Thinking Routines / Circle of Viewpoints
Circle of Viewpoints
Put everyone and everything connected to a topic round a circle, then stand in each place in turn and look at it from there.
Opens on the whiteboard to model with the class · free to start · printing is optional
The sheet it prints (optional)
What is the Circle of Viewpoints thinking routine?
Circle of Viewpoints is a thinking routine for seeing a topic from several sides. The class names every person, creature or thing connected to it, then chooses one at a time and speaks as them: what they think about it and why, and what they would want to ask.
How do you run Circle of Viewpoints with a class?
Start with the list, and push past the obvious people: in a story about a flood, the river and the sandbag count. Then choose one and use the same moves each time. From this point of view, I think this, because of that, and my question is this. Then move round the circle.
How many viewpoints should you do?
Three or four in a lesson is plenty. Choose ones that would disagree with each other, because the routine only works when the viewpoints clash. Racing through all ten teaches less than doing three properly.
It came alive when a child asked whether the playground could have a viewpoint in our discussion about wet play. It could, and it had a lot to say. Objects and places free children up in a way people do not, because there is no risk of getting a real person wrong. I now ask for at least one viewpoint that is not a person before we start.
Which subjects does Circle of Viewpoints suit?
Anything with more than one side to it.
- History: an event seen by a soldier, a child, a farmer and a horse.
- English: a scene from the point of view of a minor character.
- Geography: a new road seen by the people who live there, a lorry driver and a badger.
- PSHE: a playground falling-out, from every side of it.
What usually goes wrong with Circle of Viewpoints?
Children slip back into their own voice after a sentence: ‘I think the soldier was scared’. Stop them and ask for ‘I am scared’ instead. The other problem is viewpoints that all agree. If the whole circle wants the same thing, add somebody who does not.
Which year groups is Circle of Viewpoints for?
It works from Year 2, grade 1 in the US, with two or three viewpoints and you modelling the voice. From Year 4 children can take a viewpoint in pairs. By Year 6 the question from each viewpoint is where the sharpest thinking is.
What do you do with it afterwards?
Finish by stepping back: what do you notice now that you did not before? Then turn it into writing. A diary entry, a letter or a balanced argument is far easier once the class already has the voices. The circle also shows which viewpoints got time and which were skipped.
How often should you use Circle of Viewpoints?
Whenever a topic has people on more than one side of it, which in history and in stories is most of the time. Once a class knows the moves it can be a five-minute starter with two viewpoints, rather than a whole lesson.
| Year group | US grade | What to change | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years 2–3 | Grades 1–2 | Two or three viewpoints. You model the voice first. | 10 min |
| Years 4–5 | Grades 3–4 | Pairs take a viewpoint each and report back. | 15–20 min |
| Year 6 and up | Grade 5+ | Include a viewpoint that nobody agrees with. | 25 min |
Circle of Viewpoints compared with Step Inside
Step Inside goes deep into one viewpoint: what they perceive, know and care about. Circle of Viewpoints goes wide across many. Use Circle of Viewpoints to find the viewpoints worth looking at, then Step Inside to spend longer with one of them.
Free to try · free to start · printing is optional
Where this routine comes from: the Circle of Viewpoints thinking routine was developed by Project Zero, a research center at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Sage Teachers is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Harvard University or Project Zero. The prompts, the wording and the printed sheet on this page are our own.