A Listable...Alternatives to Reading Logs

We as teachers know that reading at home is crucial to becoming a better reader.

If you're like me, you have used one of these.

I used a reading log like this for years and didn't think twice about it. However, I did think it was interesting that most of my students read exactly 30 minutes every night. Who reads exactly 30 minutes?

Instead of using the tired, boring reading log, here are some alternatives you can use.

Have you ever heard of Choice Boards? What's the big deal with them? Why should you use them in the classroom? Click HERE to read my post on the top ten reasons for using Choice Boards.

Basically each choice board has 9 activities or projects to choose from. You can have the students do as little or as many as you want, and you enforce that students do one or two activities in particular if you choose. You can have the Choice Boards be independent projects or partner projects.

Included are Choice Boards for fiction, nonfiction, and mixed.

Students LOVE them because they get to CHOOSE which project to do. When students get to choose something in their learning, then they get excited about their learning.

Here are a couple of choice board activities that my students have done.

Choice Boards are great alternatives to reading logs because they are so versatile. They provide choice and differentiation for students, and you can diversify them for your classroom's needs. You can also assign a certain number of projects to students to complete in a certain amount of time, and you can also cut down the number of options for students with special needs, maybe giving them three options for them to choose from.

I also have monthly choice Choice Boards with reading stems where students can choose a stem to respond to.

Weekly Reading Homework Charts are a simple way to have students do reading homework!

Each weekly reading homework chart has 5 days for homework, including:
~ Space for recording minutes read
~ Higher level open-ended question
~ Space for recording answer to the question

There are 4 weekly reading homework charts for each month:
~ Two charts for fiction
~ Two charts for nonfiction

Mrs. Whalen's Classroom has a great anchor chart for students to use when writing about reading. This would be great to hang in the classroom for students to use during independent reading or reading stations. It could also be great to reproduce this chart for students to glue into their notebooks so they could use it at home as well.

My third graders loved Stop and Jot. I think it was because they got to use post-it notes! You can give students post-it notes...if you want them to stop and jot four times, then give each student four sticky notes. Each time they come to a spot where they have a thought, question, feeling, etc they STOP and JOT down their thought. I had my students put their post-it notes in the spot where they stopped. They loved to share them with their partner, which was great because it often encouraged the partner to read the book.

I LOVE Say Something! It's one of my favorites.

As you're reading the book, stop every now and then and "say something". You can write down thoughts, feelings, questions, predictions, connections, etc. One box = one say something.

Click HERE if you would like to download a FREEBIE Say Something bookmark I created for my students.

This one is very simple. All you have to do is have the students divide each page in half (you can have them do the whole journal in the beginning...put some fun music on and let them jam out). Each day students write the date and write about what they read. You can have them write a summary or have them write their thoughts on what they read. Easy peasy!

Reading Response Choices are great for student choice, creativity, and differentiation. You can use them with ANY book, even the textbook. They are great for whole class, small groups, literacy stations, and especially homework. There are 14 different responses, all of which require critical thinking and students to explain their thinking.

A choice board is included, which includes all 14 reading responses to choose from and a "free choice" one as well. You can have the students do as little or as many as you want, and you enforce that students do one or two activities in particular if you choose. You can have the choice board be independent projects or partner projects.

You can have your students work on their reading responses during Daily 5, small group reading instruction, or assign them for homework.

This is a super simple reading response strategy that can be used during reading or after reading. It can be used in any subject and with any book. I've used it in reading, science, and social studies and with picture books, chapter books, articles, and textbooks.

It makes for a great homework activity because it's simple, and students have to think about what they read and connect with the book.

Click HERE to download the freebie. I included two different options for students to glue in their notebooks.

I wish I was one of those awesome teachers who used Google Docs on a regular basis. I would be the hip teacher. But alas....I am not. I am hip in other ways. Incorporating Google Docs is one of my teaching goals, and I found a fabulous post shared on The Elementary Entourage from Hannah at The Friendly Teacher on using Google Docs for reading responses. She shares exactly how to get started and set them all up. Hannah, you rock! I totally want to implement this!

Kids love index cards, and they are cheap...that's a win-win in my book! I have the students get one index card (you can do two index cards if you want them to hang them up for display). After reading a part of the book or the whole book, they write about what they read on one side and draw a picture on the other side. These are great for using them for book talks or having students share about their book with their partners or groups.

How do you hold your students accountable in their reading?

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