This year,
Mr. Rollins has been asking us to share what we are reading. This
is very hard for me because I read such a variety of books, and I ask myself, “is
this something I want to share that I’m reading?” However, on the bright side of things, as an
elementary school librarian it makes a lot of sense that I am reading
elementary literature. So I read a lot,
but I do not keep my own reading log.
After reading this chapter, and reflecting on my reading habits, I could
tell you that there are certain genres I read a lot of while barely even
looking at other genres.
I love that
the author says, “When teachers begin to keep their own reading records, they
stop worrying about book levels and the number of pages and number of minutes
students read each day. That carries
over to students, who also stop focusing on how many pages they’ve read” (35). Keeping
a reading log and sharing it with students can also demonstrate that it is okay
to read a variety of level of books. The
key is to make it something that is easy to update and inform, while not turning
it into a chore. Having my own reading
log is something I will work on because I have always looked at is as a chore
instead of something to inform my reading habits. It is also where I struggled in school
because I made up my reading logs at the end of the week because I knew I had
read but not how many pages in each book.
At the end of the chapter, the author also talks about respecting parents’ busy lives. That asking for a signature verifying a student has read their requirements for the evening takes the responsibility from the child and puts it on the parents, which may causes extra work and added stress. Routman also says, “I much prefer that students assume the responsibility and share their reading accomplishments with their families in a relaxed, enjoyable manner” (36). Reading is a joy for me, and that is what I want students to experience.
It is an interesting dilemma--we want to share our reading lives with our students, but sometimes we want to keep our reading lives private because they are so much a part of who we are! I don't keep a reading log either and saw them as merely a chore in school, but reading your post brought to mind some adult twists on the reading record--like Goodreads. I haven't played with it much, but doesn't that do what we want our students to do--celebrate what we read, share it with others, and lead us to our next reading adventure? Great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteKatherine I love that you are thinking about how we can share our reading lives with our students and how making time to authentically record what we read and what we want to remember about what we are thinking and learning from our reading helps us to consider what we ask students to do as readers. If our own book talks and book records are more relevant and authentic than a traditional reading log with title, author, and pages then we may want to consider changing those with our students. Thank you! Dawn
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