Setting Realistic Reading Goals

Middle School Café - A Podcast for Secondary ELA Teachers

This week on the podcast we are talking about setting reading goals with students that focus on the number of pages read. We will discuss why it is important to use a more individualized approach for goal-setting rather than expecting all students to read the same amount of pages. We will then look at how to determine what a realistic goal number is and provide you with a formula that can help you come up with an accurate goal for each student. Finally, we will talk about why it is important to have these goals in place and how to use them to motivate students.

I also share the formula I use with students (which I borrowed from a professional development training by Penny Kittle) that helps students determine their reading pace. Here's how to apply the formula:

1. Students read for 10 minutes from a book of their choice.
2. Students will count the number of pages read during that 10 minutes and multiply it by 6 - this will give you the number of pages a student could realistically read in one hour.
3. Multiply that number by 2 and that is the number of pages a student could realistically read in 2 hours
4. Evaluate the results and adjust to meet individual needs.

Be sure to check out all the episodes in the Reading Accountability miniseries:

4 Ways to have Students Share out their Reading - episode 8 - https://middleschoolcafe.com/4-ways-to-have-your-students-share-their-reading/

Accountability Beyond Recording Pages With Reading Reflections - episode 10 - https://middleschoolcafe.com/accountability-beyond-recording-pages-with-reading-reflections/

Be sure to join the Secondary ELA Facebook group where we will be continuing the conversation on holding students accountable for their reading. https://www.facebook.com/groups/secondaryela

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