Reader's Notebook

The Reading Workshop approach in my classroom includes a healthy diet of devouring books at reading level. You might see your child come home with a Reading Notebook and I would like to take the time to explain the significance of each section and how it works so that you partner with your child in their education.

The Reader's Notebook is a binder that includes a spiral notebook, several different sections and a Duo-Tang folder.

A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.

I can't imagine running my Reading Workshop without having my students maintain a Reader's Notebook. It is in this notebook that students build their reading lives over the course of the year.

Once I did away with the basal many years ago and adopted the Reading Workshop approach in my classroom, I quickly realized that my students needed a place to organize their reading materials, keep track of the books they read, and record the thinking they do about their reading. After trying out a variety of different versions of a Reader's Notebook, including a spiral notebook and a Duo-Tang folder, I finally determined that a binder was the most user-friendly solution.

A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.

Once I did away with the basal many years ago and adopted the Reading Workshop approach in my classroom, I quickly realized that my students needed a place to organize their reading materials, keep track of the books they read, and record the thinking they do about their reading. After trying out a variety of different versions of a Reader's Notebook, including a spiral notebook and a Duo-Tang folder, I finally determined that a binder was the most user-friendly solution.

A binder works so well for my readers because it provides them with an efficient way to add new handouts, quickly access information, and easily refer to previous reading responses in the six carefully organized sections of the binder.

I selected this as the first section in the notebook because students need to access easily and often. When my students finish a book, they record the book's title and author, and the date they complete the book. the book's genre using a genre code. I find it necessary for my students to also include the book's color coded level and then determine if the book was E (easy), JR (just right), or C (challenging) after they have finished reading it.

As students record their comfort level they can instantly see their growth and be encouraged to continue in their literacy adventures. It's through the regular recording of their books that students realize when a color code is becoming easier for them as the year progresses. As they view their progress in an easy to read format they may decide to try out a book at a higher level. Students revisit their reading log often when making connections between books they are currently reading and books they have read previously.

The first resource in this section is the "Genre Overview" sheet. At the beginning of the year when students are still becoming familiar with the characteristics of each genre and the corresponding genre codes, I can direct them to this sheet without having to meet with students every time they're not sure of the genre of a particular book. I use the genre codes suggested by Fountas and Pinnell.

At the end of every unit of study, students count up the number of books they have read in each genre and record the number on the "What Genres Am I Reading?" sheet. They then use the information to create a genre graph that reflects their variety (or lack of variety) of reading. The graphs are often a wake-up call for students who get too comfortable reading a single genre, and they are a great way for me to get a quick overview of what each student is choosing to read. The results of the genre graphs often lead students to set genre-specific reading goals each month.

This is another important section on my Reader's Notebook because it is a place for students to really keep track of their growth as a reader throughout the year. This section is great for showing parents or referring to when completing report cards.

Word Attack & Fluency Goals

• Use more expression when I read.

• Use the strategy ______________ to decode unfamiliar words.

• Pay more attention to punctuation when I read (periods, quotation marks, commas, etc.).

• Read a minimum of ___ pages each day.





Genre Goals

• Read a book from the ________ genre this month.

• Read ___ books in the ___________ genre this month.

• Try reading a book from the __________ series this month because I haven’t tried this series before.

• Read ____ chapter books this month.

• Become an expert on _________ by reading books about this topic.





Thinking Goals

• Stop after every chapter and think about what I am reading.

• Use Post-it notes as stop signs to make myself “stop and think.”

• Reread when something doesn’t make sense.





Reading Behavior Goals

• Remember to record every book I read.

• Read without distracting others.

• Read only books that are just right for me.

• Always do the IDR task that is assigned.