Reading Journals

ReadingJournals
by Kerry Beck

In some of my workshops this past summer I admitted that writing in my reading journal was a weakness. For that reason, I believe my children had not done well writing in their journals. I made some changes for the upcoming year. So far, we are off to a good start. Here are the ideas we began.

1. Buy a special journal for each person - I bought really cool looking journals from Staples for each of my kids and myself.

2. Buy those small journals. - Mine are about 5x7 in size. My thinking was if the pages were smaller, the kids would have an easier time to put their thoughts on to paper.

3. Discuss what each one of you wrote - First, we started with Family Group Time by reading out loud. But that's another thing. Each of us talks about what we've written the previous day. This makes us accountable to one another. It's not very time-consuming, about 5 minutes per day. But if you're on an interesting topic, it might take longer... The general rule is to keep it concise and quick.

4. Give the person the freedom to choose what to read - At this point in time, I let my children journal what book they want. These entries are in response to either our reading aloud or their own individual reading. Making their own decisions helps them take control of their academics. Interest on books depend upon each reader, so the best option is to let your kids choose.

5. Provide a fun and easy atmosphere - As the reading journal activity progresses, I try to make it as fun and easy as possible for my children. They can retell the story in their very own words. As they progress over the years, I tell them to put on paper their thoughts, concerns or conclusions about that book. This can further develop their thinking skills as they consider their book.

When these methods are used with your own students, you'll see that their writings and their attitude improve. If you use reading journals in a homeschool or classroom setting, you can greatly help your students with the reading journal activity.

About the Author

Kerry Beck suggests Gileskirk curriculum to further enhance reading journals with your students. She wants to give you a special report, "How to Get It All Done" at Christian Homeschool Curriculum.