Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Reading Challenge

Over the past few years, my thinking about "reading logs" has changed dramatically. Reading The Book Whisperer by Donalyn Miller was one major influence on me as I thought my way through a practice I wasn't sure I supported. If you haven't read this one, be sure to add it to your "must read" list! Katherine Sokolowski's wonderful recent post "How do you know they are reading?" brought this topic up again in my mind and begged me to think about it again.

Last year, instead of asking first graders to write down titles of books they read at home, I asked them to keep track of the minutes they were reading. All of the research I've read points to reading a minimum of 20 minutes daily, so I felt like this was more in tune with my beliefs. And what happened? Yep. The kids who read no matter what read for 20 minutes or more daily. And the rest? Hit or miss. Some read, some of the ones who really need to read at home didn't. So it was better than tracking the titles, but I'm still not convinced it was a perfect system.

Fast forward to now. I found out a couple of months ago that I'll be teaching 4th grade next year. Oh... the possibilities! One thing I know for sure is that I will not be asking my kids to keep track of their minutes. Yes, I'll still encourage the 20 minutes or more... but I think we have to go beyond that. I go back to Donalyn's book and her "40 book challenge." I know this is what I want for my 4th graders. The challenge to read at least 40 books throughout our year together. And I'll be standing beside them as a fellow reader, trying to do the same.

As a reader, I use Goodreads to keep track of the books I read and the books I want to read. While I don't want to "require" a specific way of keeping track of their reading, I do want my students to find a way that will be both user-friendly and helpful as they strive to read all those books! I really value choice and autonomy, and I want my kids to know that. So... I plan to provide choices and options but also give the freedom to come up with a system that works for them!

A few ideas I've come up with so far include...
*Biblionasium - This amazing site is quite similar to Goodreads but is aimed specifically at kids. I love that they can add titles to their shelf, rate books, and recommend books to friends.

*Google Doc - We'll have 1:1 Kuno tablets in our classroom, and I know my students will already be familiar with using Google to create documents. They could create a list or a spreadsheet.

*Reader's Notebook - I think some 4th graders might prefer a special notebook for writing down their thoughts and titles.

*Blog post - I'll be setting up a KidBlog page for us and wonder if some readers will want to create a special post that they can continue to add to throughout the year and list their book titles.

*Pictures - I know the tablets already have Skitch on them, so I'm also interested in seeing if anyone will want to keep pictures of all of the books they read. Using Skitch, they could write their thoughts or rating right on the picture. The pictures could be kept in a special folder for easy access.


How do you keep track of your reading? Do you ask students to track titles or minutes? I'd love to hear what you do in your classroom!

10 comments:

  1. I love that you are trying to think about giving your kids choice in how they keep track of their reading. It is something I struggle with as well. I LOVE the idea of using Skitch to have annotated pictures- I am definitely going to offer this as an option

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    1. Erika,
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts! I hope my 4th graders will see this as something that real readers do in their reading lives and not just "an assignment." By giving choices and making it work for each individual, I'm hoping it will start a lifelong habit for them! Can't wait to hear more about how it's going for you!
      Laura

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  2. Love that you will give your 4th graders a menu of choices - just as not one way works for each of us as adults, they can find a meaningful way to document their reading.

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    1. Thanks, Josie! I'm hoping it will work. And I'm really excited to see what ways they come up with!

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  3. I love your ideas! I teach 3rd grade and have used a reading log in the past but have been thinking about not using one in the fall. I really like the idea of using pictures to record their books. Thanks for the great ideas!!

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    1. Thanks, Kerry! I hope you'll keep in touch and share how it's working for your 3rd graders.

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  4. These are all interesting ways for students to share their reading. I hadn't really thought of using Skitch like this, and love the idea. I've heard a lot of great things about Biblionasium too.

    Cathy

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    1. I've seen Jen Vincent posting pics of her and her #bookaday and was thinking Skitch could work in that way, with the added bonus of being able to add comments. I think Biblionasium will be easier to use this year when my kids will each have a device. It was tricky last year with limited access.

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  5. Laura~ You are going to be an amazing 4th grade teacher and I am happy to see I will STILL be learning from you. Good teaching is simply good teaching!

    Book logs— I explored the links in your post as I read yours (great thinking and picked up a new blog to add to feedly) and I agree with all! Readers don't read because we make them readers read because they are readers. Our job is to make sure they know they are readers! My class has really loved using Shelfari this year. We started a shelf as a class and soon The ENTIRE class had a shelf! They loved looking at each others shelves and sharing books from home, a teachers dream! http://deb-frazier.blogspot.com/2012/11/kidblog-voicethread-twitter-weebly.html

    I am excited to see where these readers take you- you have great ideas here! I am interested in the Skitch but, I also have witnessed the authenticity of kids visiting others reading shelves...

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  6. Like you, I gave up on reading logs. My sixth graders write reading responses once a week, and share the pages they've read in these letters to me. I feel that this is just a more authentic way of keeping track of their reading, and it works for us.

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