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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

Do any teachers read reading diaries????

45 replies

TeeBee · 26/09/2008 11:34

I attended a curriculum meeting at my son's school yesterday and was gobsmacked to be told by his teacher that she doesn't read what we put in their reading diaries, but instead has a quick flick through when they have reached 50 entries!!! WTF!!!! I have been religiously completing the bloody thing every day detailing what areas DS has been doing well in and what he is stubling over. My (maybe naiive) understanding was that it was a form of communication between the teacher and parent to build a bigger picture of how they were doing and what areas we may need to focus on. I have been wasting my bloody time!!

Teachers - is this normal. Is the idea just to get parents to read to their child often (ie the diaries act as a motivation for some parents to get off their arse and read withteh child) - or is it actually helpful to get feedback from parents? Do no teachers read teh reading diaries, or is it just this lazy mare?? Her reasoning, btw, was that they wanted to maximise the time spent reading with the children. Surely the time would be optimised more if they had a picture of how/what things they were reading at home in the first place.

Please someone give me some more insight before I go ranting up the school.

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Original poster

TeeBee · 26/09/2008 19:45

Right, that's it! Looking at your comments I don't think it is too much to expect for the teacher to read the book. I do feel I have been duped by them.

I just don't see why they wouldn't read them - surely it would help them get a clearer picture of the kids reading if they did. I do actually write constructive comments about where I think he could do with extra help or what things he is working on at home or things he has an interest in.

Sigh. Oh god, another trip to the school trying not to come across as complaining. Ho hum. Thanks for your opinions everyone.

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twinsetandpearls · 26/09/2008 19:56

At my dd old school it was read every day. At the new school it never seems to be read. I am planning to move her by the end of the year. According to ofsted it is an outstanding school I could not disagree more.

angrypixie · 26/09/2008 20:02

I always read them & initial, responding to comments if there are any. I'm always sad when parents don't write anything and I have no idea if/how often the child reads at home and how they are managing with the book outside the classroom environment.

I do however always groan at the 'more books please' comments - do you have any idea how long it takes to select appropriate books for each child & manage changing them? As I prefer to use my TA for supporting children I end up spending every lunch time doing it. Now I am more experienced I suggest that they use the local library and read a range of 'real books' together to supplement the scheme.

othersideofthefence · 26/09/2008 20:48

I try to make sure I read each child's diary at least once a week. I am lucky as I have a brilliant TA who checks the diaries when she is changing books and makes sure I see any that need a response.

Books in my class are changed daily (ie if a child has read at home and the diary is signed they have a new book) Last term my TA was off ill and I didn't have a chance to change them on one day - 6 parents wrote comments complaining that their child hadn't had a new book!
I found it quite disheartening as it was the first time that books hadn't been changed in two and a half terms. Most days myself and the TA change books when we should be having a break. It takes a huge amount of time (and yes, occasionally I will mess up and a child will get the wrong book)

We also have homework diaries so it can become very time consuming. I write a comment in the homework diaries at least once a week.

Original poster

TeeBee · 26/09/2008 21:07

Hmm, otherside, you've made me wonder whether the TA is actually reading the diaries even if the teacher is not. I think maybe I'll ask her. I have no worries that he is not reading or getting new books. He is coming home with a new book almost every day (and sometimes 2 or 3 new ones a day). I just wonder why we are bothering to fill in these diaries. Think I will have a chat with the TA along the lines of 'are we putting information that is actually useful to you' and try and guage what is the most helpful way forward.

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ChasingSquirrels · 26/09/2008 22:07

the odd comment in my ds1's last year (reception) didn't give me any indication that she read what we had written.
This year (so far) the teacher has commented in it on a friday, and from today's, in particular, it was clear that she had read mine - she responded to what I had written.

VanillaPumpkin · 26/09/2008 22:16

We don't even have a reading diary, just a journal for comments about anything. These are checked daily by the TA/parent helper and any with comments in are given to the teacher to review.
There are sheets at the school that form the reading record. The person who hears the reading in school comments on these.
We get a new book a max of once a week unless you ask.
There are 30 in dd's class though and when the teacher would be able to read all these comments from parents every day I truly do not know....

notsoteenagemum · 26/09/2008 22:20

Someone in DD's school (either Teacher, TA, or year 6er comments every day or other day)

They defo do read what I put because when I put that DD was uninterested in the story the teach spoke to me after class and wrote a really positive comment with 2 smileys. She thought I was being pushy I was just honest and thought DD didn't like the story.

