School Reading Log Question

[weddell]

My dd is in 3rd grade at a really good school. It the the best I could hope for in a public school.

 

Last year in 2nd grade they had reading logs where they wrote down how much they read each day. No problem. My dd has been reading since she was 4 and she's one of the oldest in the class (September birthday). She reads constantly and goes through several books a week (or sometimes day!) So in 2nd grade she was by far the highest level reader and her teacher just let her read whatever she wanted. I don't have a problem with reading logs and we fill them out, but their main purpose seems to be to make sure kids are reading at home and since that isn't a problem for us, I haven't worried about them too much. I doubt the teacher ever really looked over her reading log since he knew she was a reader.

 

DD often has multiple books going at once. She has had an eink kindle (not the tablet kind--just the e-reader book kind) since she was 6 and reads on that frequently since it is easier to hold while in bed and we can instantly get books on it when needed. She also reads a ton of public library books and we do a separate read aloud (alternating her and I aloud every night). During the summer she usually only had one book going at a time because she was only reading at home and so always had the book she was currently reading with her. But last year at school she had one book that she read during independent reading time at school and once book at home. Neither I nor the school wants them to bring kindles or public library books to school since they could get lost/broken. So it made sense for her to have two books going and she never had problems separately the stories, etc. At school she usually read a classroom book or something I had bought but those books lasted a while since they were only being read 15-20 a day at school.

 

So the 3rd grade teacher sent home reading logs today. DD said the teacher said that they are only supposed to read one book at a time--not to be reading multiple books at once. But I'm not sure what to do about the kindle and public library book problem. She can't take those to school so it effectively means she can't read them since she must always be reading a book that can go to school each day for independent reading time. The school library is just ok but she can never get enough books (limit 2 per week) or high enough level books there to last a week. I'm certainly not going to buy books just for her to take to school as she goes through several a week and that would just be too expensive and they would largely be read a home where she could be reading kindle/library books.

 

I'm tempted to just let her read multiple books at once and see if the teacher even notices on the reading log. They record their reading at school in the log then bring it home with them and are supposed to read at least 30 minutes a night. So it will be obvious that the titles jump around with other titles inbetween. My other thought is to email the teacher and explain and ask what how she would prefer we handle it. But then I'm calling attention to it when it might just slip by if I don't say anything. I don't know this teacher well but I get the idea that she is very into organization and structure, and I think wants a very organized reading log (whereas last year the teacher wasn't like that). I don't want to not record the other books since I want the teacher to get a true impression of how much dd reads.

 

Any thoughts on the best way to handle it? I don't want to be "that parent" emailing at right at the start of the school year over something like this, but I will if I have to. Reading is a big deal to dd and it is very important to her that she have free reign over independent reading.

[Arcadia]

How many books can she complete in 30mins at home? I'll just write those titles down. My older could spend a few hours reading which ends up being 5 to 6 books. For reading logs that goes to his teacher, we had always put just one or two titles a day for seven days a week (reading was a daily homework for their public schools). My boys teachers are well aware how much they read and their reading level :)

[Reefgazer]

We had this issue with both our kids when they were in public school.  Let your DD read as she wants, and just record one of the books.  At the school where my kids went, they didn't give a rip about the reading log, as long as the kids met the minimum standards for the log.  Public school considers standardized test scores the true measure of their ability, so the fact that your child is a voracious reader doesn't really matter to the teacher all that much.  If she reads well and scores well, that's all that will matter. 

My dd is in 3rd grade at a really good school. It the the best I could hope for in a public school.

 

Last year in 2nd grade they had reading logs where they wrote down how much they read each day. No problem. My dd has been reading since she was 4 and she's one of the oldest in the class (September birthday). She reads constantly and goes through several books a week (or sometimes day!) So in 2nd grade she was by far the highest level reader and her teacher just let her read whatever she wanted. I don't have a problem with reading logs and we fill them out, but their main purpose seems to be to make sure kids are reading at home and since that isn't a problem for us, I haven't worried about them too much. I doubt the teacher ever really looked over her reading log since he knew she was a reader.

