Class Discussions

This article focuses on three social emotional learning (SEL) activities that can make a big difference for the early childhood classroom: welcoming inclusion activities, engaging strategies, and optimistic closures. Ideas include daily practices such as morning check-ins, class meetings, and restoring.

This article shows when a focus is on the trust and relationships with children, children can feel empowered and invested in their classroom and with their learning. The article explains how to co-create classroom rules with children and how to give children a say in decision-making.

This article for early childhood educators published in Teaching Young Children, focuses on how asking different types of questions in the preschool classroom can support young children’s language development.

This free open-access online learning module focuses on the six elements of an effective schedule for preschool children, strategies to help children be successful in routines, parts of the day that may be most challenging for teachers and children, and how to develop a schedule that works for your classroom.

This article published in Young Children gives educators tips to include young children who are multilingual in conversations with their classmates.

Modeling tried-and-true discussion strategies, like turn and talk, think-pair-share, and gallery walks, for the youngest students gives them a way to begin to share their thinking with peers.

Though circle-time may be difficult for students with ASD, with the appropriate modifications and additions to the activities and environment, the experience can be successful for students and staff alike. Get ideas that will help make morning meetings more meaningful to students, and will assist in increasing student success.

This video gives examples of several classrooms that use morning meetings to help students greet each other, share something, regulate their emotions, and focus on the day’s learning.