Success Journal 5 - 3/22

Today I found that I am successful at keeping my "sleepy" students' attention. By "sleepy," I am referring to students who like to put their head down and sleep as soon as they hear what we're doing for the day. In the senior class, we are reading "The Importance of Being Earnest," and I decided to have students circle up to read instead of staying in rows. The change in seating helped a lot. After reading certain sections of the play, I decided to call on students individually rather than asking the class as a whole to answer my questions about the reading. It was actually kind of humorous. When I called on the first student, they had this look of shock on their face. This particular student hardly ever participates in class discussion, so when I asked them a question, they all of a sudden realized that they should be paying attention. I think that calling on students individually during class is a great way to get more students engaged in what they're reading. Not only are they more attentive, but calling on them individually shows that I, as a teacher, care that they are involved and learning. After I asked that first student, it was neat to see the way the atmosphere in the room quickly changed. All of a sudden, everyone began sitting up straighter in their chairs, and reading then rereading the play more carefully. All in all, it was a successful lesson.