 

DD often has multiple books going at once. She has had an eink kindle (not the tablet kind--just the e-reader book kind) since she was 6 and reads on that frequently since it is easier to hold while in bed and we can instantly get books on it when needed. She also reads a ton of public library books and we do a separate read aloud (alternating her and I aloud every night). During the summer she usually only had one book going at a time because she was only reading at home and so always had the book she was currently reading with her. But last year at school she had one book that she read during independent reading time at school and once book at home. Neither I nor the school wants them to bring kindles or public library books to school since they could get lost/broken. So it made sense for her to have two books going and she never had problems separately the stories, etc. At school she usually read a classroom book or something I had bought but those books lasted a while since they were only being read 15-20 a day at school.

 

So the 3rd grade teacher sent home reading logs today. DD said the teacher said that they are only supposed to read one book at a time--not to be reading multiple books at once. But I'm not sure what to do about the kindle and public library book problem. She can't take those to school so it effectively means she can't read them since she must always be reading a book that can go to school each day for independent reading time. The school library is just ok but she can never get enough books (limit 2 per week) or high enough level books there to last a week. I'm certainly not going to buy books just for her to take to school as she goes through several a week and that would just be too expensive and they would largely be read a home where she could be reading kindle/library books.

 

I'm tempted to just let her read multiple books at once and see if the teacher even notices on the reading log. They record their reading at school in the log then bring it home with them and are supposed to read at least 30 minutes a night. So it will be obvious that the titles jump around with other titles inbetween. My other thought is to email the teacher and explain and ask what how she would prefer we handle it. But then I'm calling attention to it when it might just slip by if I don't say anything. I don't know this teacher well but I get the idea that she is very into organization and structure, and I think wants a very organized reading log (whereas last year the teacher wasn't like that). I don't want to not record the other books since I want the teacher to get a true impression of how much dd reads.

 

Any thoughts on the best way to handle it? I don't want to be "that parent" emailing at right at the start of the school year over something like this, but I will if I have to. Reading is a big deal to dd and it is very important to her that she have free reign over independent reading.

 

[Arctic Bunny]

Are you logging minutes, or pages? If minutes, it shouldn't matter which book. So you could just use one title at a time to keep track of minutes, until it is done.

 

I would ask the teacher. She may be trying to make sure kids don't give up on books and just start a new one. Or she may tell you to write down exactly what your dd is reading. Or she may only care about minutes. Or you could suggest your dd read her school library books at school and you'll keep track of what she is reading at home.

[weddell]

Her teacher last year didn't really care and we just filled out the log at the end of the week with our best guesses on page numbers and days. I guess my problem with this year is that the teacher sent home this detailed log book with title, page numbers, minutes read, and a couple other fields. So she is asking for quite a bit of detail. She wants them to be filling it out both at school and at home with everything. It just seemed so much more complicated and detailed than what was asked for last year. Last year we treated it very casually because it was clear the teacher didn't care, but this year it seems like the teacher really wants a much more thorough and accurate document. It was just a surprise. Plus she gave them all these specific rules including to only be reading one book at a time.

 

I guess I've decided to not enforce that particular rule and just have dd record most of what she reads, but not all. We'll see how closely the teacher actually checks!

[weddell]

I just put them all down...title 1 ch a thru b or x min or pages a to b, whatever format works for the child. I would buy books from the library used book sale and one would stay in the desk at school until finished. Could you explain to your dd that the teacher was making a recommendation, not a rule or law about reading 2 books at once?

 

Used books are what I generally sent last year and they took a little longer since they were only being read at school for 10-15 minutes a day, not also brought home to read. But if she is only reading 1 book at a time, taking each book back and forth from home each day, I won't be able to keep up with buying all the books. That's why she usually has two books going, a school book and a home book (usually from the library).

 

As dd described the instructions from the teacher this year, she only wants them to be reading 1 book at a time and it is a rule. I guess part of some specific reading strategy. However, it is a rule I don't feel a particular need to enforce. I told dd is just write down what she is actually reading and if the teacher actually says something to her, to tell me and I'll talk with the teacher. It's definitely set up for kids that take a few days for a single book.

[Arctic Bunny]

I guess I would pick which book is her reading log book and use that one, although she may be reading others on the side. You know she's reading more, she knows it, and probably her teacher does too. I find that detailed reading logs are a sure fire way to dampen DS's enthusiasm, is I compromise.

