Power Language: Show and Tell

Talking Tips

• Practice your show-and-tell before you do it.
• Say your name at the beginning.
• Say what you are going to talk about.
• Hold your head up and look out while you talk.
• Say “thank you for listening” when you finish.

Power Vocabulary

audience: a group of people who listen to you

fact: something that is true

prop: an object you hold or point to while talking

subject: an idea or thing that you talk about

Helper's Tips

• Encourage young people to welcome the speaker with applause or a group “Hello.” You may also lead them in clapping afterward.
• Encourage the participant to talk about an experience—a place he or she has visited or a new skill. Explain that this is something the audience can “take home with them” as opposed to an expensive toy on display. The participant can still use objects—a souvenir or tool—for the “show” part of the discussion.
• In a group setting, let children choose an object to discuss from a group of items. You might let them take the object home to learn more about it. This will help them stay motivated.
• Give participants a theme to work with, for example, nature, weather, a color, a season, or a letter of the alphabet.
• Kids need not have visited Hawaii to have a trip worth telling about. Encourage them to talk about a nature walk, a “trash trek” (litter pick-up), bicycle ride, or visit to a neighbor's house.
• Older kids might be able to tackle a more advanced topic. Suggest they learn about an inventor and his or her invention. The child could use the item as a prop and describe how it works.