You Don’t Need a Reading Log: Smarter Ways to Check In with Student Readers

In our divide-and-conquer approach to grading, Steph was our official “reading log grader.”

It’s not because she was particularly skilled at grading reading logs or had a particular affection for them. It’s because, unlike Kate, she could glaze her eyes over while counting sentences to avoid noticing the blatant plagiarism, random sentences copied from page 57, and other nonsense scrawled sloppily across the pages.

If you’re familiar with us here at Three Heads, you know this approach to grading is not our usual style. But when it came to reading logs, this approach was necessary for our sanity.

Show of hands: How many of us have graded reading logs we knew were complete fiction?

When it comes to independent reading accountability, the reading log is the “easy” solution that all of us try first. Why reinvent the wheel for what is supposed to be a simple assignment?

But if you’ve ever tried to implement reading logs in your class, you’re likely familiar with the reading log death spiral. Students pretend to have read for a grade, so we create stricter requirements. Students find reading logs even more of a chore and disengage, leading grades to drop further. In the end, everyone—students, parents, admin, teachers—is frustrated.

Whether students copy from each other, from a random page of their book, from SparkNotes or Wikipedia, or just make something up, the reality is that many (if not most) student reading logs are, shall we say, insufficient. And that’s if students turn them in at all. We had grading periods in which one student turned in a reading log. Ridiculous.

There are, however, better ways to hold students accountable for independent reading. You can still meet department requirements or your own priorities without torturing yourself and your students.

In this post, we’ll share the reading log alternatives that actually worked in our classrooms.

Why Reading Logs Don’t Work (And Why We Keep Using Them Anyway)

The Obvious Problems with Reading Logs

The reading log problems we shared in our introduction often result from one key issue: the reading log is meant to serve as a record of what students read outside of class, but many students don’t read outside of class.

When students fake their reading experience, the reading log becomes an exercise in creative writing, not reading. Whether students are copying summaries or making them up entirely, they’re producing work so unworthy of reading that we’re forced to glaze our eyes over while grading or give nearly everyone a failing grade.

We used reading logs for far longer than we should have. For years, we attempted to solve the problem by creating stricter and stricter requirements. Guys. Our directions for reading logs were over 300 words.

As we made the task more burdensome with our lengthy directions, the number of students who completed it dropped further. And why wouldn’t it? Nothing kills the pleasure of reading like writing a 10–12 sentence summary about it.

The fundamental problem is that we’re all spending time on something that has no educational value.

Given all these problems, why do we keep torturing ourselves and our students with reading logs?

Why Teachers Stick with Reading Logs Despite the Problems

Ultimately, we know that independent reading is important. Reading has numerous benefits, and we want our students to read more than just the texts we read together.

If your English department is like ours, you may even be required to include independent reading as part of students’ grades. At our school, independent reading was a department-wide grade category that counted for 10% of a student’s grade. Yes, friends. An entire letter grade based on an assignment that few students completed.

It’s difficult, however, to measure independent reading. We don’t want to create or grade complicated projects, and if we haven’t read the book, it’s difficult to assess students’ comprehension (which isn’t the point of independent reading anyway). 

Reading logs are easy to assign and grade—the straightforward assignment requires no prep time, should be easy for students to complete, and can be graded credit/no credit by scanning to ensure the form is complete.

One of the primary causes of teacher burnout is that we persist in doing things that don’t work because we think we “should” do them, and this applies to everything, even small things like reading logs. By the time we reevaluated our approach, we were two of the only teachers in our department still consistently using reading logs despite the department requirements. When we finally stopped, it was a relief for everyone.

The Missing Piece: Students Need Time to Actually Read

The Fundamental Problem

For years, we kept trying to revise the requirements for the reading log itself, but we were ignoring the root issue: our students weren’t reading.

Tempting as it is to blame students, we found it more helpful to acknowledge this reality without judgment. Are some of our students lazy? Sure. But we also have students who find reading difficult or struggle with an attention disorder. We have students whose after-school hours are full of part-time jobs, sports, clubs, and family obligations. And we have students who don’t have access to books at home.

By assigning reading logs, we were asking our students to report on reading that didn’t happen, which is why they faked it (or forfeited the points altogether).

