I enjoyed reading this chapter very much because it gave great ideas how to bring reading into the classroom, as fun, instead of something that becomes a chore. I loved how Routman mentioned reading logs were more of a chore and burden to parents instead of a way to measure whether a student is actually reading at home. Let's be honest, majority of my students' parents do not sign off on their reading log and half my students do not even do their reading log because it's boring, simple as that. I love the idea of making their own Reading Logs to decorate and write down every book they read; along with their favorite quotes or parts from the book. I feel as if this would make independent reading so much more fun for my struggling readers.
I have never thought of the idea of using a chart in the classroom to write down books I am reading, my favorite author and adding their favorite books and authors to the chart as the year goes by. I am considering incorporating this into my classroom in the next few weeks or such. It gives them the opportunity to see their teacher is human and makes time to read. Honestly, I couldn't tell you the last time I picked up a book to read for PLEASURE, I hate hate hate being forced to read something I could careless about. It's boring and quite frankly it makes me realize I make my students do it everyday. I need to bring what I teach in my classroom back into my life. I plan to find a few books I want to dive into and share those with my students. I want them to see their teacher is interested in reading and makes time to do it, instead of sitting it bed watching The Walking Dead.
Reading logs were the worst when I was in the classroom. It's so hard to micromanage those logs when students didn't find value in them. I also loved the idea of having them come up with a way to log their reading. If they have that ownership in the process, hopefully, it will be a more effective approach. I loved this chapter too since it made me face the fact that I wasn't reading any books currently either that were not professional development books. Ashley Blackwelder pointed out in her post though that even though we aren't reading books, we still read every day. I check email, read store websites, read magazines, and keep up with blogs. I think it's important too to show students that reading doesn't only occur when you pick up a book. I bet you could find some material you read every day and share that with them.
ReplyDeleteHi Kyra,
ReplyDeleteI have had my share of ineffective reading logs as well. I especially find when teachers penalize students for their parents not signing them to be an ineffective strategy for motivating student reading or for assessing students' effectiveness as a reader. I am glad that you found Routman's strategies for creating a more authentic valuable reading log for students that they have ownership over. I love Routman's challenge to us as teachers to bring our reading lives into the classroom and share the books we love and then open it up for our students to share the books that they love as well. I'd love to see you try Routman's Top 10 list of books your class loves. Thanks, Dawn