Use circle time for group reading sessions. At younger ages, the teacher can read the entire book and hold up the pictures for students to see. As children learn to read, the teacher can pass the book around the circle with each student reading a page out loud. It helps to start with books the children are already familiar with so that they can gain confidence in reading aloud. Also, since the children are in a circle, students can help the person next to them with words if the reader gets stuck.
Many drama games can be done with the students in a circle. Play a mirroring game in which one person leads by performing slow, easy-to-copy movements and everyone else imitates it, moving with the person as much as possible. After the students have had practice doing this, have one person go out of the room while the leader is chosen. Then have the person re-enter the room and try to guess who the leader is.
Start with a volunteer who will say "I'm going on a picnic and I'm taking an ...". The person then picks something to take on the picnic that begins with the letter A. The next person repeats what the first person says and then adds a word that begins with the letter B. Continue around the circle until the entire alphabet is complete. This can also be done as a beginning-of-the-year icebreaker game but each person says her name plus all the names of the people who went before her.
Circle time can be a good way to show animals for a science activity. Bring in snakes, dogs, cats, butterflies, frogs or caterpillars and place them in the center of the circle, with a handler if necessary. Children should sit quietly while the animal is introduced and care of it is discussed. The handler can then walk around the circle, if appropriate, and let children touch the animal.