After years of practice, and one impactful workshop, I share how my ideas on in-class reading and homework reading logs have changed.

Plus read about my very best tips for stocking your classroom library for little to no cost. 

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Yesterday I was privileged to be part of The Literacy Connection's day with Donalyn Miller.

You know how you sometimes get in a rut as an educator? Although I continue to review and revise, there are aspects of my teaching life where I feel perpetually stuck in a rut. One such place is my book selection - for both my lessons and for student selection.

I had been looking forward to this conference for months hoping for new ideas in this area and it did not disappoint.

Donalyn was such an inspiration and awakened that fire that had been smoldering for some time. She was full of practical ideas for igniting a love of reading in students. So many ideas that I am excited to try this year. 

Takeaways about Reading Logs

Attending the workshop solidified my resolve to change how I tracked independent reading.

When I moved into my current position, specific forms were used by everyone on my team to record what students read in and out of the classroom.

For the first year, I went along with the flow and used the forms without much thought or reflection of their purpose. Over the past couple of years, I've revised the forms to better fit my students' needs, but still felt they could use some improvement.

After Donalyn's workshop, I realized which components were missing and made a few final changes. 

The first is my in-class reading log.

Students record everything they read in the classroom and bring their logs with them to our reading conferences.

But, let's be clear. 

These logs are never graded nor are they used as any other means of quantitative assessment.

Rather, they are used as discussion guides. When students come to me, we discuss the books they've been reading - what they like, what they don't like, what they've learned, what they're struggling with, etc. We use the logs as notes to help them remember and to discover telling patterns such as: 

• Do they abandon more books than they finish?

• Are they completing long books in an extremely short amount of time?

• Are they finishing short books in an extremely long period of time?

• Are they only reading one genre?

• Can they tell me the gist of a story?

This type of information helps me understand where they are in their reading journey and make appropriate suggestions going forward

These reading logs also serve as excellent records of what students are able to accomplish in a given period (month, quarter, term, year). Records for students - not me. Many students are shocked to see just how much they read in a year. Having it all written on paper is proof that they're able to accomplish more than they thought.

Last, they're great starting points of encouraging students to recommend books to each other. (If you need an in-class reading log, you can find this one in The Treasury.)

The second is my at-home reading log.

Years ago I removed the requisite parent signature line and even the number of minutes read from my reading logs. Instead, students record the books they read and select an appropriate response prompt.

No more timers, no more scrambling for parent signatures on the morning it's due.

Parents rejoice.

You can read more about why I decided to ditch the timers and parent signatures here.

Five Resources for Stocking Your Classroom Library

One of the best parts of Donalyn’s talk was the portion about stocking your classroom library.

As we all know, teachers spend a great deal of their own money on teaching supplies every year. For me, a huge part of my spending was on books for my classroom.  Donalyn spoke to this issue and provided us with several resources to help ease the burden. A couple I had used before, but one was new to me. Here are a few of my go-to places for books and the resource she shared with us.

1. My very favorite place to shop for books is The Village Bookshop in Worthington, Ohio. My mother used to take the four of us when we were young, and it's one of those places that has been a part of you for so long that thinking of it brings back not just memories, but sights and smells. I can remember picking up some of my most cherished books there and always looked forward to our visits. 

The Bookshop is a converted church that was built in 1886 and is two floors of book heaven.

They purchase overstock from publishers and bookstores and have a large supply of used and antique books as well. When I visit, I have to clear several hours from my schedule because I get sucked into scouring every single shelf in the children's section. I'm the weirdo you see sitting on the floor with an overflowing basket of books. The last time I visited, the sweet lady working offered me a folding chair to sit on while I made my decisions so I wouldn't have to sit on the floor anymore.

If you live in the Central Ohio area, you really need to stop in. And if you don't, you might need to consider making a new friend here so you can use your visit as an excuse to do some shopping.

Of course, I'm always available to go...

2. Scholastic Warehouse sales. At least twice a year, Scholastic clears out their warehouses and sells books at incredible prices. And not just old books they can't get rid of, but current, in demand books. Years ago, there was a massive warehouse just north of where I lived and visiting there was like visiting Santa's workshop. Seriously. Massive, commercial grade shelving stocked full of glorious books as far as the eye could see. I had to bring a forklift with me to move my haul to my car. Sadly, it closed and the sale nearest me moved to an office building. Not as many choices, but still amazing deals.

If you go to their website, you can search for sales near you. Be sure to sign up for notifications! They will email you when a sale is happening near you and include a coupon to use on top of the already low prices.

3. Friends of the Library sales. I love the library. Always have. There was a time when I would visit several times a week either to pick up, drop off, or just browse the books. I would always pass a plaque on the wall that talked about the "Friends of the Library," but never knew who/what they were. Turns out they are a group of wonderful people who help raise money to support libraries.

Perhaps in your town this group has a different name, but I love the idea of "Friends of the Library." (I think I need to join.) 

In our libraries, the "Friends" hold sales several times a year to help reduce the library's stock of books while raising funds for the library and to donate to children's charities. During these sales, you can find books at super low prices - many for less than a dollar. The best thing is that these are library books, so most of them are hardback or specially coated to stand up to wear and tear. Perfect for classrooms! They even have an online store called Thriftbooks, where you can purchase books at any time without waiting for a sale. 

4. Half Priced Books. Do you have one of these near you? I'm fortunate enough to have several and have been spent many hours searching for deals there. The best part is their clearance section where you can find books for a dollar or less. This is my go-to place for chapter books as I can usually find multiple copies of the same title.

As a teacher, you can sign up for a discount card to receive an additional 10% off any purchase. And if you live near Bloomington, Indiana; Bowling Green, Kentucky; Rockford, Illinois or Olympia, Washington, you should check out their outlets where nearly everything starts at $.50!

5. The resource Donalyn shared that I had never heard of was Book Sale Finder. It's a website that lists just that - book sales around the country. You can sign up to receive notifications of when sales are happening near you.

Feeling adventurous? Set your "near you" search to 50 miles or more and take a weekend trip to score some really great deals!

If you haven't read Donalyn's book, you simply must! It will change your view of the purpose of reading instruction and, in turn, improve your students' experience of reading in the classroom. 

If you get an opportunity to see her speak in person - go. 

Now off to find new books!