Teaching Skills to Children: Use Modeling

We can help our young children learn when we show them what we are thinking. Modeling is an important teacher skill and even one you can help families learn. When we model we talk about all that is going on in our heads. Essentially, we invite children into our brains! We find they like this concept!

A few tips about modeling:

• Be sure you do not talk longer than the age of your children. So, for 4 year olds, only model for four minutes.
• Be sure you use hand signals to show children when you are thinking. Point to your head.
• Change your voice tone when you are thinking and when you are reading.  This is a signal to children.
• We like to change our body position to show when we go back into our brains. You can see this on the video below.

These tips will help you to model more effectively for young children.

Watch the video below. It shows these tips in action! 

For ELLs:

The comprehensible input of hand signals, body movement, and voice tone helps our English Language Learners to better follow your modeling. 

Standards Alignment:

NAEYC - 2.B.01 & 2.D.04

Head Start - VI.A. & IX.A.