Hello!For me, reading logs didn't work. Kids wrote down things they did not
read, and parents often signed-off without even checking to see if the child
read the material listed. It was a "school game" -something done for school
because we have to. Instead, I had children read for a minimum of 30 minutes
every night (3rd grade) and they met with a partner the first thing in the
morning to talk about what they read. My goal was to get kids to love to read.
No written work, no grades. They did not have the same partner everyday, but
instead just chose someone when they walked into the classroom. They had 10
minutes to find a partner and discuss what they read. At times I would have to
help someone find a partner, but not very often. I would listen in on
discussions, and ask a question once in a while -but it was purely share what
you are reading. They were encouraged to make notes as they read so they
wouldn't forget what they wanted to talk about (I assured them I would often
forget if I didn't have notes -sometimes just a character's name and 1 word to
remind me).
After the 10 minutes we would gather at the carpet for sharing. I would
randomly choose someone (names on cards) and I would have them tell the class
what their partner had to say today. This taught them to really listen to what
their partner was saying. I would choose 2 or 3 students to share, and an
additional student if someone was dying to say something.
Great things that happened... kids got excited about reading! They formed
book groups (2-4 kids reading the same book and meeting in the morning to talk
about it). They read books that other students had talked about. Most (about
14 of 18) kept some kind of notes -I had provided a spiral journal for each
student.
I did provide a list of thinking about reading ideas for discussion (glued onto
the inside front cover of their journal) and parents were thankful, and used
them with their child. The students used the list often in the morning during
discussion time. This was the only homework and the parents knew that.Jan
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to
dance in the rain." BJ Gallagher
> Date: Fri, 5 Mar 2010 09:51:37 -0600
> From: [email protected]
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [MOSAIC] Encouraging reading at home
>
> I need a little help. I am trying to find a way to encourage students to
> read at home. Has anyone used "reading logs" with their students (parents
> would sign off that their child read each evening)? If you have, were they
> helpful? My fear is that the students that really need the extra practice
> would either never have their log signed or the parents would sign without
> the reading being completed. I also don't want to turn reading for pleasure
> into a chore. I would love to hear any and all suggestions.
>
> Elizabeth Blinn
> LaVerna Evans Elementary
> 3rd-5th Reading Interventionist
> [email protected]
>
_______________________________________________
Mosaic mailing list
[email protected]
To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to
http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org.
Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
