What do you have in place for reading homework? In the past, I've had students read every night and keep a log (parent's signed it) and then on Thursday night, they wrote a response to their reading. I don't know if I want to do the same thing this year. What do you do??
I have the students read each night and write each night based on that reading. They have a list of 12 different topics/prompts to choose from for their writing. The parents initial it each night and I collect it on Fridays.
I am going to require that students read a certain number of books and they will be doing book reviews on note cards at the end. These will be similar to the ones on spaghettibookclub.org. I have been observing and taking notes, each student will be given a number that is fitting with their reading abilities since I have several with reading disabilities and take longer to read and comprehend stories.
I plan to give them a choiceboard of activities worth different point values that they must select from and complete each week. These activities will require students to demonstrate their understanding of reading strategies we are learning in class. I may make the activities due twice a month to allow them adequate time to do their grammar and spelling work.
I have to ask, since if I were to implement the same thing at my school I'd run into this problem: what do you do about the kids who don't read/respond, and what if the parents never (or rarely) sign initial? I ask this because I request that parents sign our agenda (homework, upcoming events etc.) on a nightly basis and no matter how often I emphasize it at interviews, newsletters etc., I only get about 10-15% actually doing it. Perhaps it's the neighbourhood I teach in but I find it a struggle.
I'd love to see, if you don't mind sharing, some of your prompts. I get terrible responses back on their reading logs, which is a schoolwide requirement.
