4 Ways to Give Preschool Students Autonomy During Large Group Time

Managing large group time in preschool is where many educators feel the most pressure to “make it work.” When 20 children are gathered, the instinct is to keep it tight, quiet, and moving. I used to believe that if the room looked calm, learning must be happening. But my preschool students have a way of proving me wrong, and over time, my thinking about large group instruction has shifted. They have reminded me that structure and control are not the same thing, and that compliance is not the same as engagement. They do not just want to follow the lesson—they want to be part of it. My goal is not to tighten control, but to build shared ownership of the learning within clear boundaries.

4 Shifts to Give Students More Ownership over learning

1. Let students lead—and encourage them to follow. It happened during a music activity. I handed out scarves and began giving directions to the children about how to dance. Move to the right. Now up and down. One child raised his voice and said, “I want to do my own dance however I want.” He wasn’t being defiant. He was asking for ownership.

Still, group instruction does require some shared rhythm. To balance individual agency with the goal of learning together, I began treating movement as a shared exchange.

First, the students lead. I start by saying, “Show me a way to move your scarf.” I scan the room and name a specific idea. “I see Levi spinning his scarf like a propeller. Can we all try Levi’s propeller move?”

Then comes the teacher bridge. After we have followed a few student ideas, I say, “I have a move that I have been practicing. It is a slow, wavy ocean move. I am wondering if you want to try it with me.”

When I enter their world first, children are eager to enter mine. They are not as prone to resisting shared movement. They are choosing it. This reciprocity builds a classroom where following the group grows out of connection, not compliance.

When I invited the little boy who wanted to do his own dance to show us his move, he paused for a moment. He looked unsure, almost as if he wasn’t certain his idea would be accepted. Then he demonstrated: “Make it go like this: faster, faster, even faster!” As the other children followed him, his expression shifted. He stood taller and smiled. He wasn’t pushing against the group anymore. He was contributing to it.

2. Use predictable pauses to protect thinking time. During a visit to the library, the librarian read aloud as the children began raising their hands with urgent questions. The librarian asked them to save questions for the end. One child responded, “But we will forget what we want to ask!”

Preschool students do not store their thinking neatly for later. Their ideas come when meaning is forming. When we ask preschool students, or even older students, to wait too long, the learning moment often disappears. To protect real-time thinking without derailing the lesson, I use two predictable thinking pauses.

• The two-voice rule. Instead of stopping for every hand, I say, “We will take two voices now, then read three more pages.” This honors student thinking while keeping the lesson moving.
• The whisper catch. For thoughts that cannot wait, I say, “That’s a big thought. Whisper it into your hand and hold on to it until our next pause.”

These micro-pauses help us think our way through a book, not just get through it.

3. Give all children a role. I also assign children a physical role during large group time. When children have something purposeful to do, they feel included rather than contained. For example, during a pretend “purple soup” game, I ask children to walk around the classroom while I count slowly to 10. As they walk, they choose one item to add to our imaginary pot of soup. The counting builds anticipation. The movement gives their bodies a job.

When they return to the circle, each student repeats what has already been added before introducing something new. The ingredients are completely imaginative. One child might add their stuffy. Another might decide to add the entire school. When that happens, we all lean in. We grab our pretend tools and chant together, “Dig it, dig it.” Then we pretend to lift the whole school and drop it into the purple soup. Laughter fills the room. Every child is part of the moment.

4. Set boundaries instead of dictating behavior. We often confuse structure with scripts. A script dictates every movement and response. A boundary creates a container that keeps learning safe while allowing choice.

As part of setting boundaries, I shifted how I respond during large group. Instead of pointing out who is not ready, I name what I see going well. “I notice Ally is ready for large group.” “I see Akshar waiting patiently for his turn.” When I name participation out loud, students often get ready on their own.

Instead of a script like, “Everyone sit crisscrossed with hands in your lap,” try a boundary: “We need to keep our space bubbles safe so no one gets bumped. You can sit, kneel, or sit on your heels, as long as you stay in your bubble.” When I focus on the expectation instead of the exact posture, most children adjust. I do not have to correct each body. The room stays steady, but it does not feel tight. The boundary is clear, but the children still feel like themselves.

I no longer measure success by how quiet a room looks or how closely directions are followed. Preschool students need clear boundaries, but they also need to feel that they belong inside the activity and that their ideas shape what happens next.