If you read regularly but can't remember the contents of a book after a month, stop. Think about it: why is this happening? And while you're thinking, I'll tell you about my reading diary, which helped me get the most out of reading.
Background
No surprise, but I love to read. At the journalism department we had a subject called “History of Foreign Literature,” thanks to which gigantic lists of books appeared in my life. During the semester, it was necessary to overcome from 50 to 70 works. Complex, deep, heavy. “Doctor Faustus”, “The Magic Mountain”, “Ulysses”, “One Hundred Years of Solitude”, “Billiards at Half Nine” - all these books stuck in my head for a long time, because we spent hours sorting them out in pairs.
But time passed, and the contents of the books gradually faded from memory. I began to read literature completely differently. After reading, too little remains in my head: I realize this after a month or two.
Who was the main character? Why was he in conflict with the world? How did it all end?! What to do: read again?
What to do
The solution was born in conversation. My friend and I were discussing this problem and suddenly we realized that we need to start a reading diary. Like at school, but only more interesting. Don’t just list what happened, but give a detailed analysis of what you read.
Author of the photo: Anna. Source @books.cards
I got excited about the idea. I started looking for something similar on our website. I found a diary for schoolchildren - “Reader's Diary” by Marta Reitses. It has 4 columns: book, author, translator, quotes and my thoughts. There are pages with facts from the book. Fields where you can draw a mind map, write fan fiction or a review. Add a recipe that you read in the work. And even create a crossword puzzle based on the book.
Author of the photo: Anna. Source @annakrolly
It didn’t even bother me that the diary was for children. After all, this will not stop those who decide to read and disassemble books brick by brick. But I didn’t want to wait for him to come, so I left the option on a note.
My version of the diary
I decided to start with something simpler. And in the end I bought a notebook, opened the first page and divided it into several columns:
- Name,
- author,
- the year of publishing,
- Main characters,
- action takes place
- What's happened,
- what is the book really about?
- quotes.
I filled out almost all the lines in one fell swoop. Until the column “What the book is really about.” It's stalled here. The last time I analyzed works using the phrases “Cool book! I really wanted to re-read it right away” or “Be sure to read it! I couldn’t sleep because of her until three in the morning.” But this scheme was not suitable for a reader's diary. And then I realized that I needed a book about how
Reading rules
4. Don't always look for the "main idea."
This advice applies to fiction. Sometimes we want to reduce works to a list of problems that are described in the text. But often it is not created for this at all. A fiction book is a world into which the writer calls us.
Don't forget to enjoy its colors - stylistic devices, language, charismatic characters, and the author's style.
American writer, poet and critic Mark Van Doren writes: “When we read Shakespeare’s play, we are in it. We are drawn there quickly or smoothly - most often quickly - and, once in this world, we are completely immersed in it. This is the secret of Shakespeare's power over us - and it remains unsolved. The author creates a special world around us that we did not even suspect about. And this world absorbs us completely.”
5. Draw a plot.
My reading diary is not limited to text. Visual images help me remember what I read: I draw the cover or scene from the book that caught my attention the most. For what? The book Visual Notes explains that our brains process information verbally and visually. This means that sketches are not simple pictures, but a way to reproduce in memory important moments from a work.
Photo credit: Source @infopres18
What's the benefit
Keeping a reader's diary turned out to be terribly interesting. For now, I do it the “old fashioned way” - by hand, in a notebook, filling out each cell with my imperfect handwriting. I’m thinking of switching to an electronic version: making a big GoogleDoc. Or adapt a creative notebook: one of them will come to me soon.
The diary has several important advantages.
- A holistic feeling from what you read. The book does not disappear in the abyss of thoughts, but stands on the shelf of memories. With a cover, explanations and a bookmark on the right pages where you liked the quotes. There is a feeling that you have “lived” the story and understood the author. I figured out everything that was bothering you.
- Like a detective. Writing about a book is like an investigation: you try to dig deeper than usual. It seems that you are reading an action-packed thriller, but in fact it is a psychological drama. Or at first glance it was a simple story about the life of a choreographer. On the other hand, a guide for survival in a creative profession.
