Last night I completed the Tuesday row in my reading log. No need for a standing ovation or fun and exciting music. Why none of the fanfare? Because I am supposed to be reading every night. However, last night I over came lots of excuses and challenges. One such challenge I overcame was I really wanted to watch the Democratic Debate. Although I'd had enough screen time this weekend with all the football I watched, how could I turn down the opportunity to learn more about the potential future president of the United States of America? Knowing that I was expected to fill out the reading log, I buckled down, turned off the TV and laid down to read. It wasn't too hard for me to get lost in my book. Usually I am sucked into the story by the end of the first page. It must be because I am very impressionable. But last night, it took me about a sentence to get sucked into the Kingdom of Wisdom from the book The Phantom Tollbooth. I was almost done with the book so it was easy for me to keep reading until I finished. Once I finished reading The Phantom Tollbooth, I took ten minutes to rock my screaming baby back to sleep and started working to complete another book. I began reading The Orphan Master's Son. Knowing that I expect my students to read at least thirty minutes of a book in one sitting made my leap into the text worth while. I've been reading The Orphan Master's Son for a couple of weeks. Not because I was bored with the story. Not because I didn't have the time to complete the book. I had been reading the book for a number of weeks because I didn't want the story to end. I wanted to live the story for as long as possible. Setting aside the time to read really was enjoyable. I finished two books that were really good. One was a classic children's literature tale and the other was a Pulitzer Prize winner. Without having the dedicated time to read, I doubt I would have finished either one of those books. Now the question for tonight is, what book should I read?
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At back to school night a parent asked me how do we help our kids on homework. I answered the question by saying, "Ask you child to show you their process." However, A few days ago a student put my words into friendlier fourth grade words, "When I get stuck, I start with what I know." Give your child multiple chances to work or tinker with the problem and explain their thinking. See the chart below that is a good way for you to assist your child.
When I looked at the graphic, I realized the graphic doesn't just represent how to help your child with homework, it will also help you build an independent learner who is able to take risks. Try thinking about how you solve a difficult problem. Do you feel yourself going through the same steps? If so, then you can relate to your child and show the importance of persistence. It has been a long time since I've had to fill out a reading log. In fact, the last time I had to fill out a reading log as a student, it didn't really go very well. Partly because I didn't do it. I always thought it was pointless. Why do I need to fill in these empty boxes? What page did I start at? Am I ever going to see this reading log again?
Maybe I was never used what my teachers taught me about reading logs while I stared out the window of my elementary school. Now I use Goodreads in multiple different ways to act as my reading log. It doesn't accurately show the time I spent reading daily or anything like that. I use it to help me chronicle books I've read, get better recommendations for books to read, and I use it as a way to connect with other readers. My hope is that filling out the reading log along with the students this week will add some much needed structure to my reading life. For me it is easy to make excuses for why I don't set aside more time to reading. With two young kids, planning lessons, coaching basketball, and procrastinating about doing odd jobs around the house, it is easy to find other things to do than read. So it is easy for me to understand where my students are coming from when they say, "Mr. Bruff, I didn't have time to read last night." If I can really understand what it is like to carve out reading time and stick to it, maybe it will give me some insight into a fourth graders mind during their reading time. Generally, I am super pumped and motivated about starting a new challenge. Filling out the reading long this week is a challenge that I am extremely excited about. Although I am motivated to do the reading, I am not very motivated to fill out the reading log. It is most important that fun, critical & independent reading is done. Fitting it in has always been the issue. Now that I will be creating the time to do the reading, I'll have to spend a few minutes recording the reading I did. It sounds like a drag now, but this week I will write about the experience and hopefully I'll look back to see if my feelings stayed the same or improved. Have you finished reading a book lately? Would you recommend it to anyone? If the answer is yes to either one of those questions, I want you to submit a book review. Click the link to download the Book Review PDF. To see an example of a book review or book suggestion, look at the Categories section to the right. You'll be able to see some student examples as well as books that I have reviewed in the past, too.
How to Submit a Book Review
What Books Deserve a Book Review
Book Review written by Bianca Z. I think this book is a great book, and would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery-kind-of-fantasy-contest books. I really would recommend it because of these four kids: Logan, Miles, Philip, and Daisy. Logan is the Candymakers owners son, so he knows a lot about the place, and where everything is. Miles is a very nice person and believes a lot about this thing called the Alterlife. Nobody except Logan really believes Miles. Philip is really a competitive person because he really wants to win and he tries to steal the secret ingredient. His dad said that if Philip doesn't win, then his dad will make up plans to take over the the candy shop factory. Daisy is also known as a spy. She swam a 20 ft deep lake and can jump really high. Her family is very rich so they own horses and stuff like that. These kids were all entered in the Candy Makers Contest. For more information about the book, check out Wendy Mass's website. Book I am Really Looking Forward to Reading I am pumped up, excited, and thrilled about an upcoming book. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard by Rock Riordan is due to hit shelves on October 6th. After being persuaded to read Percy Jackson by a student I haven't been able to put any of Rick Riordan's book down. I began following Rick Riordan on Goodreads.com and I received an email today about his upcoming book being published. Check out the email below. So, I've been waiting for this book to come out for a long time. The. Wait. Is. Almost. Over!!! I follow Rick Riordan on Goodreads.com. Finding the an email about Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard was almost more than I could handle. Check out the email below. Dear Chris, Every night students should set aside 30 minutes to read. And yes, that includes weekend. I stumbled across an article on www.wiseGEEK.org that mentioned the importance of reading. The website mentions good readers respect books, think critically, and are good spellers. I want all of my students to do and be all of those things previously mentioned. But what I really, really want is for my students is for them to care know who they are as a Reader (yes, Reader is capitalized because it's that important). How do students find themselves as Readers you wonder? Reading Logs. Can that one thing make such a difference? Yes, yes, yes! Most students don't like filling out reading logs because they seem redundant or like colossal wastes of time. But they're extremely important for gaining information about one's reading life. Reading logs are simple ways to give insight into what students have read over a long period of time. It also helps people find out how much they read, when they read most and helps them make better choices in the future when they pick new books. Check out the link for more insights about reading: http://www.wisegeek.org/how-often-should-my-child-read.htm. Above is a "reading log" that I use. The log is a list of completed books that I've listed through Goodreads.com. I often look back to the books that I've read, how long it took me to read the books. Going through my reading log helps me figure out if I should pick a similar title or if I should pick a book in a whole different direction.
Now that I am looking at the picture above, I am thinking I should have picked a month where I started and finished lots of different books over a shorter period of time. That would be defeating the purpose of this post that shows how I pick can learn about my reading habits. When I look at the picture, I see that I started The Maze Runner on 8/30 and finished it on 9/5. Hmm, seems as if Mr. Bruff really liked that book. Maybe he should read the final book in the series. That is my plan. I've already requested the third book from my library and I am currently seventh on the waiting list. The next book on the list is Queen of Fire. Unfortunately, I couldn't make a note in the log that this was the second time I was reading the book. After cracking the page for the first time on 3/2 and finishing 3 days later, I felt I really enjoyed the book a little too much and I needed to reread for comprehension. Of course I plan to read books of similar titles. This book was awesome. In fact, it was awesome sauce (something that is more awesome than awesome. It is a modifier of your basic awesome into a more awesome version.). Finally, every good reader knows that all it takes is one good book to get hooked. Looking back into your logs is a great way to rediscover your favorite book. I know my favorite book pops up on my log every year. Some how I find myself rereading it again every year. Simply put, if I am in a reading rut, I know what book will pull me from the depths. |
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July 2016
A Noteworthy 4th Grade Bowman Blog
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