Agreement Circles
Agreement Circles provide a kinesthetic way to activate thinking and engage students in
academic argumentation. Students listen to statements made by the teacher and decide
whether they agree or disagree. Through this activity, students must access existing knowledge
and justify their thinking to their peers about why they agree or disagree with the statements.
As they engage in academic argument with their peers, they may modify their ideas as new
information convinces them that their original ideas may need adjustment.
This strategy may be used prior to instruction or during the concept development stage when
formally introduced concepts may need reinforcement. The teacher can get a quick visual
sense of students’ understanding according to which part of the circle they are in. As the
teacher circulates and listens to students’ arguments, information about students’ thinking is
revealed that can be used to design further learning experiences or revisit prior experiences
aimed at developing conceptual understanding. Giving students an opportunity to change their
positions after dialogue indicates the extent to which the small group dialogue may have
changes some students’ initial thinking.