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Primary education

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

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Original poster

Reading diaries

26 replies

Campaspe · 18/04/2012 17:20

Just being curious. My DD is in Reception and I try to complete her reading diary every day. Is this the norm? What do you write (I'm getting bored of writing the same things)?

Her teacher tends to put a comment in once every 5 - 10 days. Do you think they really bother to read what the parents put? For any teachers on here, is there a correlation between good reading and a well completed reading diary???

And if you are a teacher, what is most helpful to you when it comes to writing in the diary? Thanks

OP posts:

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mrz · 18/04/2012 17:42

How often is her book changed? If she has the same book for a week I would prefer just 1 comment at the end of the week ... DD read book every night and enjoyed ... struggled with ... type thing

whoknewthat · 18/04/2012 17:46

We have about 5 books a week so I write in it every day (got told off in reception for not bothering )

I write in whether he read well and any tricky words. As they progress through the reading scheme, they will also need expression, fluency, punctuation etc so these I mention those as well now.

Sometimes the teacher reads them, but I suspect they just glance to see which books have been read. If there's anything I want to flag up specifically (eg. when DS was upset about his reading) I put a big asterix by it (and maybe a highlighter ).

silverfrog · 18/04/2012 17:48

dd2 in reception.

we write in every day. teacher does the same. book changes daily (unless they are a bit rushed - eg Thurs is swimming day, so what with travel and changing etc, sometimes books don't get done)

littleducks · 18/04/2012 17:54

I stopped writing when it was clear it wasn't being read, instead dd wrote the date and title of the book and 'read' i figured it was good writing practice. Apparently the TA told her this wasn't allowed, so i write the same drivel, or if I'm grumpy purely 'read p1-7.' DD is in yr 1.

threekidsfourcats · 18/04/2012 17:57

i usually just put the same old drivel well read, well done, lovely reading, struggled with blah blah read to daddy she gets new book every friday

ragged · 18/04/2012 18:43

I reckon bare minimum comments are fine: "Read pgs 2-4 in Floppy goes to the strip tease joint tonight" kind of thing, just so they know where the child is at.
Also can put notes in there about any other issues or queries you or they have, if you think you might forget to mention it by other media.

Original poster

Campaspe · 18/04/2012 18:47

Hmmm. Sounds similar to what I've been doing really.

My DD changes her book every other day or so, though this is prompted by me not the school. From casual chatting, it seems that if parents don't bother, reading books would only be changed every 5-10 days.

Silverfrog/whoknewthat - how come your DC's books get changed so often? My DD is in a class of 30, which means the poor teacher is so stretched that I don't want to ask for her to have more input.

OP posts:

LeeCoakley · 18/04/2012 18:52

Our books are mainly changed by parent helpers so don't put anything too personal in them! I change them once a week (TA) and flag up to the teacher if an answer is needed to a question by the parent. Teacher also glances back through comments when updating diaries after guided reading.

DeWe · 18/04/2012 20:06

I only put in a comment if I think it is relevant to the teacher. Putting "Good reading" or "Beautifully read" is really for the benefit of the child. and I'd say that directly to them. I might put that he really enjoyed the book and ask if he could have more from that series. Or I might say he found it boring. Or "he told me all the features of a non-fiction book", "he pointed out all the rhyming words" or "we looked at words beginning with t" etc.
Something that just notes to the teacher that we've done something else with the book so that they can choose whether to follow it up etc.

I also have put things like "Thank you for taking the effort to choose books that interest him".

wonderwooman · 18/04/2012 20:08

We pretty much have to write in our reading diaries every time we've done reading practice because the school has a reward system:

A sticker for every week your DC has read at least 3x at home. After each 7 weeks completed there's a certificate (bronze, silver etc) at at the end of 28 weeks they're given a book token.

The teacher works it out according to parents' comments, obviously.

It's quite a useful carrot for getting the DCs to do their reading practice!

Chopstheduck · 18/04/2012 20:24

We have to write in it to indicate our child has read, then they are allowed to change their book. Until the reading diary is signed, no book change. We dont need to put comments unless we want to, but i think the teachers do read them.

Tho my boys are sick of reading floppy bollocks (though floppy went to the strip joint might have more appeal ) and so we don't much bother with the school reading scheme much any more. We have reading diaries at home, they read what they want and fill them in themselves, daily. It's an incentive to them to complete a book and they write things they have liked about the book. And we can show it to the school if they complain that the boys arent reading at home.

iklboo · 18/04/2012 20:37

Another 'no comment/signature, no new book' rule at DS's school. Although I sometimes get tempted to write stuff like:

DS thought the lack of narrative was woeful and the characters were unbelievable. He commented, however, that the over-arching theme of Floppy losing his bone drew parallels with Macbeth in parts.

olibeansmummy · 18/04/2012 20:49

I'm a TA and do read the diaries of the 4 children I support... However it's been 2 months now since 2 of them read at home, all of her school career for another and one, who reads beautifully and has progressed from pink band to turquoise band this year ( proud TA emoticon) reads each night by herself and her mum refuses to even sign her diary, so I just go off the child's word :( :( :( just a little comment is enough so we know they've read but longer comments are read and appreciated ( by me at least!)