- Memory. The content is truly remembered many times better. Especially when you write the text by hand, think about the decision of the main character, highlight the thoughts that you like.
My diary is slowly growing
During the summer holidays, teachers often provide a list of literature recommended for reading in their free time. During the school period, this will reduce the time spent preparing for the lesson. In the process of reading, a person of any age broadens his horizons, which is very important, especially for teenagers. Taking notes on a brief plot will help you remember the key moments of the story and remember the names of the characters. Subsequently, during school lessons, such a reminder will become an indispensable assistant. To ensure that all entries are concise and easy to read, it is important to understand how to design a reader’s diary.
Start by choosing a notebook, let the child independently decide what the reading diary should be. You can do it yourself, using a simple suitable notebook or notepad, or purchase a ready-made version in the store, for example, choosing it according to the class.
At the beginning of the diary, you can leave a sheet for compiling the content; it is filled out last, after all subsequent pages have been completed.
To add uniqueness and individuality to the diary when filling it out, you can use various beautiful stickers and magazine clippings, but the best option would be your own interesting drawings.
Depending on the age of the reader, the size and essence of the written text changes. For children of primary school age, it is enough to allocate 1-2 pages to fill out. Here the title of the story or fairy tale, the surname and first name of the author are indicated, and the main characters are listed. Next, you need to briefly describe the plot - literally a few sentences, so that the child can remember what the book was about. And be sure to write your opinion about the material you read. For first-graders, a sketchbook often serves as a reading diary.
Keeping a reading diary for 3rd grade students is mandatory. And many children perceive this task as a heavy duty. But if you spend a little time designing this cheat sheet, then keeping a diary will be your child’s favorite pastime. In addition, such a “cheat sheet” can become a source of pride for a student.
Why do you need a reader's diary?
The main purpose of the reading diary is to remind the student of the works he has read. Thanks to this “cheat sheet”, the child will always be able to remember the plot and main characters of the story, as well as the impression of what he read.
A reading diary for 3rd grade will help your child remember all the works he read over the summer.
In addition, keeping a reading diary has a great effect on the development of a student. Thanks to this “cheat sheet” the child:
- analyzes and reflects on what is read;
- learns to express one’s thoughts in a connected manner;
- trains memory.
In addition, the reading diary influences the child’s creative abilities, because the child needs to figure out how to beautifully design this “cheat sheet”.
How to make a diary
There are no strict rules for keeping a reader's diary. But still, children fill out the bright and colorful “book” with great pleasure. Therefore, it is worth paying a lot of attention to the design of the diary. If desired, the cover of the “cheat sheet” can be decorated with various applications or pictures.
For a reading diary, it is better to choose a general notebook or a large notebook. A small notebook will quickly lose its appearance, and the child will have no interest in filling it out.
Particular attention should be paid to the title page. On the first page you must indicate the reader's first and last name, as well as the school and class number. To make your diary more individual, come up with your own name for it.
A sample of a finished reading diary is often given by the teacher. But many teachers recommend that children independently come up with what this notebook should look like. Example of required columns:
- Reading date.
- Author of the work.
- Name.
- The main characters of the story.
- Brief content of the works.
Keeping a beautifully designed diary is much more pleasant. Therefore, the child should work hard on the page design. For example, it is allowed to highlight headings with colored pastes, but you need to fill out the diary with a regular pen. In addition, the use of different fonts and tables is allowed.
After a brief summary of the work, it is advisable to write a review of what you read.
How to fill out a diary
In order for the “cheat sheet” to bring benefit and pleasure to the student, it is necessary to constantly fill it out. Rules for keeping a diary:
Keeping a reading diary is a very useful and interesting activity that has a positive effect on a child’s development. But in order for this task to bring maximum pleasure, the young student needs to pay enough attention to the design of the “cheat sheet”. Then the diary will become the child’s favorite book.
