5 Basic Tips

So, here we go . . . Now that I have time to reflect on the past school year, I realize how much our Social Circle discussions have helped our classroom community throughout the year. Although, I admit that this realization only became apparent after we stopped our Social Circle time for a little while.

At that time, I thought to myself that “I don’t want to waste unnecessary time on social skills when the classroom is running fairly smoothly. Besides, there were so many academic skills that needed to be taught. Sound familiar? Boy, was I wrong!

After only two weeks, the social issues within the classroom and outside the classroom increased–even including major meltdowns. I was aghast since it happened so suddenly. Yes, I taught 6th grade, but still . . .

Then, to my surprise, several of my students came up to me and pleaded: “We need Social Circle time!” I was astounded.

Now, I am not saying that I did a perfect job leading our discussion–quite the contrary, but I tried my best. I know for sure that for the coming school year I will definitely keep running my Social Circles. So here are 5 tips that helped me to successfully run our weekly Social Circles:

Tip #1: Teach Students About Awareness and Empathy

One suggestion is to begin with a simple lesson making students aware that whenever they look at another student and pass a quick judgment, that they should be aware that an outside appearance never reveals what is going on inside a person’s mind or life. For example, one of our exercises was to use the Anger Iceberg model. I drew a big iceberg on the board and wrote the word anger into the tip of the iceberg. Students then volunteered to write emotions that caused them to feel angry. So one of our first discussions was how anger can have many root causes. My students really liked this activity and created their own Anger Icebergs, including their personal anger management strategies. After all, students shared their emotions, they were surprised to hear what struggles many of their classmates are facing on a daily basis. It was a real “Aha”-moment.

Tip #2: Establish Clear Discussion Rules

In our class situation, I felt it was best to lay down the law, so to speak (see classroom poster below). As a group, we still discussed each rule and role-played what each behavior would look like. Of course, you can also establish the rules together with the students. Most importantly,  it is crucial to frequently refer back to the rules and to praise students who follow those rules.

Tip #3: Ensure Every Student in the Group has a Voice

Something as simple as a plastic pointer can be used here. Whoever is holding the pointer is allowed to speak. At times we even had to use a timer, since some students would just keep talking. Some students in my group had a more difficult time-sharing, so I gave them a topic or situation in advance to think about. Often this worked, but as our social circle became more routine, students started to be more aware of each other’s needs.

Tip #4: Give Students Freedom to Select Their Own Topics

The nice thing about Social Circles is that they are so flexible. When specific classroom issues came up, I chose the topic and selected the discussion points. Yet, on other days, students brought up the concerns and issues to discuss. Naturally, heated discussions, disagreements, and strong emotions were not barred. This is why our resolving conflict strategies came in handy (see poster below). Nevertheless, it was truly amazing to see how much my students learned about each other and how much I was learning about them.

Tip#5: Don’t Give Up and Trust in the Process

Honestly, our first few Social Circles were pretty rough–to the point that I was wondering if it was worth continuing. Students were complaining about it saying how stupid it is. But, lo and behold, after a few weeks, things started to change. In the classroom, we had noticeably fewer behavior issues and more positive interactions, which makes the foundation for a perfect learning environment, right? After half a year, our Social Circles were part of our classroom community routine. Social Circle Mission accomplished! So when times get rough, remember to smile and to stick with it.