What It Means
A reading log is a sheet or notebook where a child writes down their reading at home, usually the book's title and either the minutes read or the pages, and often brings it back to school with a parent's signature. Teachers use them to encourage reading at home. Reading Rockets, the literacy site run by public broadcaster WETA, has published the common criticism: a log can show that a form was filled in without showing much about the reading itself.
Try It: Pick a Grade and See a Reading Log That Fits
Pick your child's grade to see a simple log that fits. These are Buhata's suggestions; follow your teacher's own log if one is assigned.
Read together
Title of the book you read aloud, and a smiley or a star your child picks.
Title and time
Title, minutes read, and one word about the book (funny, scary, boring).
Title, pages and a thought
Title, pages read, and one sentence: what happened, or what they'd ask the author.
A short reading journal
Title, date started and finished, and a line on whether they'd recommend it and why.
How Parents Say It
- "Did you fill in your reading log?"
- "I need you to sign my reading log."
- "He read for twenty minutes but forgot to log it."
The Breakdown
What a typical log asks for. Program descriptions in ERIC show the usual pieces: book titles, pages or minutes, and a parent signature confirming the reading happened.
By grade. Buhata's suggestions, if the teacher leaves the format to you:
| Grade | What to record | Who writes it |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten to grade 1 | Book title, and a sticker or smiley | A parent, with the child choosing the mark |
| Grades 2 to 3 | Title, minutes, one wordWord of the yearOne word a person picks to guide their year, or the word a dictionary names as best summing up a year. See more about the book | The child, with help |
| Grades 4 to 5 | Title, pages, one sentence | The child |
| Middle school | Title, start and finish dates, a recommendation | The child |
Keep it from becoming a chore. Reading Rockets has written that children can log minutes and pages for months without finishing a book, so ask about the storyUser storyA short description of something a product should do, written from the point of view of the person who needs it, often in the form "As a, I want, so that." See more too. Buhata's suggestion: at bedtime, ask one question about what happened, and let the answer count for as much as the number.
When to talk to the teacher. If the log turns into a nightly fight, or your child reads but hates logging it, tell the teacher and ask whether it can be adjusted. If your child avoids reading or struggles to read aloudReading aloudReading a book out loud with a child, from birth on. The AAP advises it because shared reading builds language, early literacy skills and the parent-child bond. See more for their grade, ask the teacher whether a reading assessment makes sense.
Good to Know
The National Institute for Literacy's free guide for parents, "A Child Becomes a Reader," collects research-based ideas for building reading at home. If your child has a reading disabilityDyslexiaA learning disability that makes reading words accurately and smoothly hard, mostly because linking letters to sounds is hard; schools call it a specific learning disability. See more or an IEPIEPAn IEP (Individualized Education Program) is the written plan a public school makes for a child who qualifies for special education under IDEA. See more, ask whether the log can be adjusted, for example counting audiobooks or reading aloud together. Signing a log for reading that didn't happen teaches the wrong lesson, so if a night is missed, leave it blank.
FAQ
What should a reading log include?
Usually the book title, the minutes or pages read, and sometimes a parent signature. Follow your teacher's format if one is given.
Do reading logs work?
Opinions differ. Reading Rockets has published the criticism that a log mostly shows it was filled in, so pair it with a few minutes of talking about the book.
Do audiobooks count on a reading log?
Ask the teacher. Teachers differ on whether listening counts, and a child with an IEP may have a plan that speaks to it.
Do It in Buhata
Habit streaks (Plus), Reminders
Set a nightly Reminder in Buhata for reading time, and use Habit streaks (Plus) to track the nights your child reads.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Homework routine
A set time, place and order for doing schoolwork at home each school day, so homework starts without a fresh argument every afternoon.
- Sight words
Words a reader knows instantly, without sounding them out; schools also use it for common words like "the" and "said" that children practice early.
- Phonics
Teaching children how letters and letter groups stand for the sounds in spoken words, so they can sound out words to read them and spell them.
- Lexile level
A number followed by L, from MetaMetrics, that measures either a student's reading ability or how hard a text is, on the same scale so the two can be matched.
- Parent-teacher conference
A short scheduled meeting between a parent and a child's teacher to talk about how the child is doing in school and how to help at home.
Sources
Reading Rockets (WETA), "Reading logs, reading blahs"; Reading Rockets, "No more reading logs" (Meet the Authors video); Reading Rockets, "Read Aloud Daily: Practical Ideas for Parents"; National Institute for Literacy, "A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas From Research for Parents"; ERIC, reading program descriptions ED292055 and ED394140
- www.readingrockets.org/videos/meet-authors/no-more-reading-logs
- www.readingrockets.org/topics/reading-aloud/articles/read-aloud-daily-practical-ideas-parents
- lincs.ed.gov/publications/pdf/reading_pre.pdf
- files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED292055.pdf
- files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED394140.pdf
Last updated .