[vonfirmath]

I guess I would pick which book is her reading log book and use that one, although she may be reading others on the side. You know she's reading more, she knows it, and probably her teacher does too. I find that detailed reading logs are a sure fire way to dampen DS's enthusiasm, is I compromise.

 

We're in 2nd grade with the write a title and reading time thing and yeah... Its hard to get it written down. I know my kid is reading. Its a CHORE to keep track of the time and what was read.  Just one week in and I've already started approximating. We definitely would not work well with a take books back and forth to school thing because you are correct, some of the books can not go to school

 

[kiwik]

I find that writing down what you read (and even worse what you thought of it) puts you off reading.

 

You have two choices (maybe 3).

1/do as a previous poster said and just choose a book to write down and ignore the other books.

2/explain to the teacher (nicely) that she is an idiot and that most serious readers read more than one thing at a time.

3/ do what the teacher wants and find an enormous supply of cheap books somewhere.

 

Option 1 is probably the simplest but could backfire if the teacher questions your daughter about it.

[SKL]

I would have her write whatever she is reading and let the teacher complain if that is a problem.  Then you could explain the situation and see where that goes.

 

My daughter is always working through multiple books as well.  I think she would read less if she had to stick to one book at a time.  I would resist pressure to stop this.

 

That said, my daughter has never gotten credit for all the reading she does.  She gets credit for what she tests on, which is a fraction of what she actually reads.  I don't know if she is supposed to keep a log this year or not.  In 1st & 2nd grades, she kept a list of what she tested on.  I did not pay attention to that as the list itself was not graded.

[Arcadia]

As dd described the instructions from the teacher this year, she only wants them to be reading 1 book at a time and it is a rule. I guess part of some specific reading strategy.

Is your daughter doing book report in class or for homework? 3rd grade was when my older's public school was expecting the kids to do a more detailed book report so he need to read some books front to back.

 

ETA:

My younger is the one that reads everything half way and has to be reminded to finish a book. He does finish he LA/literature assigned readings.

[vonfirmath]

Is your daughter doing book report in class or for homework? 3rd grade was when my older's public school was expecting the kids to do a more detailed book report so he need to read some books front to back.

 

You can read books front to back AND be in the midst of more than one book at a time.

[Arcadia]

You can read books front to back AND be in the midst of more than one book at a time.

I know that :) I also have my younger boy who has five books open usually and none completed. I have to remind this kid that he have a few half-read books.

[weddell]

She has no problem finishing books even if she is reading multiple ones, but I do know that is not an uncommon problem with kids. For most of the summer she only had one book going at a time because that book was always available. Going to school makes the same books not available all day and so it makes sense to have multiples going at once. Or, for example, she checked a graphic novel out of the library. Even though she is reading other books right now, she took 20 minutes to read through the whole thing this morning.

 

We got a detailed letter from the teacher about all this with the words "ONE book" all in caps, lLOL. I guess she really wants it. I had decided not to email her, but her detailed letter is making me change my mind and I think I'm going to need to. Most school things I'm willing to just try and go along with, but not restrictions on reading. That's my personal boundary since reading means so much to DD!

[SKL]

If I told my kid to read only 1 book, she'd start reading 12 instead of the usual 6.  :P

[Word Nerd]

I guess I would pick which book is her reading log book and use that one, although she may be reading others on the side. You know she's reading more, she knows it, and probably her teacher does too. I find that detailed reading logs are a sure fire way to dampen DS's enthusiasm, is I compromise.

 

This is probably what I would do, and it's how we handle AR (read what's required to meet your monthly AR goal, then when that's out of the way you can read whatever you want for the rest of the month). I wouldn't ask for the teacher's permission or tell her; I'd just do it. If the teacher questioned whether she was reading multiple books at home, I'd tell her yes and that as long as DD is meeting the assigned reading goals, the teacher has no right to dictate what else she reads at home. 

[Word Nerd]

I don't want to not record the other books since I want the teacher to get a true impression of how much dd reads.

 

 

I can understand that, but I'm not sure what difference that makes from the teacher's point of view. 

[Jennifer N.]