The Game-Changing Solution: In-Class Reading Time

One summer, Kate read a blog post that advocated just letting students read. No more requirements about which books were and were not allowed, no more burdensome weekly summaries. Just time to read.

We decided to devote one day per week, our already shortened staff development day, to reading time in class. We worked to create a relaxing environment—we played soothing instrumental music, banned cell phones, and read alongside our students. If we truly believed that independent reading was valuable, then giving up 20% of our class time was a sacrifice worth making.

Why This Works

Our AP and Honors students loved it. Whether they used the time to make progress in their assigned class novel or to indulge in that fantasy series they hadn’t touched since middle school, they told us over and over how grateful they were for the time.

Our standard-level students didn’t all love it. But a few of them did, and most came to accept it as part of our weekly routine, reading without fuss.

And most importantly, students actually read something. It wasn’t always at their grade level, and some of them never finished a full book the entire year. But they read, and unlike with reading logs, we could see it happening. 

Students also built their reading stamina, spending 25–40 minutes engaged in sustained reading practice. When we did ask about reading (more on that below), our students could be honest: instead of lying on their reading logs, they could share about a book, or even just a few paragraphs, they had actually read.

A Better Way to Check In: The Reading Check-In Form

Moving Beyond Reading Logs

Even with our new approach, we needed some form of independent reading accountability. Our department still required that 10% of students’ grades reflect independent reading.

But we wanted to make the experience meaningful rather than painful and focus on students’ reading experience rather than comprehension. Out of these goals, our Reading Check-In Form was born.

How Our Reading Check-In Form Works

We created 16 conversational questions about students’ reading experience, and each time students completed the form, they selected five questions to respond to. Here’s a sampling:

• Do you like or dislike this book? Why?
• What expectations did you have of this book when you decided to read it? Is the book meeting the expectations you had when you chose it? How?
• Choose a character in the book you have strong feelings about (like or dislike). What has he/she/they done (or not done) to make you feel this way about him/her/them? Do you see any evidence to suggest he/she/they will develop or change (positively or negatively) as the story progresses?
• If this nonfiction book were to be made into a documentary film or series, what would you choose to focus on? How would you choose to organize it so it was easily understandable to audiences? How would you present the most important information?

After year one, we did add a mandatory 3–5 sentence summary requirement. It turns out that responses out of context about books we hadn’t read are confusing and difficult to grade.

Importantly, we allowed students to respond honestly. They could tell us they didn’t like a book or found it difficult to read or focus on.

Why This Approach Worked Better

We also only required students to complete one Reading Check-In Form per six-week grading period. We divided our students into six groups (usually 5–7 students per week). One group submitted each week of the grading period, which made grading more manageable. Students loved that they only had to do it once and that the schedule was predictable.

Because students actually read in class, they had something to write about, and their responses were original. Even when their responses weren’t particularly insightful, they were based on the student’s actual reading experience, not Internet research.

We began to have more meaningful conversations with students. The task became supportive rather than punitive, and our submission rate, while not perfect, improved significantly. The grading became more enjoyable—actual conversations about books instead of counting fake sentences.

The Teacher Response Component

In addition to a simple rubric score, we found something to comment on for each submitted Reading Check-In Form. We asked questions, shared our own reactions to the book if we’d read it, offered suggestions to help students meet their reading goals, recommended other books they might enjoy, and encouraged them to give up on books that weren’t working for them.

The assignment felt more collaborative than punitive, and, particularly with our AP Lit students, we began to build reading relationships. Many of our AP students wrote far more than the required number of sentences, eagerly reacting to their reading and even replying to our comments and questions. Even our standard-level students engaged with us: one recommended a book to Steph because it suited her “friendly and positive”  personality.

Additional Tools for Different Needs

The Reading Check-In Form—simple, meaningful, and easy to implement—met our needs for independent reading. But what works for us doesn’t necessarily meet every teacher’s needs, so we wanted to share a few additional suggestions as well.

For Teachers Who Want More Formal Assessment: The End-of-Novel Flip Book

Our go-to end-of-novel activity is perfect for a more formal assessment of students’ reading. 

The six-page project covers key literary elements but requires students to tie everything to their theme statement, making it more meaningful than typical book reports and reducing Internet copying.

