  Jenny replies, "I didn't read that!  I don't know why my mom wrote that down.  We didn't even read."   

So how accurate are these home reading logs anyways???? 

I don't really know, however what I can tell you is the difference I see between the readers in class who read at home and the ones who do not.  Over the many years I have taught I experimented with having reading logs and not having reading logs and to be honest I have prefer to have reading logs.  Why???  I noticed more parents will read with their children if they know I am going to look at the log and grade it.  

Now I could give a lot of educational reasons why having a reading log is important like it teaches the children to be responsible for their own homework blah blah blah.......blah.......but what I want is for my students to read at home.  I want them to have that one-on-one interaction with an adult and have a quiet caring moment to read for fun.  I want my students to go home and show off their reading skills that they practiced in school.  

"If every parent understood the huge educational benefits and intense happiness brought about by reading aloud to their children, and if every parent and every adult caring for a child read aloud a minimum of three stories a day to the children in their lives, we could probably wipe out illiteracy within one generation." 

 Mem Fox 

Reading Magic  Why Reading Aloud to Our Children Will Change Their Lives Forever

(Awesome Book BTW)

In my class I don't just have the students fill in a reading log each week.  I take the time out of my daily reading instruction to make sure they are taking home at least two good books from my classroom.  I instruct them to take one "Just Right" for them and one for an adult to read.  The students may have up to four books before I tell them they need to return a book before they pick a new one.  Yes, I do lose about 10 to 15 books a year, however I think it is more important that the children are taking home books.  For the most part they can take home any book that has a card in the back of the book.  I have a pocket chart where they keep the cards so I know what books they have at home.  

It might take you a bit to come up with a system that works best for you, however it will be well worth your time and effort.  There are lots of different types of reading logs available on Pinterest and I have created some reading logs that I like to use. My reading logs are available on TPT.  Find the logs that will work best for your students.  

My reading logs are set up for this year and I will update them each year for free.  Please check out my TPT store and consider using reading logs again.