How do you assign reading homework? 

For years, student reading homework has looked like this. 

• Student sits with a book and a timer. 

• Student reads only until the timer goes off. 

• Student fills out reading log and gets parent signature. 

Students don’t like traditional reading logs. Neither do parents. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, teachers don’t like them either. 

For years I assigned nightly reading as homework for my students. I knew getting my students to read more was crucial. Research has proven over and over that the more a child reads, the more successful they will be in school and in other areas of life. 

Like many teachers, my reading log required students to read "x" number of minutes each night and needed to be signed by an adult before being returned to me at the end of the week.

This traditional reading log system had flaws. Lots of flaws. Students weren't completing the assignment correctly, notes had to go home when logs were returned unsigned, students "fudged" their work over and over again, etc. 

It became painfully clear that my well-intended assignment wasn't delivering its intended results.

If you’re still using timers and parent signature lines, I encourage you to ask yourself why. 

Is that reading log helping you achieve your objectives - is it building reading stamina and independence? 

When I asked myself those same questions, the answer was loud and clear. “No.” 

I removed reading timers and parent signatures from my weekly reading log and never looked back.

5 crucial reasons to ditch traditional reading logs

Timers kill students’ love of reading

When my students were required to read for 20 minutes, their focus was on the timer, not the book. I talked to my students’ parents about what reading homework looked like at their houses. The answers broke my heart. 

Students were: 

• Randomly reading from a book to meet their minutes. 

• Abandoning books the instant the timer went off. 

• Starting a new book in order to fill the time and never picking it up again.

Reading becomes a chore

My students didn't understand the importance of the assignment but instead viewed it as a chore. Reading became a rigid and structured requirement rather than something they might choose to do for themselves. Students did not see reading as “fun” or something they would do because they wanted to. It was simply something they “had” to do.

Traditional reading logs limit students’ reading

Timers and parent signatures killed my students’ love for reading and made them see reading as a chore. But that wasn’t all. The focus on the timer and the 20-minute requirement had students choosing to do the bare minimum. I rarely saw a log where a student read more than the required 20 minutes.

Reading logs are a shared responsibility

My students weren’t able to complete their reading homework themselves. Each week, I heard countless stories of how students weren’t able to complete their logs because their parents weren’t home or forgot to sign. Students were holding their parents responsible for their homework rather than assuming the responsibility themselves.

Traditional reading logs don’t work for parents, either

Life is busy. We are all busy - including your students’ parents. After working all day, the last thing parents want is to argue with their children over a homework assignment. And an assignment that includes a parent sitting by their child with a timer turns them into an overseer, not a partner in developing their child’s literacy. 

This is not what parents or teachers want.

It was time for a complete overhaul of the reading log

My students were not learning to love reading. They were not getting lost in stories and becoming stronger, more independent readers. Something had to change. The reading homework I assigned had to change. 

I started by teaching the importance of sustained independent reading. We practiced building our reading stamina together as a class. In time, I proved to students that it was possible to read for more than 20 minutes without being bored or wanting to give up. We worked on building trust – theirs in me and mine in them. 

After several weeks of building stamina and trust with each other, it was time for the new reading log to go home.

I did more than simply remove the timers and signature line. I also added a much-needed reflection and response piece. I provided students with options for responding and included different choices – questions appropriate for fiction and nonfiction texts.

In addition to giving students choice, I was able to see if they were able to select appropriate responses and answer them fully while practicing necessary skills.

Did the new reading logs make a difference?

The year that I implemented the new log, I saw drastic results. 

Happier students, happier parents, and happier me. I saw much less fibbing, much more authentic responses, and even better - the transfer of practiced skills in their classwork.

Win, win, win for everyone. 

I created reading logs for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. You can see them in my TPT store here. Head there to preview the logs and hear from teachers like this one who have put this system into practice. 

“This has been an excellent way to keep my students accountable for what they are reading, build reading comprehension, and work on writing skills all in one!”

Interested in more support for reading instruction?

I have a ton of reading, spelling, and writing resources. Check out my collection of blog posts and resources here.

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