I saw a colleague make a poster of books she read so far this year, and it got me thinking about the books I've read this year and what it looks like in a visual. Click here to see the ones I remember I've read: Mrs. Konjura's Reading Life 2016-17. Students might be surprised to see what they have read this year too!
Why should we keep track of what we read? Why should we ask our students to keep track of what they read? I found a couple of articles that helped me to realize that in addition to modeling to students what we read, to reflect on what they've read to help them to broaden their reading diet, and to realize how many books they've read, authentic ways of keeping track of our reading lives can have other educational benefits that support literacy learning.
The article, All the Wonders: Tracking Your Reading Life, Books Between illustrates reasons to keep track of your reading life. From this I encourage you and your students to consider looking at:
1. A sense of accomplishment in how many books or pages you've read.
2. Noticing patterns in what you read:
a. Do you read books that are mostly written by male or female authors?
b. Do you read books in one genre or another rather than across several genres?
c. Do you only read books in a series?
3. Do you have a "want to read" list and a "have read" list? I think a "want to read list" is important so you are never left with the "I have no idea what I want to read next" feeling. Another part that I liked about this article is where she focused on three school centered novels to discuss three things she enjoyed about each novel. What a great way to entice students to want to read these books!
Like the first article, Enhance your reading experience by keeping track of what you read. provides a list of 12 ways to keep track of your reading life:
1. Keep a log
2. Keep a rating system
3. Add additional tidbits
4. Write a book summary
5. Write an Amazon review
6. Keep a book quotes journal
7. Track your books on Goodreads
8. Try your hand at Literary Criticism
9. Get yourself a book journal
10. Research the author
11. Start a book blog
12. Keep a Books-to-Read list
Many of the ideas on this list are the same as in the first article but I like the idea of having students occasionally write a literary criticism. As with anything it is important to be purposeful in what you do in your class, and to not over do. The article The 40 Book Challenge Revisited by Donalyn Miller notes how her 40 Book Challenge has been modified by teachers to where "the original thinking behind an instructional idea becomes lost when it’s passed along like a game of Telephone."
Keeping track of your reading life or that of your students can be motivating, inspirational, and a great sense of accomplishment.
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