Hellobee Boards

Maybe a less known historical figure? A lot of biographical picture books are pretty long/wordy and would probably take 10-15 minutes. There are some really interesting biographies out there on important people that get very little recognition!

My other thought was the first chapter out of the illustrated Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Even if kids have read Harry Potter I'm sure most would still enjoy it. Plus, illustrated versions are pretty new and I bet a lot of kids haven't seen them!

Totally Edgar Allen Poe- Telltale Heart!

I liked Bifocal (Eric Walters and Deborah Ellis) when it was presented to us in teacher's college and it was an easy read.

Synopsis from the internet: A student arrested on suspicions of terrorism. A high school torn apart by racism. Two boys from two different sets of circumstances forced to choose sides.

These are the issues at the heart of Bifocal, a groundbreaking new novel for young-adults.

The story is told from two different points of view. Haroon is a serious student devoted to his family. His grandparents emigrated from Afghanistan. Jay is a football star devoted to his team. He is white.

One day their high school is put on lockdown, and the police arrest a Muslim student on suspicion of terrorist affiliations. He might be guilty. Or is he singled out because of his race?

The entire student body fragments along racial lines and both Haroon and Jay find that their differences initially put them at odds. The Muslim students become targets and a smoke-bomb is set off near their lockers while Jay and his teammates believe they've been set-up to look like racists.

Bifocal is, by no stretch, an easy book. Award-winning authors Deborah Ellis and Eric Walters deliver a serious, hard-hitting book about racism that does not talk down to young people."

It says the recommended grade level is grades 7-12 and I don't think it's as common as something like The Giver and is a bit more current although I did love The Giver and it obviously is a relevant book, but you want to maybe appeal to young teens or hit on issues they may face in daily life in a clearer way!

I also found Eric Walters' book about 9/11 "We all Fall Down" quite good, but it can be hard to read and too heavy (or bring up those emotions) to just throw into a random read aloud I think.

10-15 min isn't very long, so I'd probably pick a chapter of a novel that I love. As for suggestions, I'd choose something like the (really excellent!) opening chapters of: Treasure Island, A Christmas Carol, or Pride and Prejudice. Or you might be able to get through one of the Father Brown mysteries by G.K. Chesterton in 15 min. (I'd time yourself to be sure, since I've never read them aloud. In any event, Father Brown: The Essential Tales is on Amazon and it's good!) I think the key is to pick something that you really, really enjoy, because that will come through in how you read and I assume that at least part of the purpose of this exercise is to show students that adults who aren't assigned books to read love to read anyhow.