Reading Log Ideas


The following is a list of Organizational Skill resources for class or home.
Find ideas for improving reading comprehension through using a daily reading log.


Printable reading log with lines:

Daily Reading Log for daily reading - There are two logs on a page for short and easy note taking.

eHow.com version of information for a step by step explanation of what to do.

Why should someone keep a reading log? This is a good question. One reason is to keep track of reading progress over time. Another reason is to have a notebook of reading content to draw on when it is time to write a book report. Many students struggle with reading a book from cover to cover. Keeping a brief reading log in a three ring binder can spur on a reluctant reader to show progess with the ever growing notebook filled with information showing the evidence of active reading. Imagine a reluctant reader being complimented on how well he or she is doing on completing the daily reading log. This can make a huge difference in helping that student continue reading. The more reading done, the better the reader will get.

How does this help reading comprehension? A daily reading log has reading comprehension built into it. The reader writes down the pages read and then gives a brief summary of what happened in those pages. The reader can go back through those pages to refresh his or her memory. Over time, it will be easier and easier to remember what is happening and easier to write about it on the reading log. Writing a summary of what is read is one step closer to being able to answer more detailed questions about a reading passage. Getting the student reading is the first step.

How can a reading log help to write a book report? Here is the magic of the reading log. Most young readers are asked to write book reports about the books they read. Some students have trouble remembering what they read over such a long period of time. The reading log serves as a reminder of the high level details in the book. Each summary is listed with the page numbers of where that section is in the book. This makes it easy to go back into the book to re-read sections that are fuzzy when it is time to write that book report. In some cases, the book report required is so short, the actual summaries provide all the informaion needed to complete the entire book report. Imagine the expression on a reluctant reader's face when he or she is shown that the book report is almost all written. It's time to pull it all together from notes taken along the way.

What are some long term benefits of using a daily reading log? This seemingly simple exercise in writing summaries of reading a few pages at a time is the beginning of the note taking process. When this concept is presented to young readers as an assist to remembering what was read and an assist to writing a book report, the young student easily sees the good of taking notes. This makes the process of taking notes in a higher level class seem more helpful than if there was no introduction to the concept at all. It doesn't seem as painful as some students see it because the student already sees the benefits of the activity.

Are open note tests a good idea? Open note tests give students a chance to see how good their note taking ability is. If a student knows ahead of time they will be able to use their notes while taking a test, they will be looking for inportant things to write in their notes that come along in the class or while reading the material. There is an instant benefit from the note taking activity that will cross over into non open note tests as the student sees how much easier it is to remember the content when they take notes along the way. The open note test also gives the student a chance to see if they are taking too many notes and cannot easily find the answers or if their notes are not organized well enough to find the answers. This way a teacher does not have to go through the process of critiquing the notes from the students. The students are critiquing their own notes to see if they are helpful or not.

When is it a good idea to discuss note taking stragegies? It might be a good idea to let students take their first open note test with their own notes over a very short period of time before discussing note taking strategies and organizational concepts. This way they are more apt to listen and accept the information. They might see the difference in how much easier it is to find the answers for the open note test if they compare how easy or hard it was without the techniques shown by the teacher. If the students thing the information will be helpful they are much more likely to actually pay attention.

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