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Community Circles

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One way to build a student-centered learning community is through class meetings, also known as Community Circle. This idea is adapted from the popular book called Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin.

Frequency and Time Required

Consider holding class meetings weekly or biweekly, depending on your needs and preferences. Some school years, you may have a particularly delicate classroom environment that needs extra attention. Other years, getting together every other week may be enough.

Budget approximately 15-20 minutes for each class meeting session at approximately the same time on a predetermined day; for example, schedule the meeting right before lunchtime on Fridays.

The Class Meeting Agenda

As a group, sit in a circle on the ground and stick to some very certain rules, which are:

Appreciation of Others (i.e. no put-downs)

Listen Attentively

Respect Everyone

Right to Pass (students can pass when it's their turn)

Additionally, designate a special gesture to keep things under control. For example, when the teacher raises her hand, everyone else raises their hand and stops talking. You may want to make this gesture different from the attention signal you use during the rest of the day.

At each class meeting, announce a different prompt or format for sharing. The Tribes book offers a wealth of ideas for this purpose. For instance, it is effective to go around the circle and finish sentences, such as:

"One thing I like about our classroom is...."

"I'm grateful that...."

"One good thing that happened to me recently is...."

"I wish...."

"I'm bigger than a ______. I'm smaller than a ________."

"I hope that...."

Interview Circle

Another idea is Interview Circle where one student sits in the middle and the other students ask him/her three autobiographical questions. For instance, they ask about brothers and sister, pets, likes and dislikes, etc. The interviewee can choose to pass on any of the questions. I model how it works by going first. The kids enjoy calling on their classmates and learning about each other.

Conflict Resolution

Most importantly, if there is a problem in the classroom that needs to be addressed, the class meeting is the most appropriate place to bring it up and model problem solving with your class. Offer time for apologies and clearing the air. With your guidance, your students should be able to practice these important interpersonal skills with maturity and grace.

Watch It Work

Fifteen minutes per week is a small investment to make in order to strengthen the bonds between you and your students. Students sense that their opinions, dreams, and insights are valued and treated with respect. It also gives them a chance to practice their listening, speaking, and interpersonal skills.

Try it in your classroom. See how it works for you!

Edited By: Janelle Cox

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Learn all about class meetings, or as some educators call them, Community Circle and how they really help with student discipline.

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Meditation and Sleep Made Simple - Headspace

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Live a healthier, happier, more well-rested life in just a few minutes a day with the Headspace app.

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Get Your Kids Moving & Practicing Mindfulness with GoNoodle®. Start Watching Now & Get Access to Hundreds of Videos! Active Learning. Healthy Kids. Active Kids. Boost Learning.

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For more information on the research. Please refer to full paper below.

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Participant E: Lagging Skills in Impulse Control. 

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Participant E: Lagging Skills in Impulse Control. 

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Findings:

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Participant D: Lagging Skills in Appropriate Use of Classroom Materials: 

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Participant D: Lagging Skills in Appropriate Use of Classroom Materials: 

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Participant C: Lagging skills Cooperation and Compliance:

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Participant C: Lagging skills Cooperation and Compliance:

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Findings:

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Findings:

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Participant A: Lagging Skills in Appropriate Peer Relationship Skills:

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Participant A: Lagging Skills in Appropriate Peer Relationship Skills:

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- I found a correlation in all participants between length on time in study and a drop in minutes lost and daily tantrums.
- Each participant made significant growth in their DIEBELS and CKLA assessments as shown in graphs.
-All participants showed improvement, but still have tantrums as these are developing skills. I can hypothesis with continued practice they will continue to see progress.

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Belly Breathe:

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Sesame Street: Common and Colbie Caillat Sing "Belly Breathe" with Elmo

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Take a Deep Breath and Count To Four:

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Daniel Tiger   When You Feel So Mad You Want to Roar SONG

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Glitter Bottle Calm Down:

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Calming Bottle in a Video — the Glitterfall

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Hoberman Sphere:

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Whole Group Strategies:
- Daily Schedule

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-  For the purpose of this action research study I utilized one kindergarten classroom.
- 26 kindergarten students ages five to six years old. There are 14 boys and 12 girls in this sample. 26/26 of the population is African American.
- The sample of this group is five scholars that have been targeted due to issues they have regulating emotions.
- This sample was chosen by non-random judgment sampling, which is selecting a sample from a population for specific purpose of the research.

Student A addressing lagging skills in appropriate peer relationship skills: This student shows typical behavior of aggression towards their peers.

Student B Addressing lagging skills in focus. This student has a very difficult time focusing and following.

Student C Addressing lagging skills in cooperation and compliance.: This student shows defiant behavior toward the teacher and classmates.

Student D Addressing lagging skills in appropriate use of classroom materials: This student shows off-task and destructive behavior.

Student E Addressing lagging skills in impulse control: This student has impulse control issues. He is constantly very excited to share so will blurt out answers on carpet or at desk.

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Methodology:
- To measure whether the mindful teaching strategies are helping students in their overall academic success I used observation, Dynamic Indicator of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) reading assessment to trach the progress
-. This action research study used non-experimental design, using qualitative data collection method to observe the overall regulation and academic achievement of a group of kindergarteners.

Population :The population of College Bound Academy Star Campus is a k4-8th grade school with currently 477 students. It is 97% African American, 2% Hispanic, and 1% Caucasian. Currently all the 477 students are eligible for free and reduced lunch.

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- Personal Background of frustration.
- Success In my own classroom implementing mindfulness breaks.
- I want to help other teachers that are feeling frustrated and want more tools to help their students.
- More information on this can be found in my research paper on pages 3-4.
Research Question:
Can Mindfulness Teaching strategies and breaks help academic achievement in early education in a urban setting?

Let's Try one! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRkILioT_NA

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My name Kimberly Smith. I have my initial bachelors degree in Social Science Education from Saint Mary's University of Winona Minnesota. I came to Alverno looking to add my elementary license and expand my teaching practice with a Master's degree I have been teaching for 7 years in Milwaukee's Urban community as a kindergarten teacher. I became interested in social emotional education after seeing the benefits it brought to my classroom. I hope that this research can help other educators implement and see the benefits of mindfulness for their students.