For teachers: Making circle time more engaging (for everyone)
This post is part of a series for educators and parents on supporting kids who struggle in school.
When a child is struggling at circle time, our instinct is to focus on that child. What does she need? How do we manage her behaviour so we can even have circle?
But some of the most powerful things you can do for the kids who struggle are things you do for the whole group.
What to know
All of the kids in the circle are already trying as hard as they can to meet our expectations. If they are struggling, disrupting, fidgeting, running away, or calling out, it’s because something is making it hard. They are overwhelmed or under-supported in some way. This is good news: it means we can figure out what and address it (and make circle time better for all of us).
If 3-4 kids are struggling visibly, 3-4 more are struggling but coping. The same things are hard, but some kids aren’t quite so over-tasked or they have better self-regulation or masking skills. Those kids are still using up energy they need to learn or self-regulate later in the day.
If a sizable segment of the class is struggling, the problem is structural, not behavioural. When we make adjustments to our circle to make it more accessible to more children, we can often eliminate a lot of what seemed like individual problems.
What to try
I know not all of these are possible in all classrooms. Skim for what resonates.
1. Be clear on the purpose of the gathering
Often, our goal for circle is greetings, calendar, a weather science lesson, the plan for the day, counting, a literacy lesson, community building, and a transition into the next activity, all at instructional level, and also global engagement. Decide what’s essential.
If it’s welcoming everyone to school and getting ready for the day, amazing, but then it can look different than if it’s a literacy circle.
Move everything you’re “just getting through” out of circle: have them check off weather on the way in, do greetings as kids sit down, ask families to check a visual schedule for the day on the way into class.
Shorter is almost always better.
If the purpose is engagement, make circle easier. Or make it easier for some kids and throw in challenges for others. If a kid is struggling, throw them some softballs.
Engagement can look different for different kids. A child who sits quietly in her chair, watching and making the song motions might be doing great. A child might never join in but reenact circle time perfectly at home with their stuffedies. If the rest of the class can handle it, someone might even be wandering in a conscribed area while they listen; if that’s how they can stay at circle and not disrupt further, fantastic.
I once had a child who could remain at circle time only if she could spend it mainly examining a wooden spatula. Define success for each kid depending on what they can do.
2. Look at circle time from the child's point of view
Ask: what action verbs will the children actually do during each part of your circle sequence. Make sure the sequence doesn’t look like, “sit still, say hi, listen, listen, wait for Ms. Jacqui to find the markers, look at some letters, sing, wait my turn, answer a question (finally!), listen, watch, sit still, sing.”
The goal is variety: singing, pointing, choosing, correcting your silly mistakes, dancing, responding, guessing, counting (you know these). Make sure something they can do is happening every 30-60 seconds.
Make it active, preferably whole body. Jumping, stomping, arms in the air, deep breaths, big self hugs, pull on the story ropes, sign language... Have choreographed motions for different parts of story (the way Jolly Phonics does). Note: if getting kids settled and into their spots is already a battle, maybe save as fast as you can Head Shoulder Knees and Toes for the end.
Make it multi-modal, not just verbal. Use visuals, gestures, props. A visual schedule for circle time itself (not just the day) helps kids know what's expected. Choice boards let kids who can't answer verbally participate. If everybody has a prop, everyone has something to do. Gestures or signs that become part of the routine are a great way to physicalize different activities (“Let’s OPEN our ears and OPEN the book”). Sometimes, kids get super engaged when we suddenly don’t talk, and use pictures or gestures instead.
Make sure your visuals are: easy for kids to focus on (not in the middle of a cluttered board), presented at a good eye level for them, and easily interpreted. Give each child a chance to touch an important visual, if they need that cue to really look at it.
3. Consider the sensory environment
Sensory challenges can show up as agitation or inability to focus/sit still, and kids might not even know it’s a sensory problem. An OT is your best resource.
What does the child have to block out in order to pay attention? Is the room loud, hot, brightly lit? Are the grade 2 kids always coming back from gym and messing around at the water fountain? Can kids hear you, but the microphone is making your voice difficult for a child with sound sensitivity? Would it help some kids to have headphones, a hoodie, or sunglasses?
Is there so much to look at that it’s impossible to focus? Can you use a backdrop to hide the wall behind you, the shelf, the windows to the playground, so kids have less to filter?
Does everyone have seating that works for their body? Would some kids do well with a yoga block, some core support, or a camp chair to sit on, so they don’t have to focus on staying upright instead of engaging?
Do kids who need it have enough sensory input? Can they have fidgets, bands around the legs of the chair to kick against, wiggle cushions or other tools for getting some input? Do they have a chance to get some big sensory input (jumping, stomping, pushing) right before circle or maybe even during it?
Who else is in the room, and what are they doing? An EA working with another child in the corner, a second teacher preparing something at the table, the class pet doing something very interesting; all of these might compete with you.
4. Protect the group experience
Don't interrupt yourself if you can avoid it. Not: "Okay everyone, so today our book is something I know a lot of you – Jonathan, stop eating your name tag – have read with your families.” Sometimes we disrupt the circle more than the child who isn’t behaving perfectly.
Use embedded encouragement and redirection. Acknowledge individual kids without derailing the focus. A wink, a hand on a shoulder, thumbs up, a secret code word, a child's name said warmly mid-sentence or in an example. Catch kids doing well (however "well" is defined for that child), and give it some attention without stopping the flow. This is a skill and it takes practice, but it's so helpful for keeping kids engaged.
Make circle time “what the cool kids are doing.” A lot of this is you projecting huge quantities of excited energy. Sometimes, it might be making things smaller, so people have to be really engaged to see what you’re showing. Sometimes it’s simply making sure the kids at story are the ones that have your attention (you’re not chasing Jonathan around the room with your body, voice, or energy). I said, “This is my *favorite* (story, song, material, game)” so often one year that one of the boys told his dad, “Ms. Jacqui has a lot of favorites.”
Get individual kids what they need, so you can protect the group. Have the fidget ready, the special seat available, whatever accommodations kids need. This helps them, and also means there is less that the rest of the group has to block out to engage. Sometimes, you have to balance: is my main goal for this particular child to participate in circle time, or is my goal for circle time to work for everyone including this child? Those can be different plans. Sometimes the most protective thing you can do for the group and for any given child is to stop insisting on full (or any) participation.
5. If you aren't enjoying it, the kids won't either
I don’t mean you have to love every second. But if you head into circle every day like you're going into battle, thinking, “Ughgh. I don’t wannnnna,” it’s probably also hard for the kids. If circle time is draining all your energy before 10am, you are allowed to change it.
That might mean dropping something that isn't working for you personally (confession: I hate “Who has come to school today?” It’s not a bad song, just not right for me). It might mean adding a routine that feeds your teacher soul, an activity you find genuinely interesting to facilitate. One of my students once said, when they were older, “Wait a minute. You just really like playdough.”
I have sound sensitivity, so I ran circle time with “little to no ambient noise or talking” as a requirement, absolutely mostly for me.
Teaching is hard enough. And teachers are already trying as hard as we can. Take care of yourself.