We’ve talked about how students can only become stronger readers by reading. And we’ve talked about how providing students with choice builds enthusiasm for reading as well as reading stamina. And of course, we’ve talked about how traditional reading logs do little to support goals for student reading. See previous blog posts here, here, and here.

If you’ve read the blog posts linked above, you know why I developed a new kind of reading log. And you know what a difference it made with my students. My year-long editable reading logs are available in my TPT store. I have them available for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades.

I wanted to walk you through how to use these reading logs. Click below to watch the video. I’ll also take you through the steps below.

Students don’t like traditional reading logs. Neither do parents. And, if we’re honest with ourselves, teachers don’t like them either. Learn what to use instead and how it revolutionized my classroom.

Have you ever told a student he couldn’t choose a particular book to read because it wasn’t the right level for him and seen the light go out of his eyes? I have. Learn what classroom practices kill students’ love of reading and what to do instead.

Teachers need a way to hold students accountable for getting their reading practice in. The result? Reading logs. For reading logs to be successful in your classroom, you need your students to get on board. Here’s how to accomplish that while also getting parents on board.

On Read Across America Day, move the focus from Dr. Seuss Week to its intended purpose – encouraging students to celebrate reading. Rather than focusing on one author, it’s the perfect time to create a reading day for exploring diverse children’s literature from multiple writers. Here’s how I celebrated Read Across America in my upper elementary classroom in the simplest, but most effective way.

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.