Check-in prompts can be general and informal ways to check in with students, or they can specifically relate to a classroom concern. Remember that these should be age specific.
For younger students who are just beginning to learn how a dialogue circle works, a prompt could be as simple as “what’s your favorite food?” or “what’s your favorite toy?” For slightly older students, a prompt could be a bit more complex such as “what is a goal you have for yourself?” or “what do you do to make yourself happy when you feel sad?” For those who want to use talking circles in their classrooms as an opportunity to address a specific issue, the prompt can be related to that issue. For example, “Yesterday at lunch our class was the last to go to recess because we were too loud. What is one thing you can do in the future to help fix this problem?”
Some teachers will have each student anonymously fill out a note stating what they would like to talk about during the next talking circle. The teacher could give three choices for students to choose from or leave it open for students to decide on their own. If there is a common theme among students, the teacher may use it as the prompt. Try this with the “what I wish my teacher knew” box (see the 10 Activities to Do This Week page) throughout the week, leading up to a taking circle at the end of the week.