Chopstheduck · 18/04/2012 21:01

olibeans, how do you know they aren't reading at home though, just because they aren't reading the school scheme?

Mine all read for a set 30 minutes a day, all sorts - newspapers, annuals, novels. They are good readers, and I want to encourage them to read for life and to read real authors and real books rather than set reading schemes.

Tgger · 18/04/2012 21:06

iklboo that made me laugh. Thanks! I seem to be writing essays at the moment. Sure teacher is getting sick of me, but if they could put DS onto the Shakespeare he deserves then I'd stop writing.... (actually he needs ORT 6/7 and is getting some phonics stuff he can do in his sleep......yawn........).

PeppermintCreams · 18/04/2012 21:17

I just simply write "read" as he mostly gets through a book a night at the moment. I only add something else if he's really enjoyed the book, or if they give him a harder book and then I comment on how he copes with it.

lionheart · 18/04/2012 21:28

iklboo, now I'll be tempted to do that when next I write in the diary.

learnandsay · 19/04/2012 17:36

Sounds like you're only supposed to write about your child reading school books. Is that so?

jubilee10 · 19/04/2012 17:45

I never write anything, just tick to say he has done as requested.

pinktrees · 19/04/2012 17:51

In reception, we were just required to sign and date. Books were changed 3x per week and no more.

In Y1, we are required to write a line such as:

whole book read well, struggled with "station"

book read quickly with no problems

read pages 8-24 but struggled to understand why x did whatever

I think they'd be pissed if you wrote a huge paragraph everyday or wrote nothing.

beingagoodmumishard · 19/04/2012 18:14

When DS was in YR I would write a comment for every day that DS had read. I would also include details of other books, outside the school reading scheme, he had read. I would include comments on which phonics he had recognised, words he had not known if there were only a couple in the book he had not recognised, whether he had used expression, discussed the story, whether he really enjoyed the book etc.

When I became a parent volunteer in the class and helped to change the books, and therefore looked at the reading diary before changing the books, I realised that I was more verbose than most parents . Now DS is in Y2 I tend to only update his book once a week.

When I was helping in YR and Y1 I was advised to only change books if the parents had written that the books had been read in the reading diary. Not all parents were aware of this policy and there were a number of grumbles from parents that books were not being changed as often as they would like.

I would probably ask the teacher what sort of comments they would like.

breward · 19/04/2012 19:26

I am an EYFS teacher and I read the reading diaries of my children daily and change their books if it has been read well. Often parents want a book for another night to consolidate the new words learnt. I always acknowledge that I have read the comment and respond with tips and encouragement where necessary, sometimes a big exclamation mark at the parents' comments too.. "Stopped at p4 before I strangled her!" was one of my favourites; that child is now high flying at a super selective Grammar.

The reading diary in my class is a two way dialogue and allows me to check on the reading progress/experience going on at home. It does take me a good half an hour of my lunch break everyday to read the diary entries and change books but I feel it worth it to know where every child in my class is with their reading.

Sittinginthesun · 19/04/2012 19:32

I have a DS in Reception. Books are changed twice a week, and I try and read at least 5 times a week with him. I write a comment, or at least sign and date each time.

Rarely get comments back, but I know that they are checked, because if I ask a question, I ALWAYS get an answer.

DS1 is year 3, and I also make notes in his book, although he is a free reader now. Also read by teacher, who does comment back.

mummiekins · 19/04/2012 21:36

well I can write stuff and the TA acknowledges it. Sometimes. Mostly not.

I was using the book as a contact book (no-one told me not to and I work so can't pop in for a chat), writing 3 or 4 sentences (usually about book was very easy or which words she sounded out, can we have x y z digraphs in her phonic book as we have mastered the ones we already have, or about her pronounciation, eluciation and comprehension. I use long words deliberately because her teacher cannot spell scribble and wrote it on a piece of work on display as scrible (fair enough, DD shouldn't scibble on her work....)

I thought that this sort of communication was what they were for - it is a reading diary after all.

Nope, managed to get on wrong side of teacher who told me to stop writing such long comments because the book goes with child into Y1. Just give us a new book ???

They aren't worth their salt in my opinion at my school. Book won't be changed if you don't comment. Well your books are 20 years old, don't support the phonics you teach and are as boring as hell.

So teacher managed to piss me off in an almighty manner and now I deliberately still write very long comments. And list all the exciting fun books we read as well as the school one.
Glad its wasting lunch break! (sorry to nice teachers such as the ones on MN)

mummiekins · 19/04/2012 21:38

This was only twice a week mind...not every day.

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