Reading Diary

Product Information

Some rare articles actually teach me something I can use and I open dedicated google spreadsheets where I summarize everything I learn. When I find something interesting, I add it to a google spreadsheet with a tag of why it is interesting and a category of what I want to do with it later. At their best, reading diaries can be a useful record of a child’s reading – a reliable means of communication between home and school. But the traditional model can bring challenges.

This can be an incredibly enjoyable session, with children gasping aloud at how much they’ve achieved and excitedly recalling their favourites. Quite often, we need to research more using the names, keywords and other information available in the article. This additional research may change our understanding, and make us reread the article, or implement its ideas as a hands-on project. For children who are mature enough to complete their own diary, it can come to be seen as punishment; we extol the virtues of reading to children not just because of the educational benefits, but because reading is a wonderful, pleasurable way to spend their time. Reading Comprehension: Reading comprehension is essential for any student in KS2 and the ability to read must be fused with a sound understanding of the text. The best way to improve reading skills is to read with frequency and test a student's ability to recall information that they have read by adding to this reading diary comments KS2 booklet. Keeping a reading log or book journal can work well for poetry, plays, and other works of literature as well, though you may want to adjust the questions accordingly.Rather than a reading diary that only has space for writing, some schools are moving to a model where there is room for pictures, diagrams, cuttings, as well as the written word. It’s somewhere for them to record their personal reading lives. A display board with a bare tree ready to be covered in leaves can function as an effective whole-class reading record. Each time a child completes a book, they add a leaf with their name and the book, building into a wonderful display. For every teacher who values the window these diaries offers into a child’s wider reading, there is another who winces at the sight of 22 books awaiting comment (plus, naturally, another six to chase up and a further two that haven’t been seen for several weeks). If you were the author, would you have changed the name of a character or altered the location of a scene? To develop your students' love of reading even further (and their reading skills), why not use this Book Review Worksheet?

Following reading with writing reinforces the message that this is school business, rather than something valuable and enjoyable in its own right. For the youngest children, where the emphasis is on parents to fill them in, there are two issues. Firstly, for some parents, completing the reading diary becomes a badge of honour. One of the best ways of building a genuine reading culture is to allow children to talk about their reading. Building in regular time for children to share with each other the books they have (and perhaps haven’t) enjoyed can create a buzz about books and help children to develop the literary language that is so useful as they move through school.

Secondly, whether because of issues with their own literacy or trouble finding the time, some parents face a genuine struggle with the task.