Monday, January 8, 2018

What I Learned by doing a Goodreads Reading Challenge

I'm so excited to share I made my first ever Goodreads Reading Challenge goal for 2017!  I was very hesitant about setting a goal for the first time and worried more about putting a number to it but as I watched friends make their goals I decided to be brave.  I was going to set a low obtainable number but that seem like a challenge and this was going to be a reading challenge.  I decided to push my worries away and decided to read 100 books in 2016.

These are somethings I learned by doing this challenge.  I liked being faithful to Goodreads and recording what I read.  I loved seeing the number of books get recorded and updates if I was on track for making my goal.  I loved seeing what other friends were reading and appreciated when someone liked something I wrote in a review or a book I read.  I tried to update my reading progress as I read but it began to feel like a daily reading log.   When my progress didn't move or change, I felt like I was failing a bit as a reader.  I was doing well recording my reading until this fall and the start of a new school year.  

I did a quick scan to learn about what I like to read.  I read six professional books, two young adult books, seven nonfiction self help books, many picture books from different genres and early chapter books.  I use to think picture book reading wasn't really me reading but it is.  I need to read them to be a better teacher but I truly enjoy picture books and always have.  I discovered sometimes readers might read about a topic they don't want to share with others; its personal.  I didn't record those titles but just recently discovered I could keep track of them for me and keep them off my feed.  I'm sure I missed recording some picture books I read at school so maybe I surpassed my goal.




I decided to join the Goodreads Reading Challenge again for 2018 and keep the same goal. I'd love to read more young adult books in 2018.  It's a way for me to connect and have something to talk about with my daughters.  I have quite a TBR pile of professional books and adult books to read.  I'd like to make a dent in both of these collections.  I do enjoy reading early chapter books  and picture books for my classroom, I want to include them in my reading this year.  I liked having a way to connect with other readers and I think I could be more engaged in the Goodreads community than just posting what I have read.  

My feelings as a reader from this challenge are already carrying over into my teaching.  This week we will start each independent reading with a Status of the Class share.  I believe it's the physical real life version of the Goodreads feed.  I believe this helps motivate and create a culture of readers.  I had my students start to record finished books last week in their reading notebook.  In the past I've created forms but I thought this way might be a bit more organic and I wanted to see how they take ownership for recording books they've read.  I hope to guide them through their own reading reflections at various points this quarter.  I don't know how long we'll keep this list going but I think I can show them how to use it to help find authors and genres they like.  I think both of these actions will help them create their own reading identity which is really important with second grade readers.

1 comment:

  1. Well done on meeting that reading goal! I need to keep a list of what I read, but somehow it never gets done. I encourage teachers to keep a status of the class on what their students are reading. It will be interesting to see what reading trends are happening in your class as the students keep track. Happy reading, Mandy!

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