Engage Your Child in Reading with a Book Tracker
Reading Time: 7 minutes Listen to the podcast version:
“Book It! Grow Reading Interest With Book Trackers”
In a world that seems inundated with digital screens, talking computers, and distractions, fostering a love for reading in children has never felt so challenging! One effective way to engage children in reading is by introducing them to the concept of a book tracker.
A book tracker not only encourages kids to read but also turns reading into a fun and rewarding activity.
What is a book tracker?
A book tracker is a tool to help children (or adults) keep track of the books they have read and want to read.
It typically includes features such as a list of books read, a wishlist of desired titles, and a progress bar to show how far the child is in the book.
Instead of the progress bar, some just have a date to enter for start and completion.
I do this with Goodreads.com.
I went back and looked at my account.
I haven’t updated my account or book tracker in 5 years!
Yet, I have 588 books I have read listed.
Every time I go into this account I have a huge feeling of accomplishment.
Why Use a Book Tracker?
Motivation
Keeping track of the books your child reads can motivate them to read more.
It gives them a sense of accomplishment and encourages them to set new goals.
Accountability
A book tracker holds children accountability for their reading habits.
They know what they need to read and by when.
This helps them stay on track and avoid procrastination.
Personalized Learning
With a book tracker, children can personalize their reading experience by setting their reading experience by setting their own reading goals and choosing the books they want to read.
This allows them to learn at their own pace and in their own way.
Visual Progress
Many children are visual learners.
Even if they are not, it often helps them to see a tangible representation of what they are both doing and hoping to accomplish.
A book tracker provides this.
It is like a roadmap that shows them how far they have come and how much is left to explore.
Everyone is a Critic
Many digital book trackers have a review component.
I love this!
It allows me to find new books based on others’ recommendations.
It also allows me to give my opinion of the books I have finished.
What child doesn’t have and love to share their opinion?
Reading Tracker
Motivate your child to read with a Book Tracker!
- Download as many pages as your child needs for books they read.
- 2 Book reviews and "tracks" per page.
- Chores to get done
- Give a review of what they think of the book.
- Then give the book a "star" review.
- Title, author, and genre they enjoy.
FREE!
With each book recorded,
your child feels a sense
of accomplishment and
remembers the books they
have read.
What Types of Trackers are There?
Printable Templates
There are a lot of free printable book tracker templates available online.
Simply choose the one that appeals to your child’s interests.
You can also create your own to make it more personalized.
Printable templates are fabulous for the child who loves to put stickers on charts, needs the “always in front of them” reminder, or has parents who want to discourage as much extraneous digital device usage as they can 🙂
Digital Book Trackers
If your child is more tech savvy, you can explore various apps designed for tracking reading progress.
Most of these apps come with interactive features and rewards.
If your child is a reluctant reader, it is my opinion that the digital apps will engage them more successfully in encouraging them to read.
I love the before mentioned feature of being able to read and write reviews.
*From a teaching standpoint, if your child becomes enthusiastic about writing their opinion about a book…double win!
You have been able to encourage your child to both read and write.
To totally geek out on you for a minute, Bloom’s Taxonomy is this way of measuring the level of your child’s ability to think.
When your child just tells us what happened in the book, that is a summary, or lower level of thinking.
Basically, this is memorization or regurgitation of information.
When your child gives a little synopsis of what is happening in the book and then gives you their own opinion, this is analysis, the second level, or evaluation the fourth level, higher levels of thought processing.
This is exciting stuff!
What Digital Book Trackers are Available?
Good reads:
This is my favorite.
It is free.
Ones of the best features, in my opinion, is when you have found a book you love, you can look for lists that this book is in.
What this means, is people create lists and they will put books on these lists for various reasons.
One of the lists is, “Children’s Books I will Read-No Matter How Old I Am.”
If the book you loved, The BFG, by Roald Dahl, for example, it is on that list, and you may want to see other books on this list to recommend your next read.
Important to note: as I was looking at book trackers, it seemed that many were actual “libraries” where you check out books at the sites.
These have book tracker capabilities, but work a little differently.
Epic!
I loved this, simply for the name!
This is an example of a book tracker that is really a library site.
It has over 40,000 ebooks, audiobooks, or videos.
It costs $11.99 a month.
It has interactive quizzes, learning tools, a parent dashboard, incentives, and a book tracker.
It just is not simply a book tracker.
And I like simplicity.
However, for those who are looking for “more,” this is it!
Bookroo
This is like Goodreads, only designed with kids in mind.
Goodreads is great…except, it is made for adults and can be adapted for the kids.
Bookroo is “safe” no matter what turn your child takes!
It is free.
It has all of the features that Goodreads has: reviews, wishlist, categories, bookshelves, shareable lists, and of course, a tracker.
It also has recommended books based on your reading, challenges, rewards/motivators, and a really cool way to just scan the barcode on any book to enter it.
I was a little confused when I first looked at Bookroo.
There are two programs.
One is subscription based and they send you a box of books each month.
The book tracker is free.
Make sure you sign up for the right one!
There are others, however, these will get you started.
How do I integrate a book tracker into daily routine?
Make it Daily:
Help your child become a fluent reader.
By having a consistent time, each day, your child will look towards reading as a natural part of the day, like brushing their teeth.
You can make this time fun by allowing your child to go into their book nook to read on their own.
Or when you read at night together, you can alternate chapters.
After reading is done, for that day, help your child go into their reading tracker, whether digital or on paper, and record their progress.
My child feels reading is a chore, how do I make reading more fun?
- 8 tips to encourage a reluctant reader
This entire article is designed to answer this very question!
I give you 8 tips towards encouraging your child to read so that this time is not a struggle.
2. Create an interactive experience.
The digital book trackers often have games or quizzes related to the book your child is reading.
This makes it more engaging for your child.
3. Set Goals
Help your child set (realistic) reading goals using the book tracker.
This can be done by setting a certain number of books to read within a specific time frame.
They can also be challenged to read books in different genres.
Rather than a certain number of books, you encourage your child to reach towards books that are longer or have more complex vocabulary.
Incorporating a book tracker into your child’s reading routine is a great way to engage your child while still encouraging them to read.
By providing a visual representation of their progress and incorporating fun and personalized elements, children are more likely to develop a love for reading.
A book tracker helps children to develop skills such as time management, goal setting, and self motivation.
They also provide a sense of accomplishment and a place to share their opinion about the books.