I am a former reading teacher and my children are voracious readers.  My children only record the books that meet the requirements of the log for that school year (so we only record a fraction of what is actually read).  Sometimes they write down more, sometimes not.  To me, it would be simple to just separate out the homework/reading log/books from the leisure time books.  The one that goes back and forth to school gets recorded on the log and the other books are books read in leisure time/private time and do not have anything to do with school or logs.

 

Teachers can tell who is reading with depth.  The vocabulary of voracious readers is enormous and comes out in day to day conversation.  Not to mention sheer volume of knowledge.  You don't need a log to get credit for being well read. 

[sunnyday]

I'd be completely incensed. Then I'd simmer down, remember that this is MY child I'm raising and the teacher's role is to SUPPORT me in educating them, and just carry on. If the teacher objects, I am happy to inform them how WE are handling the matter of growing the child as a reader.

 

I'll go on record and say I hate reading logs. I tried to record my DS's reading minutes last year (first grade). Even doing it without his knowledge turned reading into more of a chore than an enjoyable activity. I don't expect we'll be doing one this year.

 

http://www.alfiekohn.org/teaching/nonreaders.htm

[Reefgazer]

List one book, regardless of what she is reading, and clue your DD in to the fact that she just has to swear up and down that she is reading just one book at a time.  My kids always played along because they knew the PITA nature of the log.  Truly, the reading log in our house was a complete document of fiction because my kids were reading far above grade level and way over the quantity required for school anyway.  Just treat it as fiction to satisfy the teacher and let your DD read what she wants.  

She has no problem finishing books even if she is reading multiple ones, but I do know that is not an uncommon problem with kids. For most of the summer she only had one book going at a time because that book was always available. Going to school makes the same books not available all day and so it makes sense to have multiples going at once. Or, for example, she checked a graphic novel out of the library. Even though she is reading other books right now, she took 20 minutes to read through the whole thing this morning.

 

We got a detailed letter from the teacher about all this with the words "ONE book" all in caps, lLOL. I guess she really wants it. I had decided not to email her, but her detailed letter is making me change my mind and I think I'm going to need to. Most school things I'm willing to just try and go along with, but not restrictions on reading. That's my personal boundary since reading means so much to DD!

 

[SMRB]

I feel your pain. For our DS, the classroom library is way too easy, he's not allowed to take a Kindle to school until 4th grade, and they only let them get one library book at school each week. I know you said you didn't like this idea, but we do send public library books back and forth. We use bright orange post-it labels with his name and class on it so they don't get lost, and DS knows that he is responsible to bring it home every night. The books go from his backpack into his desk and back into the backpack at the end of every day. He's not allowed to take them to other classrooms or to lunch/recess. This is our third year doing it, and we haven't had any losses or problems. Without the bright orange labels, I'd be afraid, but I think it makes the risk very low, and they come right off the library books and even last through 3-4 books. Just an idea...

[weddell]

I feel your pain. For our DS, the classroom library is way too easy, he's not allowed to take a Kindle to school until 4th grade, and they only let them get one library book at school each week. I know you said you didn't like this idea, but we do send public library books back and forth. We use bright orange post-it labels with his name and class on it so they don't get lost, and DS knows that he is responsible to bring it home every night. The books go from his backpack into his desk and back into the backpack at the end of every day. He's not allowed to take them to other classrooms or to lunch/recess. This is our third year doing it, and we haven't had any losses or problems. Without the bright orange labels, I'd be afraid, but I think it makes the risk very low, and they come right off the library books and even last through 3-4 books. Just an idea...

 

I'm open to doing this if the teacher is ok with it. I may ask her. Her teacher last year didn't want them to, but he was much less strict about other book logs, etc, so the library restriction didn't matter. I may ask about bringing her kindle too. It's an almost 3-year old e-reader only kindle. While I wouldn't want it to get broken or stolen, it's not exactly a new or super expensive gadget either.

 

After a week of doing the reading log, I have to say that ours has already turned into a work of fiction as well. Maybe I should call it historical fiction--it's based on fact, but not quite what actually happened?? We've also just been recording multiple books at once--the horror! I'm not recording everything she is reading, you all were right that that is a little silly to keep up with. I'm making sure we get our minutes and logging what fits best. It does show multiple books at once, but I'll see if the teacher calls us on it. I'm hoping she has better things to do than complain to dd or me that dd is reading too much.