You see, I'm one of those people who never likes to be late for anything. So we're usually one of the first classes at assembly, about 5 minutes before it should start. Except it usually doesn't start for another 10-15 minutes, when the last classes have managed to squeeze into the hall. Usually this time is taken up by talking, and silly clapping games, and generally driving me crazy.
But I read The Book Whisperer over the holidays and found a new use for that time - reading! We were going to begin to 'steal' moments of the day to pick up our books and read.It was amazing. The students sat in their two lines, opened their books and began to read. No one said a word. No one complained that they were sitting too close to other people. They just read. A few moments before the assembly began, I asked them to pass the books down and we placed them in a container - 10 extra minutes of reading up our sleeve. Even more interesting, their behaviour for the whole assembly was impeccable.
It made me wonder where else we could sneak in those extra few minutes of reading. It also made me wonder about people who 'don't have time' to read.
I was talking to a mother of a student I taught a couple of years ago. She mentioned that due to the high school work load (and this students mixture of working slow and perfectionism) he didn't have the time to read any more. That's pretty sad, I thought. I wonder how many other kids like this one have had to put aside reading 'for another time'.
Our high schools don't 'do' silent reading - that's something that's seen as fun, as a primary school thing. (Don't get me started on the whole high school vs primary school thing). But what if they were able to steal a few moments where they expected the students to read any book they liked. Would it make a difference to their school work? And further more, would it make a difference to behaviour? And is anyone brave enough to give it a try?
Read more about Reader's Workshop here
Photo from Flickr
3 comments:
This is a really good idea, and it's pretty much what I do all the time. Keep a small book handy in your pocket, for when you find yourself with 2-15 minutes of extra time. I have a Kindle, but it's exactly this reason why I love the cheap paperbacks, you don't care about stuffing them in your pocket for when you need them.
I buy my handbags by how many books I can fit inside :)
Carrying a book along with me and carving out reading time always seemed natural, but I don't know if the students actually know how to do it. I think today we might have a discussion about other places you can 'steal time' to read.
I love it! You are taking small steps to change the culture in your building!
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