Last year I decided to dedicate the first 10 minutes of every class to silent, free-choice, book club reading. I had already been doing book clubs in my classes (all tenth grade) the past couple years, for which students could choose any book and any group of 2-8 people from any of my sections. But even with the elements of book choice and group choice, students still weren’t reading on their own as much as I wanted. They were completing their book club books by the deadlines, but I could tell they were cramming in the reading along with all the other homework they had to do. I knew that devoting class time to book club reading was the solution, and last year instituted the 10-minute practice.
As an English teacher, I realize the importance of reading for pleasure (the reason why I created the book clubs years ago), but I had been hesitant to devote class time to it. Our classes are only 45 minutes long; allocating almost one fourth of that to silent reading is a commitment. In addition, I teach World Literature, and I feel a deep responsibility toward the content of the class. We read texts from a wide variety of cultures and from the world’s major religious traditions—readings that are vital if we want students to have a global, human awareness and appreciation.
What I’ve found, in the past year and a half, is that I can do both. I can expose students to important world texts and help them develop into engaged, lifelong readers. In fact, I’ve sacrificed nothing at all except perhaps a few extra minutes of me doing some whole-class talking. Taking the first ten minutes to read means that students have to be even more ready and focused to discuss our class readings; we have to dive right in when the ten minutes are up.
Three things I’ve noticed:
- When students are excited about their book club books, they are somehow more engaged in our regular curriculum. I don’t know how or why this is true. It just is.
- Students teach me about their books. Often, at the end of ten minutes, they can’t help but share a big event they just read, or their opinion about a character, or a prediction they’re sure of. Whatever it is, the student becomes the teacher. This is a wonderful dynamic.
- They want to read more. I can’t count the number of times a student has said, “Can you just let us keep reading for the whole class?” Once, when I forgot my regular timer, I told our class Echo Dot to set a timer for ten minutes. A student called out, “Alexa, make it fifteen minutes!” Alexa said, “Okay, I’ll set a timer for fifteen minutes.” The class cheered.
We’re talking about tenth graders here. Tenth graders.
But I’ll let them speak for themselves. Below are some quotes from a Google Forms survey I gave students at the end of last year about the in-class silent reading. Read them all and let them sink in.
Survey Question: How has reading each day affected you? Has it helped you in any way (academically, personally, etc.)? Or is it just enjoyable? Or not?
Answers:
It helps me to relax. I think reading enhances my speaking ability which is also very helpful.
I typically do not like to read. Surprisingly, I have enjoyed it a little bit more than I thought I would. It seems to be relaxing since it comes in the middle of the day. I also enjoy it because we are free to read whatever book we feel like and not told to just read what the teacher tells like we have been doing our whole lives.
I wasn’t aware of how many great books there actually was until I started to read everyday. I wish I figured this fact out earlier in my life.
Reading each day has really benefitted me. It has vastly expanded my vocabulary, and has been a great segway to get into paying attention throughout the school day.Reading has helped me in all of my classes because I’ve learned so much, it is easier to focus, and it helps me work better with others (since a lot of the stories I’ve read relate to highschoolers).
I secretly enjoy reading, but sometimes not enough to read on my own at home.
It has changed how I view the world by giving me snippets of someone else’s. Reading everyday has helped me discover who I am as a person and what I support and don’t support. It has opened my eyes to a whole new world. Reading everyday is one of the most enjoyable moments of my day.
Reading each day has really helped me. I love having books to read for fun, a book I am interested in. I am not a huge reader. As a child I never picked up a book in read because when I was younger I was not academically good a reading. But now reading a fun book each day has really helped me do better with standardized tests.
Personally, I like the 10 minutes of reading every day. I actually disliked reading, and then I found a really good book. I could not put it down.
Not only do I feel more focused for English class, but I also feel a lot less stressed. I often get overwhelmed by thinking of all the work I need to complete throughout my day, and reading allows me to remove myself from that situation.
