Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Decisions About Practice Chapter 3
new pet snails. The teacher lays out two small
balance scales, several magnifying glasses,
small pre-made journals and pieces of fruits
and vegetables on a plate. As she is putting
these items in the circle, she is encouraging the
children to consider what the class might do
with the items and how they might be of use
with the snails. The children discuss what they
have been noticing and wondering about the
snails, and how these items might help them
answer their questions.
9:02 The teacher points out what areas will be closed
and open for center time. As the teacher begins
to wrap up circle time, she notes that Joshua is
the calendar person for this week and that he is
going to come up and point to the spot on the
calendar that represents today. Joshua does this
by saying, “I drew a dog in the box for today
because my mom is going to take my dog to
the doctor.” (Note: Joshua did not know this
calendar information on his own. Earlier that
morning the teacher spent five minutes with
him alone to get this ready.) The teacher says
thank you and that she hopes Joshua will tell
everyone tomorrow how his dog did at the
doctor. The teacher announces that it is center
time and suggests that today she will clap out
people’s names, and when they hear their names
they may go to a center of their choice.
Valuable class discussions are important for
3- and 4-year-old children. Teachers must recognize
class meetings as a teaching strategy that requires an
intentional plan for asking questions and setting the stage
to engage discussion that makes children think. The
process of encouraging children to sustain a question,
to toss back the idea in a discussion, to think about
their thoughts and those of their peers, requires teacher
guidance, re-direction and, most important, a hesitancy
on the teacher’s part to deliver the “answer” (Edwards,
Gandini and Forman, 1998). Children will create and
re-create their perceptions of the world based on these
conversations and further experiences. This social
discourse, which Vygotsky describes as sociocultural
theory, is the bridge between the child’s world and his
or her cognitive development (Berk and Winsler, 1995).
Tips For Successful Circle Time
1. Try breaking the group into smaller numbers
to hold two circles simultaneously. The
teaching team can meet earlier to quickly
review the key points and reminders for the
day, and provide the children with a more
pleasant and productive circle.
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2. Choose areas in the classroom that are free
from distracting toys and materials and
provide children with enough comfortable
space to be good listeners.
3. Be sure that all children can see when props
are displayed or materials shared. Advance
planning prevents frustration.
4. Start before all children have joined the
circle. Others will then become interested
and transition more easily.
5. Keep the group time to 15 minutes. Be
prepared to end circle time on any day when
the dynamics and plans are not working.
Watch and attend to children’s behaviors
during circle times. They will indicate their
ability to listen and participate.
6. Avoid lengthy demonstrations and discussions
where the teacher does most of
the talking. Remember the goals: to engage
children and provide opportunities for oral
language development and listening skills.
7. Plan circle time to include active participation.
Music and movement, story retellings and
reflecting on shared experiences can prompt
enthusiastic responses, where many children
can be heard.
8. Remember, your approach sets the tone for
the group. If you are in a managing mode
and not excited about getting together, the
children most likely will not be enthusiastic
either.
9. If you are committed to calendar activities,
consider including them only once or twice
a week as a full group. On the other days
work with children individually on skills of
numeral writing and counting to keep the
calendar up to date.
10. Plan across the week’s schedule to provide
interesting and valuable tasks and activities
during circle time. This can be another way
to provide intentional instruction time in
many areas of the curriculum.
a. Monday – oral language games
b. Tuesday – calendar
c. Wednesday – music and movement
d. Thursday – Big Book with a discussion
about ongoing projects in the
classroom
e. Friday – retelling the story with
chanting and puppets.
Remember that each circle time can include
several brief, valuable and engaging