4.4 Conducting a Circle

A typical restorative circle session can run from 25-45 minutes, beginning with bringing everyone together and stating the purpose of the circle. This helps students to understand the type of circle (community-building or responsive) that will be conducted.

STEP 1 – Starting the Circle

• State the Purpose of the Circle – Inform or remind students of the purpose of circles and the type of circle that will be conducted.
• Open the Circle – Establish a routine/ritual you do to start each circle. This commemorates the transition from regular class to circle time, e.g., place items in the middle of circle for students to focus on.
• Teach or Remember Circle Guidelines – Teach or remind students about guidelines you established, e.g., being open, using the talking stick, respecting others, listening, etc.
• Make or Remind about Agreements – Classroom agreements the students established together using consensus. “What needs to happen in the circle/class for all of us to do our very best?”

STEP 2 – Doing the Work of the Circle

• Connection: Check-in Round with Talking Piece – Invite all students to respond to a low-risk prompt. This gives all students an opportunity to speak and feel connected. Students can suggest check-in questions.
• Core Activities – When discussing challenging behavior, clearly name the issue that will be discussed. It is more meaningful when the topic/issue comes from students.
  • Community Building/Connection
  • Restorative Practices Content or Deeper Connection

STEP 3 – Ending the Circle

• Closure: Check-out Round – Ask students to comment on their experience in the circle, e.g., “Using a two-word response, tell us about your experience.”

Facilitating restorative dialogue requires engagement. Once the circle has been opened, use the following checklist as a script for facilitating dialogue:

Engagement 

• Do we need to talk about what just happened?
• Can you tell me what happened?

Reflection

• What happened?
• Who else was there/around when it happened?
• What were you thinking at the time?
• What have you thought about since?
• Who has been affected/upset/harmed by your actions?
• How do you think they have been affected?

Understanding the harm/impact

• What was your reaction at the time of the incident?
• How did it make you feel?
• What did you think at the time of the incident?
• What have you thought about since?
• How has it upset/hurt/harmed you?
• What has been the worst or hardest thing for you?
• What is needed to make it right/to make you feel better?
• What did you think when that happened?

Acknowledgment

• What do you think now about what you did? Was it helpful?
• What could you say right now to help fix things?

Agreement

• What would you like to see happen to repair the harm?
• Is that fair/do you agree? Could you do that?
• What else needs to happen to make things right?

Arranging Follow-Up

• Let’s make a note of our agreement and I will follow-up with you in the next few days to see how the agreement is going.

Assignment:

Lead or participate in a restorative circle, either with students in a class, or in a mock setting with other educators. The circle type can be community-building or responsive. If you are leading the circle, use the facilitator script provided earlier in this course or create your own. Examine your notes once the circle activity is complete and then download and fill out the second iteration of your personal Restorative Practices Diary, detailing any strategies, activities or events that you are or have been a participant in, or have observed to this point in time. Once you have completed the diary entry, upload a copy using the tool provided below. Be sure to date the document, as you will be completing this activity one more time during the course or school year (whichever is appropriate), so that you may compare and contrast your observations and understanding of the application of restorative practices over the time period.