While we used it for class novels, it would make a great final project for independent reading.

Creating a Reading Culture: Classroom Posters and Environment

As we rethought our approach to independent reading, we realized that teaching students to value reading also requires a conscious effort to create a reading culture. 

We found classroom posters with quotations from our favorite novels and illustrations of popular YA book covers. We offered comfortable seating options when we could (sometimes our ability to do this is limited), and we dimmed the lighting slightly to create a cozy atmosphere. We played instrumental music on YouTube, displaying footage of a crackling fireplace or a breezy beach. Our goal wasn’t just for students to read but to provide a little oasis from the stress of school once a week.

We also began implementing First Chapter Fridays in our bellringer routine as a way to reinforce the value of reading while helping students find books they might enjoy.

Perhaps most importantly, we also read during independent reading time. We felt strongly that if we were telling students we found reading so valuable that we were willing to commit 20% of our class time to it, then we needed to model that attitude rather than telling them one thing while doing another. If their text messages and homework could wait, so could our emails and grading. Kate even made a point of reading through the bell so students would see the power of being absorbed in a good book.

The Complete System

Replacing reading logs wasn’t a simple one-for-one switch. The success of our Reading Check-In Form came from the fact that it was part of a system. In-class reading time was the foundation that made everything else work, and building a classroom reading culture, with an environment and activities that support reading, reinforced our values.

Making the Transition: Practical Implementation Tips

Implementing reading programs can require adjustment for you and your students. Here are a few tips to make the transition smoother.

Getting Started

• Start fresh. Make the change at the beginning of a school year or semester. If your current system is really failing you, the start of a new grading period can work in a pinch.
• Communicate the why to help your students understand the shift.
• Protect your reading days. The temptation to skip reading days can be strong, but consistency matters.
• Set up your systems. Provide students with a submission schedule at the beginning of each grading period, show them how to use the form at the start of the year, and create a grading routine for yourself.

What to Expect

• Not all students will love it immediately. Younger students, students who don’t enjoy reading, and students who struggle with attention may not be used to sustained reading, and it will take some time to get everyone on board.
• Plan to provide some monitoring. You will need to walk around occasionally to ensure students are reading and devices are put away, even standing next to a chatty student while you read.
• Prioritize gradual improvement. Reading stamina and engagement build over time, so focus on long-term improvement rather than immediate success.
• Enjoy better relationships with your students. As the system becomes routine, enjoy having more authentic conversations about books and reading with students of all grade levels.

Overcoming Obstacles

• If administrators question your choice to devote an entire class period to independent reading, frame your decision as a desire to build reading stamina and cite RL10 for your grade level in the Common Core Standards.
• If you’re struggling to justify the amount of time, remember that 20% of your time will work toward creating readers for life. The more students read, the better they will do with other reading and writing tasks.
• If you encounter student resistance, be firm and consistent. Most students will settle in eventually.
• If you’re having trouble with students accessing books, consider making a trip to the school library every grading period or allowing students to read on electronic devices. While not ideal, many libraries offer free access to digital books, removing the excuse of not having a book.

Why This Battle Is Worth Fighting

After years of frustration with reading logs, our new approach to independent reading produced tangible results. The reading culture in our classrooms improved as students actually read instead of faking it. Grading became more enjoyable as we read authentic responses instead of plagiarized sentences. Our relationships with students improved as we engaged in conversations about books rather than compliance battles. And some of our students rediscovered a love of reading, especially our stressed and overscheduled AP students.

The problems we saw with reading logs were a symptom of a deeper cause. We eventually realized that instead of trying to force accountability for something that wasn’t happening, we needed to meet students where they are, providing them with the time, resources, and choice necessary to cultivate a love of reading. We’re willing to bet that you don’t need reading logs; you need systems that actually support student reading.

Ready to try this approach? Start by implementing in-class reading time, the foundation that changed everything for us. And if you’d like to use our Reading Check-In Form and end-of-novel project, you can get them in a bundle that includes quotes on the value of books and reading from authors Margaret Atwood, Malorie Blackman, Ray Bradbury, John Green, Marie Lu, and George R.R. Martin. All three products are also available separately.