[emmattsmom]

I am thinking about incorporating a form of show and tell into our schedule this year. I was thinking about having children bring things that start or end with a certain letter or sound. Has anyone tried something like this before?? How did it work? Or does anyone have another suggestion??
Thanks

[TeAcHeRinFL]

Thats a really cute idea. I haven't done show & tell, but I might steal that idea for this year. I'm incorporating Fun Friday this year and each week I want to do something different. Show & Tell could be one of them.

[Rita1stGrade]

Instead of show and tell, I have a "sharing" time. When a student is my "sea star of the week" he/she shares at the end of each day 4 days that week. I have a theme for each day and they can bring in an item on that theme if they want to. The themes/topics are: my family, things I like to do, my favorite foods, my favorite book.

This works well for me! They LOVE to be the sea star and look forward to bringing in pictures and items that show the class the things that make them unique and special.

[pumpkinpatch]

I also call it Sharing instead of Show and Tell. The first full week of each month their Sharing is assigned to them. Examples are "Bring something from a different state or a foreign country." "Bring something that is considered junk food and 5 reasons why it's bad for you." "Bring an item you might need in order to build a house and tell us how you use it." "Tell us a tasteful joke that will make us laugh." "Bring a recipe for your favorite meal." I have 4 kids present their sharing every day. (They are all assigned a day at the beginning of the year and stick with it.) They do this right when they come back in from lunch so when they come in they immediately sit down in a circle on the rug and they start sharing when they are ready. I grade the Sharings that are assigned to them and send it home. Parents and kids take this very seriously and really enjoy it. I grade them with a checklist like, " ___ You remembered to bring in a written recipe. ___ You were able to read the directions clearly. ___ You gave us a very clear idea of what this dish tastes like and looks like. " etc. I demo the sharing assigned to them on the Friday before they are expected to do their sharing so they have an idea of what is expected of them.

Now the rest of the weeks during the month, they do free Sharing. They can bring in any item, or do a Talk Share which is when they tell a story. 3 students get to ask questions when the speaker is done with their sharing. Everyone shares once a week. They all know when they are expected to share. And it only takes up about 20 minutes a day.

I hope this isn't too confusing. I really enjoy this though so I hope this helps.

[BookMuncher]

I think your idea sounds great, but I'm just wondering, is your purpose letter sounds or sharing or just-for-fun? The reason I ask is because kids love to bring things in, but if you are truly trying to teach them to listen deeply and respond well, then usually talk shares work well because there is nothing in their hands, they are not thinking about what they want to share, and they really share important stuff and learn to talk back.

Maybe consider topics (like a poster above said) with themes (a time you were scared, sad, excited; tell about a cool relative, etc.) Listeners must learn to get outside themselves and respond in a way that addresses the sharer. When the sharer is done sharing, he/she can ask for questions or comments. Comments can't be about the others, but about the sharer: That really must have made you feel ____" Questions need to be genuine, "Where does your relative live?"

Not that show-and-tell isn't great too, but I've tried it, and I've found that the things they bring in get either more and more inconsequential or more and more grand (no matter what the topic/theme is!). I hate to unwittingly shine a spotlight on the gap between kids who have and those who don't. I really like pumpkinpatch's version of show-and-tell because even though they are bringing something in, the restrictions are tight enough that it evens the playing field.

Have fun whatever you do!

To add another twist to "show and tell", after Christmas, you can provide Gr 1 kids with lined paper (mine is decorated in our class theme" and they can write their "News". At that point they've got enough writing skill to do it fairly independently, and to read it to the class. As some others have mentioned, I encourage questions from the "audience".

I do not have show and tell in my classroom, with the exception of About Me Bags at the beginning of the year.

I get lunch bags and attach the assignment to it. The assignment is for students to choose 3-5 items at home that will all fit in the bag and tell about them or their favorite things/activiites.

The next day students share what's inside and it gives all of us a little more insight to who they are and their likes.

I jot down the items in their bag for later use. They have come in handy for Santa letters. We send our Santa letters to the high school where students pretend to be elves and write my students back. I include a class list and add a few personal messages such as things they had in their me bag (pet's names, number of brothers, trips to Myrtle beach etc.) The elves always mention things I add and the kids can't believe that Santa new all that stuff!

[katz2006]

That is a great idea! I really like the "elves" idea.

[Hook]

I do the beginning sound and I also do short and long vowel sounds. I only do show and tell every other Friday!!!!!!!