It's amazing to me what a difference 10 minutes make....
In 10 minutes you can
send an email
make a phone call
play fetch with the dog
sing along with a couple of songs on the radio
chat with a friend
eat lunch (if you're a teacher)
stare out the window
grade an essay
record a class of grades on the computer
begin a blog post
cuddle a dog
walk around the block
check Twitter
check Facebook
play a Facebook game
warm up leftovers for supper
make coffee
And
In 10 minutes you can read a book.
Quietly.
Purposefully.
Read a book.
And like it.
And
10 minutes
Transforming my classroom and my students.
Those freshmen who proudly proclaimed they never read a book.
Those freshmen who hated to read.
They're reading.
And they're liking it (well, most of them).
10 minutes
That's all it takes.
Set the timer and go.
Only now, after a couple of weeks,
The books get put away a little slower than they did at the beginning.
Finish a sentence, a paragraph, a page...
10 minutes
They went from dilly dallying to
"Don't start til I'm ready."
From "here we go again" to
"Can't we just read today?"
10 minutes.
Really. That's all it took.
10 minutes.
At the beginning of class.
10 minutes.
Started a revolution.
10 minutes.
Wow! The transformation must make your heart proud.
ReplyDeleteI love this~!
ReplyDeleteI like you reading revolution and the way you shared it with us. 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteYeah!! Not rocket science, but 10 minutes. That's all you needed. And some great books and book talks and trailers and sharing and recommendations and more book talks and a great teacher that can be that influence. In just 10 minutes. I love that you are providing your students the time in class to read. A celebration indeed!
ReplyDeleteSo exciting Deb. I hope you'll tell more, but really I guess that's also enough. I love your little quotes & the time for teachers to eat lunch!
ReplyDeleteI probably will, Linda. This post just came out like this today...
DeleteOh my goodness. I'm so happy for you and the group. I wonder if I will be able to slice in 10 minutes for the month of March...yikes, last year I had pieces written ahead of time and this year I think I feel more pressure. I wonder if that is how the vast majority of students feel every day...this crazy pace. I love Penny Kittle and her work. XO
ReplyDeleteMost of my slices take much longer than 10 minutes, trust me!
DeleteIt's almost like a reset button. So much can happen in that short of an amount of time!
ReplyDeleteLove it. I think in terms of 5 minutes at home, especially when I have to do chores: 5 minutes to empty the dishwasher, 5 minutes to fold clothes, 5 minutes to clean counter tops. But 10 minutes... even better! We use 10-12 minutes for reading in my classroom too. It's time well spent.
ReplyDeleteI love this! Those little "ten minutes" - sometimes I need to respect that little 10 minutes more than I do. So much depends on how we use each and every "10 minutes" in our day.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to reflect on the power and passion of your teaching :)
ReplyDeleteYou packed so much into 10 minutes! Wow! I also kept hearing an echo from my classroom--I wonder if we share some students?
ReplyDeleteTen little mintues turn into something BIG!
ReplyDeleteExactly. :)
ReplyDeleteYou should read the first few lines of 19 MINUTES by Jodi Picoult. I was reminded of it as I read the beginning of your poem.
Ruth
19 Minutes is probably my favorite Jodi Picoult book! I love her (and have no problem getting girls to read her)
Delete10 minutes. You are right much can be done in 10 minutes, but why does it seem like there is never enough time. 10 minutes to pack a lunch (probably less), 10 minutes to put my clothes away, 10 minutes to go through a stack of mail, 10 minutes to stop for coffee, 10 minutes to check in on Pinterest. Oh, the possibilities.
ReplyDeleteThe way you transitioned from the "life tasks" we can accomplish in 10 minutes to the way we can create readers in 10 minutes gives us much to think about. Just 10 minutes. What a difference it can make.
HOORAY! You hooked the freshmen, the ones who bragged about never reading. LOVE it!
ReplyDeletePrecious time indeed! I'm so glad they're responding. We'd love to get some future glimpses of the state of the revolution.
ReplyDeleteJust love this idea...it only takes ten minutes. I'll have to see what I can come up with. Bet the students loved it. Happy Slicing!
ReplyDeleteMaybe the most significant ten minutes of the school day! Hurray!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I love how you made that poem game momentum. I love how you showed how it changed them. I hope you shared this with them, too. ;)
ReplyDeleteYES!!! Isn't it amazing how that ten minutes can change everything? :)
ReplyDeleteThis is SO true - a wonderful reminder to make every minute count!
ReplyDelete