Reading Diaries: Helpful Tool or Time Waster?

By Timi Alabi;

Do we really need reading diaries or are they just an unnecessary task?

As teachers and education practitioners, we often adopt practices simply because they are familiar or sound appealing. But how often do we challenge the status quo and ask why we really do things the way we do?

In my early days of teaching, I did a lot of things because that’s just the way they were done. I followed many established routines without considering their true value. In hind sight, it’s sad to realise how much time I wasted spending on things that didn’t really matter; things that had little or even no impact, until a few years ago when I had a mindset change and started being more intentional about my decisions.

While it may sound controversial, I believe reading diaries have minimal impact on students’ reading development. Let me explain why, both from a teacher’s and a parent’s perspective.

The Parent’s Perspective

I have two girls; one  in secondary school and the other in primary. They both generally try to read every night. My younger daughter has a reading diary she is required to complete every time she reads. After reading every night (sometimes with me and sometimes independently) , she would tell me about what she has read and we would often have rich conversations about the text. However, there are times when these precious moments of text discussion have been cut short because we suddenly remembered she needs to fill in her reading diary before bedtime. Then we would both start to rush around to make sure she does this, so that she doesn’t get picked up in school for not reading.

As a parent, I would argue that these discussions about the text are far more valuable than logging her reading in a diary. So, why do we prioritise the administrative task over the actual learning experience?

The Teacher’s Perspective

If you asked me, as a teacher, why I used reading diaries, I might give you reasons like:

• To track children’s reading habits and encourage daily reading.
• To identify children who might need additional support with reading.
• To encourage children to write about what they have read in order to aid comprehension.
• To involve parents in their child’s reading journey.

All the points above are very valid. However, they highlight  the importance of ‘reading’ not ‘reading diaries’. So, the question for teachers is: Can we still achieve these goals without the time-consuming task of managing reading diaries for teachers, as well as parents and pupils ?

Whether you use physical or digital reading diaries, imagine the time saved by not having to check each one daily or log into a portal. Some teachers are even required to write comments in the reading diaries. That time could be better spent on more impactful activities, like directly supporting students who need help.

Low-Effort, High-Impact Alternatives

Here are a few simple yet effective ways to encourage reading at home without relying heavily on reading diaries:

• Simplified Reading Log: Instead of a detailed reading diary, ask students to fill in just three columns each day: the date, title of the book, and who they discussed it with. This should take no more than 20 seconds. There’s no need to track the number of pages, as reading speed doesn’t necessarily equate to comprehension or fluency.

• Weekly Review: Collect the simplified reading log once a week to get an overview of students’ reading habits. This allows teachers to identify who may need extra support without spending excessive time on daily diary-keeping.
• Book Discussion: True comprehension comes from meaningful conversations about the text. Encourage students to spend 5 minutes each day having an informal chat with a partner about what they read the night before. This small, consistent practice fosters deeper understanding and a love for reading.

By adopting these strategies, we can maintain the benefits of encouraging daily reading without the added administrative burden. Let’s shift our focus from the diary-keeping to what truly matters: helping our pupils develop a genuine love for reading through rich discussions and thoughtful reflection.