How to Ensure You Have Reading Accountability Without Using Reading Logs
Wondering how to hold students accountable for independent reading? Thinking about using reading logs?
A reading log can come in many forms, but it is essentially a log where students record their nightly reading in order to hold them accountable to reading. Students may be required to write down the title of the book they read and for how long, color in boxes on a bookmark to try to fill it up, or write a few short sentences about what they’ve read.
Well, I’m going to encourage you to👉 Ditch reading log requirements!
If you are looking for alternatives to using reading logs, I’ve got some insights to share with you from a year of taking the leap to drop this traditional classroom practice…and learning that I’ll never go back to them!
Let me share a few things I realized and why I finally did away with them. 👇
A READING LOG DOES NOT MOTIVATE STUDENTS TO READ — BUT HELPING THEM BUILD A READING LIFE DOES!
Our first reading unit of the year is called “Building a Reading Life”. During this unit, I engage students in 10 minilessons that are very discussion-focused and help me elicit students’ attitude towards reading as well as some of the strategies they’ve been taught to use as readers. (VERY VALUABLE INSIGHT FOR ME!)
You may be interested in knowing what minilessons I teach during this unit, so I’ve listed them below!
We can learn from our WORST Reading Times
Why is reading important?
How is reading related to freedom?
We can learn from our BEST Reading Times
What are our Ideal Spaces for Reading?
What are some Challenges We May Face as Readers?
We can learn from other readers!
How can we create the BEST reading spaces in our classroom?
Set Goals as Readers (Individual)
Create a Class Reading Promise/Pledge to Keep the Love of Reading Growing all Year Long
During this initial unit, I encourage students to fall in love with reading, helping them find books they love, and placing an importance on independent reading time both in and out of the classroom. I begin adding independent reading time into our reading block (slowly increasing that time as students’ stamina increases).
At the start of each independent reading block, students write reading responses for a few minutes—if they haven’t read or aren’t into their book, it’s going to be very obvious and I’ll know to support those students more.
Once we have completed this 2-3 week unit and I’ve launched my Reader’s Workshop, most of my students are reading nightly because they are now INVESTED in their own reading lives and their own reading success. After this unit, my efforts have paid off for most students. They are reading books they love, not reading at night as a result of a required reading log!
If you want more ideas for supporting reluctant readers, you’ll LOVE the helpful ideas in this post!
If you want to learn more about my Building a Reading Life Unit, you can see a detailed preview on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Now, about those reading logs…
I DO NOT NEED A READING LOG TO TELL ME WHICH STUDENTS ARE NOT READING AT HOME
It doesn’t take long to become aware of which students are not reading at home, with or without a reading log. (Spoiler — I can tell by how quickly they progress through their independent reading book that travels between school and home each day).
When I know that a student is not reading at night, I pull them aside and try to find out what's going on. We make a plan (I have some great ideas for helping reluctant and struggling readers in this post) for how they can make reading more of a priority.
If a lack of reading at home seems perpetual and I've had the "how can I help you" conversation a few times, I send an email home letting parents know it's an issue and basically beg them to help me by helping their child set aside time to read.
READING LOGS CAN ACTUALLY ACT AS A HINDRANCE
I was once told by a parent of a WILD, nose in book ALL THE TIME reader that her child hated filling out her reading log. {Insert my "WOW. Wait, what?" face here.}
I was definitely perplexed by this. Why would she hate reading logs? I know she reads!
What I realized was that many children read at night. They go to bed early enough that they can do their nightly reading before they fall asleep--ha! just like me! Just like a REAL READER!
And, filling out the log was just a hassle.
Trashing reading logs gave these types of students the freedom that a reader deserves! But, how did I still create accountability for reading at home?
HOW DO I ENSURE READING ACCOUNTABILITY WITHOUT READING LOGS?
Through my Building a Reading Life Kit for Launching Reader’s Workshop students envision what an amazing reading life looks like and we design our best reading lives together.
Once I realized the daily task of logging reading done at home just didn’t align with that vibe, I started implementing a “status of the class” routine into my reading block.
WHAT IS STATUS OF THE CLASS?
Status of the Class allows you to take quick notes on students’ reading habits such as book titles, what texts were finished vs. abandoned, and how long it is taking a student to read their particular book. This video by Meg at The Teacher Studio is what got me interested in Status of the Class and how to organize my notes. It's only 5 minutes long and so worth your time!
You can implement "status of the class" as your main morning routine or your can incorporate it into the beginning of your reading block.