Instructions
On the next page, prepare the contents of a reading diary, which will list all the books that the child read over the summer. For maximum convenience, number the pages.
When writing information about a book you read, you can follow the following procedure:
First write the title of the work, Surname I.O. author. In addition, you can indicate the author's biography.
The next point is the presentation of the plot (for example, where and when the events take place, what the conflict is, when it is resolved, etc.)
Then describe one of your favorite episodes in the book.
In conclusion, you can indicate additional information about the book (found by the student in other sources), “literary baggage” (what other works of this author the student has already read), and write general personal impressions about the book.
Today in schools, teachers are increasingly turning to parents with a request to help their child compose diary reader and monitor its completion. There are ready-made forms offered by various publishers, but they are not available in every store. Therefore, the easiest way is to make such a diary yourself and start designing it together with your child. This can be quite exciting.
You will need
- - notebook.
Instructions
Choose a general notebook, the design of which will correspond to the intended content. This notebook does not require a strict form, so you can let your child choose a notebook with any design he likes. The number of sheets should be selected based on the age of the child and the period for which this diary is designed. Check this with your teacher. Some teachers ask for a one-year journal, while others expect it to be used for a longer period of time.
Design the first page as an analogue of the title page. Here write the surname and first name of the child in which he studies, the school number. Indicate the name “Reader’s Diary”. In addition, it would be appropriate to put the start date for filling it out here - this makes it easier to keep track of the time spent reading books.
Start the ruler by turning it out. Place three columns on the left page. The thinnest one, several cells, is traditionally reserved for indicating the serial number. The next one will contain the title of the work and the author. Here the child can indicate individual chapter numbers and their names. The last column “Main characters” will name the characters.
This helps train the little schoolchild’s memory and develops the child’s analytical thinking.
By filling out a reading diary, a student learns to understand what he read, finding the main idea in a work, formulating and writing down his conclusions.
In addition, the reader's diary serves as a kind of cheat sheet.
After all, after long school holidays, it’s hard to remember the characters and plot of a particular work.
But with a reading diary for primary grades, this problem does not arise - you can simply open your notes and recall everything in your memory.
In addition to the educational function, the reader's diary serves as a control function for parents and teachers.
Thanks to the reading diary, you can clearly see how many works the child has read and how deeply he understood what he read.
There are no clear patterns for filling out reading diaries in elementary school - this is decided by the teacher of each specific class or school, based on the characteristics of the school curriculum.
Therefore, we have maximally expanded the possible questions for analyzing each book read, and also placed children's drawings illustrating the content of the works.
This section of our website contains reading diaries for 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, 4th grade.
For your convenience, all works are listed in alphabetical order.
This greatly simplifies the search for the necessary material.
In the reader's diaries for each work, the title, author, genre, characters, a summary for the reader's diary, an outline of the work for the reader's diary, the main idea, syncwine, review for the reader's diary and proverbs for the work are indicated.
All materials for the reader's diary meet the requirements of the Russian school curriculum.
They are written in simple, accessible language and do not contain grammatical, lexical or punctuation errors.
In addition, all answers for the reader's diary from "GDZ Gramota" are unique.
To summarize: why do you need to keep a reading diary?
1. The child learns to determine the main idea of the work and express it in 1-2 sentences.
2. By analyzing the work, formulating a conclusion and writing down a summary, the child remembers the plot of the work much better.
4. Keeping a reader's diary develops the ability to retell the contents of works in your own words.
5. If necessary (extracurricular reading, quiz, competition), the student will quickly be able to remember the main points of the work.
6. By writing down information, the child practices writing skills. This is an important point, because spoiled handwriting after the summer holidays (due to withdrawal) is a common problem.
7. The need to keep a reading diary gives rise to the need to read in the summer. Thanks to this, the reading skills and culture of the reader develop.
8. By analyzing the reading diary, parents can understand the main interests and preferences of their child.
A reading diary is a necessity.
Answers to the reader's diary are an opportunity to make it easy and accessible.
And this is very important for generating a love for literature and the further development of the child as a reader.
