Evaluating Engagement: A Case Study of Circle Time Routines in a K-1 Special Day Class

Abstract

Circle time is a staple teaching strategy in many schools, helping develop speaking, reading, and numeracy skills of students, as well as equipping them with necessary life and social skills during the foundational years of their lives. These are especially important for special needs students who may need additional support in order to mainstream or integrate with the rest of society. With the rising number of students in special education, it is more important than ever to create robust practices, strategies, and curricula in order to support their needs. Although there is abundant literature examining the strengths, weaknesses, and best practices of circle time routines, scholarly papers focusing on special education are limited. This study aims to provide more insight on the use of circle time routines, specifically in the context of a special day class. The study examined how 15 students with autism, speech-language impairment, and intellectual disability engaged with each of the activities in their circle time routine. Through observation it was noted that activities such as the welcome song, the calendar activity, the rules recap, the emotion song, the question of the day, and the closing song resulted in high engagement, while the calming exercises, attendance activity, and schedule of the day only had moderate engagement. The results highlighted the importance of integrating songs into the activities to engage students, ensuring activities can maintain a sense of novelty for the students, and being mindful of the length of each activity.