How to Keep Track of Read Books

If it is important to you to keep track of what your child has read, consider using a journal. It is an organized way to know what your child needs to read and what has already been read.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Books
• Journal
• Pencil
• Computer

1. There are different ways in which to keep a reading journal in order to keep track of books read. The basic goal of the journal is to track what has been read and sometimes what you intend to read in the future (so you do not forget what books you want to read at a later time). Homeschooling families particularly use reading journals for history lessons and specific school projects.
2. If you prefer to have your child write in her journal by hand, let her pick out the journal that she likes. This makes keeping up with the journal more fun for her. It can be as simple as a notebook, a three-ring binder, or a fancy journal that you can buy at a local stationery store or discount store.
3. You might also consider starting a reading catalog for your child, where she uses indexes cards to keep track of book details. This can be a big plus, if you want to keep the books read in alphabetical order and easy to catalog.
4. If electronic record-keeping is your bag, an electronic journal can consist of a spreadsheet kept in a program like Excel, or a word processing program, such as MS Word. Just remember to back up the file regularly in case of a computer crash. This way you will always have the journal updated on a CD to be used any time.
5. No matter how you choose to keep a reading journal, the basic information you may want to include for each book is the title of the book, the author's name, and the date the book was started and finished being read. You might also want to keep track of the story plot and setting, main characters and your overall rating of the book (i.e., on a scale of 1 to 5), particularly if the book is being used for a book report.

Tips & Warnings

• A reading journal only works if you keep it updated. Try not to fall behind on your tracking.