Using Meg Anderson's Reading Status Calendars, I created a reading records binder with a tab for each child. Behind each student’s tab, I placed a set of calendars for the year. Each morning, I would sit at my carpet area ready with my binder, waiting for students to meet with me. After students unpacked, they knew to grab their reading journals and independent book and join me on the carpet. This was a good time for them to update their "Books Read" list. When a majority of the class had settled in, I would start taking statuses.
OUR STATUS OF THE CLASS (READING) REPORT OUT STRUCTURE
At the beginning of the year, I trained students to report their reading using the following sentences for their status report:
"I am reading ______ and I am on pg ____. I'm at the part where...."
This reporting structure allowed me to get the key information that I wanted to collect and helped to keep the statuses short and sweet.
To call on students, I just flipped from calendar to calendar. As students shared their status with the class, I wrote down what book they were reading and the page they were on. If they were still reading a book, I'd draw an arrow to show it was the same title. When students finished their book, I'd write an "f" on their calendar and circle it. I wrote down an "a" to show when a student abandoned a book.
I'd always ask students if they had a plan for what they were going to read next (and actually, I would often ask this question when students were really close to finishing their book. I always want them to have a plan for what to read next--no lost reading time searching and searching for their next book). After a student reported their status, I'd ask follow up questions about theme, character's feelings, predictions the student might have, etc. I'd make notes from time to time about a student's ability to retell and answer deeper questions about their reading.
Of course, after doing this each week, you get a strong sense of each students' strengths as a reader, so most of my additional notes were for students who had difficulty retelling their reading or seemed confused about the details of their book.
HOW DOES STATUS OF THE CLASS SUPPORT STRUGGLING READERS?
I had some students who just struggled to find the time to read at night. When I'd notice that a child had made a regular habit of skipping his/her nightly reading OR that they had trouble remembering what had happened in their story, I added their name to a sticky note and placed it at the front of my binder. It reminded me to check in with them daily to confirm that they had met their goal and to create a daily accountability system for them.
In our 10-15 minutes each morning, I could usually hear from about 1/3 of the class. On the following morning, I'd just pick up at the next student where I'd left off.
By the end of the week, all students had shared their reading at least once; by the middle of the year, we were fast enough that I tried to hear from every student twice during the week.
Now, outside of taking students' status, most students would come straight to me in the mornings and tell me they had finished the book they were reading. I'd just go to my binder and jot down that info.
Can you imagine?
Students eager to come in and tell you about their nightly reading?
Students wondering what happened in one another's books?
Students chatting already about what they read with their friends before the teacher starts calling on them?
Students finding reading partners that they could talk with because they had read the same books?
Asking others to recommend books to them because they noticed that they had a similar reading style?
Magic, just sweet, golden, glittery, LOVE OF READING magic!!!
After experiencing this routine for a year, I'd highly recommend it to every teacher teaching 2nd grade and higher.
(I've never taught Kindergarten or 1st, but I believe reading logs are still important and effective in the lowest grades when you are trying to build nightly reading habits. If someone in K-2 tries status of the class, I'd love to hear about it! I bet it would work just as beautifully!)
WHY DID I FALL SO IN LOVE WITH IMPLEMENTING A "STATUS OF THE CLASS" ROUTINE?
Well, I found tremendous benefits from this routine, and it was more than just knowing what students were reading and how they were progressing through their books. My status of the class routine
❤️ helped me set the expectation that everyone is a reader. With the routine of students sharing about their reading on a regular basis, it's hard to forget that they are supposed to read at home.
❤️ created accountability without paperwork. Is it possible to do this? Can I get an AMEN?!?! No more having to deal with "I didn't get my reading log signed." "I lost my reading log." or "I forgot to fill it out, but I promise I read."
❤️ inadvertently created a space for book recommendations and mini-book talks every single day (possibly one of my favorite outcomes!). Students helped one another find books they would enjoy.
❤️ created groups of students who were experts on specific books and series. Students were able to check one another's comprehension, explain confusing parts to each other, and help one another remember key information that helped them understand current happenings in their stories and to "get" the books on a deeper level.
❤️ allowed students to LIVE with certain books longer because their classmates read them next. This MAGICAL reason was actually voiced by one of my students when I asked why they enjoyed status of the class so much. Hearing someone else retell events from a book they had read and loved was an enjoyable walk down memory lane for my students. It kept the book fresh and alive in their minds even longer!
Above all else, my most important mission every year is to turn ANY and EVERY child into a reader who LOVES reading. I challenge myself to accomplish this goal within the first two weeks of school using my Building A Reading Life Kit and then to embed routines like Status of the Class, uninterrupted and daily independent reading time, and other tips and strategies throughout the year to help my students maintain and grow their love of reading.