Reading, reading, and reading some more...

Since the beginning of the school year, I've been encouraging my middle school students to read independently. They are required to do 1/2 hour of silent reading daily as homework.

There are several ways in which I keep them rolling with their reading. Each student has a log on which they record the author, book title, page number ended on, and amount of time spent reading. I check these logs every class period to keep track of how consistently the students work.
My students also use "thinkmarks," bookmarks designed to enhance engagement with text. In the boxes, the kids write summaries of the section they just finished with. That way, when they return to the book, they can read their bookmarks to remember where they left off. The final method in which I encourage students to read is by reading myself and recommending books to them. The last two books I finished were fabulous and I am already telling the students about them! You Don't Know Me, by David Klass, tells the story of a teenage boy with an abusive stepfather. Afterlife, by Gary Soto chronicles the memories and adventures of a Latino boy's ghost.