Reader's Notebook

by Irene C Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell

Published 19 April 2002

This product is sold in packs of 5, it is also available in packs of 25. Here's an engaging way to improve your students' reading comprehension and to encourage them to write their thoughts about what they've read. It is also an excellent assessment tool for documenting reading achievement over time in a reading workshop that includes independent reading, guided reading, and literature study.

Fountas & Pinnell's "Reader's Notebook" is an 8x10 spiral notebook, similar to what students use everyday, but specially designed to promote reflection and dialogue about reading. As described in the authors' best-selling "Guiding Readers and Writers, Grades 3-6," the "Reader's Notebook" is practical and easy to use. In it, students transform traditional book reports into active dialogues. The notebook becomes a personal storehouse of students' thoughts and feelings and a place to access them for later review, reflection, and sharing. It is also a way for teachers systematically to assess students' responses to the texts they are reading independently.

Used throughout the academic year, the notebook serves as a continual record of one reader's book list, interests, and reading responses. Students may write in longhand, make charts or quick sketches, or glue in their writings produced on a computer. The notebook also contains many different resources for writing about reading. It is organized into four easy-to-use, color-coded tabbed sections.

The notebook includes:
Guidelines for Reading Workshop
Reading List (tabbed section)
Reading Requirements List
Genres at a Glance
Student's Reading Lists
Books to Read (tabbed section)
Reading Interests
Books to Read
Letters (tabbed section)
Form for a Friendly Letter
Guidelines for Proofreading Your Letter
Letter from Teacher
Possible Topics for Your Letter
Guided Reading/Book Club (tabbed section)
Preparing for a Book Discussion
Ways to Have a Good Discussion
How to Give a Book Talk

The "Reader's Notebook" helps students account for what they read and become better readers by engaging in critical thinking and reflection about how to interpret a text; connecting reading and writing in many genres; and using the notebook to promote and support discussion. Emphasize the intersection of thinking, talking, and writing in students' reading of a text. Have them use the "Reader's Notebook" and explore the opportunities to expand their skills.