Reading log

1. 01Choose a level, then the tab: diary page, reading list, reading pass, book report or certificate. The preview shows the sheet right away.
2. 02Set fields, rows and optional entries. Errors appear at the field, and the PDF is only made when everything fits.
3. 03Download the PDF and print at actual size. If you need the same sheets again later, save the settings as a file.

The levels. Preschool (about ages 3 to 6, for adults to read aloud): a picture-book pass with stamp boxes, and a diary page with only the title, a drawing box “My favorite picture” and stars. Grades 1/2: date, title, pages, “What I liked” in two wide writing lines with ruling 1 or 2, a drawing box and stars. Grades 3/4: in addition author, reading time, “What happened” in 4 or 5 lines with ruling 3 or 4, “What I like (or not)” and the favorite passage with page and line. Grades 5/6: in addition narrow lines 8 mm apart, “The main characters”, “What I wonder” and a rating in words. “Main characters” means the characters in the book. The levels are recommendations for the sheets and not a statement about the curriculum; curricula differ by German state (Bundesland), and I have not checked what is taught in which grade.

Ruling. The spacings of rulings 1 to 4 come from the “Handwriting practice sheets” tool. Rulings 1 and 2 were looked up in secondary sources for DIN 16552-1, while the spacing between the lines and the structure of rulings 3 and 4 are estimated. The line spacings are approximate, not official. The narrow lines of grades 5/6 are a simple ruling 8 mm apart, not a ruling according to a standard.

Reading list. A table with No., title, author, started, finished and five boxes for the stars. In preschool and grades 1/2 there are 10 or 12 wide rows per sheet, in grades 3/4 and 5/6 there are 12 or 20. If you enter books (one line per book, title and author separated by a semicolon, at most 200), they are printed prefilled and the rest stays empty. More than one page gives following pages with continuing numbers.

Reading pass. 12, 20, 30 or 40 numbered boxes with sides of 18 or 22 mm, as squares or circles, on an A4 sheet or as a card of 92 × 135 mm. The card is slightly smaller than A6; true A6 (105 × 148 mm) with a 10 mm margin does not fit four times on A4. On the card at most 20 boxes of 18 mm or 12 of 22 mm fit, one fewer for reading miles because of the goal box; if more do not fit, the field says so, and no PDF with boxes that are too small is made. You write the goal (“At 20 stamps there is …”) yourself, I do not suggest a reward. Whether a reading pass encourages reading, I do not know and I do not claim it.

Book report. A profile sheet with title, author, pages, “What is it about?”, favorite passage, “The book is good for …” (one free line, no age rating), five large stars and a framed drawing box. The stars are empty or colored in as many as you choose.

Certificate. A kid-friendly sheet in A4 landscape with a heading, name, the sentence “I have read 12 books.”, date and a line for the signature. Without a name or number there is a writing line instead. It does not look official: no coat of arms, no seal, no school and no library as sender. It is not proof of anything.

Limits. A4 only. The font on the sheets is Helvetica: characters it does not know (emoji, some letters of other languages) are reported at the field, and the PDF is only made after you change them. Titles that are too long are set smaller and, if that still does not fit, shortened; this is then shown under “Please check briefly”. At most 30 copies and 300 pages at once. The tool does not claim that reading logs improve reading. I wrote the questions and sentences on the sheets myself.

Nothing is saved. Kids’ names are personal data. They stay in your browser until you close the page. The PDF and the file from “Save to a file” contain the names and titles you entered, and are made only on your device. If you make sheets with other kids’ names, you need the parents’ consent; there is a template for that at /briefe/einwilligung/ (German).