The stories I have come to read become a part of me. I grow because of them, and they brighten my mood. Even something great comes out of a book I don’t like very much. I learn more about the world, and I hear a new story. However, the stories I love are incredible and nearly life-changing. There’s nothing like a good story that makes the world a little brighter.
Reading everyday has both academically and personally changed who I am as a student… The 10 minutes every morning allows me to read for enjoyment, putting me in a more positive mood for the rest of the day.
The ten minutes of reading before class has helped me exponentially. In the past I hated reading, I wouldn’t even go near a book but now I found a genre of books that I enjoy and I have no issue at all just reading and reading for hours.
I love reading 10 min everyday! I never really enjoyed reading, but now that I am able to pick whatever book I want to read it has made me enjoy reading more. I also think that it also is a good way to start off class, it gets me in the English mood.
It relieves some of my stress from the few classes I have had so far, I am usually extremely stressed out by the time I come into English. The ten minutes of reading knocks the majority of that stress right off of me, I enjoy it, it’s fun.
I absolutely love reading every day in class. It has had an effect on my vocabulary and has changed some of my views too. But in the end it is a few minutes each day where I can forget about all my homework or projects and just dive into a good book.
Personally, reading has helped me with anxiety and stress. For that time I don’t have to worry about homework or what is going to happen throughout the day. Overall, I really enjoy silent reading, and I look forward to it each day.
I love the 10 minutes of reading everyday. Last year, I didn’t read many books of my choosing because I felt like I didn’t have the time to start a new book. I didn’t mind the reading everyday in the beginning of the year but it’s honestly one of my favorite parts of the day now. I also noticed that I’ve spent less time on my phone when I’m at home because I want to keep reading my book.
Overall I really enjoy the ten minutes of reading each class period. I find that it gets me into a focused mindset before starting class. I also feel like it makes me want to read the book more when I go home at night. I often read a chapter in class and think “I need to read more when I go home to see what happens next”.
Losing myself in a book at the beginning of class everyday has had a positive effect on my emotional status. The few minutes of peaceful time at the start of class is very stress relieving. Reading distracts me from the stresses of the day for a few minutes as I lose myself in a story. The ten minutes of reading is beneficial to my emotional state, and my ability to focus for the rest of class.
Even just ten minutes of reading before class has positively affected my life. I love to read, but last year, I lost the time to. Or I thought I had. Reading for ten minutes at the beginning of class calms my thoughts and keeps me in the habit of reading outside school, which calms me down even further.
The reading has provided some kind of peaceful consistency in school, and I feel that it keeps me relaxed at times. It has also aided me in the consistency and commitment to reading, since it is harder to stay on track with reading in your free time in high school due to the lack of time. I find it quite enjoyable that we are privileged almost everyday to read a piece of a favored book. It just loosens the tension that builds up throughout the day.
If I must be honest at first I despised book club mainly because I was not a big reader. Then my group decided to read the book Blink which couldn’t be more boring. After this we read What If (A wacky Q&A book that answers questions about science and was very informational) which was a great book. When reading this I grew to like reading more than I previously had. Next my group decided to read The Martian (The novel that the movie was based on). We are currently reading this and I honestly cannot put this book down. I grew to actually love reading, so much so that I spent half of last Saturday just reading. The fact that I like to read now makes me feel good because everyday by just reading for even 10 (I have been doing more) I feel that I have greatly expanded my vocabulary.
I have loved having time to read every day. Knowing when I get to English I am able to read any book I want for just a little while really helps me and gives me something to look forward to. Besides just being a positive force in my day reading has also really helped with my vocabulary and even just view on the world. Every book had imparted some type of lesson or impact onto my life for the better and I am very thankful for this opportunity to make me read more.
Think you don’t have time to implement in-class, free-choice reading? Read these comments again. The students talk about reducing stress, wanting to read more on their own, and most significant, developing a deeper understanding for themselves and others.
I don’t know what could be more important to do in school.
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