Dottoressa · 26/09/2008 22:23

Y2 DS's is definitely read by his teacher. notsoteenage - I did the same when DS was uninterested in the story. The teacher asked him what he'd like to read instead, and he brought that home. He was very pleased (as was I!)

VanillaPumpkin · 26/09/2008 22:25

Our year 1's upwards choose their own story from the box of the stage they are on.

ninah · 26/09/2008 22:26

ours never seem to, and if you comment you are regarded as pushy. I was hoping for an improvement this year, but since it's a mixed Y1/2 class of 29 children the teacher has her work cut out to cope. So far the TA has heard ds read ONCE this term. Surely this is not enough?

pudding25 · 26/09/2008 22:38

I always read them (but not until towards the end of the week when I get the book bags ready with books and homework (yr 1, only get homework once a week).

I found them really useful as parents would write comments about how their kid found the book/any other info/questions for me.

Dottoressa · 26/09/2008 22:58

There are 11 in DS's class, which may make it easier for his teacher to read and respond to parents' comments!!

kennythekangaroo · 26/09/2008 23:14

I'm a year 4 teacher (no TA). I line my 30 children up each day and :

initial their reading diaries;
let them change their book if they have read;
discuss (briefly) their book if they say they've read but nobody has signed it;
answer comments from parents where necessary;
then hear as many of them read as possible in the remaining reading time.

I hear all children read individually each week and all of them do a group read twice a week. Unfortunately only about 30% of them read every day at home.

Honneybunny · 26/09/2008 23:31

i am really shocked at that percentage kennythekangaroo ( loooove the name!): only 30% read every day at home... makes me glad that everyone in the hb household loves reading. in fact today i was asked 'one more book please mummy' until 10pm, by ds1 (4.9), and ds2 (2.9). ooh well, it's saturday tomorrow, and maybe now i'll get a bit of a lie-in

good idea, btw teebee, to have a quiet chat with the TA! it might be that they are reading it but just not commenting, without realising how this comes across on you (?).

foofi · 26/09/2008 23:39

I teach in Y2. I always read the comments and write some kind of reply where appropriate. I am very careful about what I write back to parents.

brimfull · 27/09/2008 00:59

actually I am not shocked that only 30% read every day
Some kids hate reading.My dd was a very enthusiastic reader and never needed persuading to read.
I find it incredibly hard to motivate ds to read a few times a week.If I didn't have to cajole/bribe etc it would get done more often.

Ds's book gets changed once a week and that's when the reading diary gets written in.I write in it once a week,possible more if I can manage to persuade ds to read to me more often

mrz · 27/09/2008 18:31

I always read my children's home reading diary (and I'm always overjoyed if anyone has bothered to write anything and even more overjoyed if they write more than just "finished"0

Doctorpuss · 27/09/2008 18:45

We tend to read approx every other day at home - DD has after school activities 3 nights a week, so we tend to read 4 or 5 nights a week (one of the activities isn't physical so she isn't so likely to be tired).

I feel they enrich her life as much as the reading, so I will not drop them to enable nightly reading.

Anyway, the books - ours are read, I know they are because I got arsey about the same (very dull) book for the 4th time in a row (DD is allowed to choose the book), and I got an equally arsey response I think both me and her teacher may have been a bit hormonal

Littlefish · 27/09/2008 18:52

At my last school I wrote in every child's reading diary at least once a week. My comments related to their guided reading session with me, the objectives we worked on, and any follow up questions I would like parents to ask. When they were heard reading by the Teaching Assistant, she would also give details of what has been read, how confidently, any tricky words or sounds etc (the same goes for the times when I heard them individually as well).

When Ofsted inspected, they praised the quality of the communication between parents and teachers via the reading diaries.

I really like the exchange of comments etc. it is a really good way of keeping up to date with the children's reading at home, and developing a relationship with the parents.

I am obviously a big girly swot!

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