By: Diane Kashin, Ed. D, RECE. I am a member of countless early childhood education groups on Facebook. I learn so much from members from around the world. Recently, a photo appeared in one of these groups that depicted a plastic bin, decorated with coloured shapes and labelled “Show and Tell”. The text that went along with the photo, stated that the show and tell box was ready for the children and that every Friday this practice would be followed. I was immediately taken back thirty years to when I first tried show and tell in my classroom. I started with a letter to families asking that they send something for “show and tell” on the designated day. Being new to teaching, I did not anticipate the result. Children came with cherished possessions that they did not want to share and kept them tightly in hand until the morning’s circle with ensuing attempts from other children to grab them. Arguments and tears resulted and by circle time, only a few children had anything to tell. The rest seemed too upset, shy or not yet developmentally ready to tell the rest of the children about what they had brought. I then changed the practice to show and share. When children arrived in the morning, their treasured possession was placed in a bin until circle time. At circle, some children still had little to say, but others talked so much, that the children sitting and listening began squirming, fidgeting or talking. After circle, the idea was that anything in the bin was shareable and children could play with whatever item they selected. This proved difficult for some children, who cried when someone took their toy out of the box. Soon, I abandoned the practice altogether, feeling slightly guilty knowing that there were benefits of show and tell. If it goes well, children can develop a sense of community, they can develop their expressive language skills and it can be an opportunity to enhance self-concept. Now, in retrospect I think I made the right decision. I question the value and contend that there are just too many disadvantages. There are better ways to reap the developmental benefits without the potential problems. This leaves me wondering, is this a practice that endures? What do you think about show and tell? Please share your experiences by commenting below. If you don’t follow this practice, tell us why. If you do, tell us why. Keep reading to find out how commenting will give you a chance to win a copy of this wonderful book by Lella Gandini and Cathy Weisman Topal!
In 2007, after years of sweat and tears, I successfully defended my doctoral dissertation on emergent curriculum. If you follow this link you can read the case studies of four teachers and their journey to embrace this innovative approach and abandon themes. When I was gathering data, I spent time in the classrooms of the four teachers. In one, I observed show and tell.
After some confusion, the children gathered and Mary announced, “Let’s get started. I see a lot of my friends brought things to share with us.” Various children presented objects and were encouraged to “tell us about it.” When one child hands Mary a book to read many of the children had difficulty sitting still. Mary reminded the children that “we are listening now” and to “stay on your bottom.” A couple of children leave the carpet and appear to be searching. Two return with pieces of paper and one says, “this is my picture, I drawed it here.” Another brings a small scrap, calling it a snake.
I will never forget that little girl and her snake! At the time, I felt bad for the children who forgot their show and tell item. I wondered how they were feeling. I also felt bad for the children who needed to sit on their bottom and listen when they were not interested and wondered then as I continue to wonder now, about the need for these types of circles. Now, when I remember the snake and piece of paper I think of the creativity of these children and their ability to problem-solve in the moment and it amazes me. Unfortunately or fortunately, Mary quickly diverted attention away from the snake and the paper to introduce the morning’s activities. Now I wonder about the advantages and disadvantages of show and tell and whether there are alternatives. What about exploring the land beyond the fence where children can find beautiful stuff from nature to show and share? Or, what if the beautiful stuff can’t or shouldn’t be brought inside like a frog, a tree full of walnuts or some interesting fungi? What if photos were taken, printed and shared? What if children were given the opportunity with a sketch book and pencil to create their own representations during their outdoor exploration that they can share?
As Topal and Gandini (2019) suggest “when we pay attention to children’s discoveries and persist in following them to deeper levels, the results can be quite extraordinary” (p. x). Beautiful Stuff from Nature: More Learning with Found Materials is full of stories that document discovery with materials outside in nature which demonstrates how it brings us together in communal learning. One of the stories, titled Creating a Culture of Engagement, recounts the experience of creating a space in the class for natural materials. When children showed little interest in the items, the preschoolers were invited to share their discoveries on “a circle of black felt, to encourage them to look again at the objects that they had collected. This exercise made all the difference, renewing their interest in their natural objects they brought to the circle and in those brought by other children” (p. 12). Doesn’t this experience have all the benefits of show and tell and more without the disadvantages? My experiences with show and tell were not positive and I see little value with the practice but still it persists. Am I missing something? Tell me why it works for you? Or tell me why you do not have show and tell in your classroom. Share your thoughts, reflections and experiences for a chance to win this beautiful book!
Technology Rich Inquiry Based Research 
Lovely article, exploration, and invitation to contribute thoughts. I’ve stopped using Show & Tell because of the many times I saw it used arbitrarily. I agree it carries benefits of community-building, speaking, and sharing, and yet the times I see it used most often ignore what we believe about developmentally appropriate practice for each age group (namely, it takes too long, and emphasis is placed on the “stuff” in a way that makes me question the whole concept.)
LikeLike
In my 21 years I’ve not done show and tell or show and share but every single year stuff gets brought in to show and share at various times. I always try and put my feelings aside and let the child show and share whatever it is they have and for 21 years I’ve noticed unless there is a personal connection to the item from the students or it’s from nature it’s been nothing but a distraction in our day. Often the child can’t move past the fact they have the item so it ends up on my desk then it becomes a distraction for everyone in the class as I spend the day policing it. Sure I’ve had some pretty cool stuff along the way but can go without the glittery bracelets or small toys and such. I’ve had most success with sharing time being about sharing of the demonstrations of learning. Either the actual piece created or my documentation projected on the smart board. We share everything in our student led classroom as this is where the learning happens. The noticing and naming I do to connect what the children are doing or already know to the Grade one overall expectations and big ideas so that their schema grows comes through loud and clear during the sharing portion. I can take note if any misconceptions I noticed during any mini conferences I did with them still exist and I can also prompt the student sharing to lead their sharing in a certain way if needed. For instance I may have popped into a child’s learning for a few minutes and showed them how to make upper case letters on the iPad. During sharing do that doesn’t come up I may raise my hand and ask “How did you make upper case letters?” One less thing I have to teach and as always if the child at the front reaches it way more students remember than if It’s me talking at them. When other stuff comes in now that is related to nothing so it won’t provoke any current learning I say oh that’s lovely tell me about it and encourage them to show it off at lunch or recess. Just this week I had a student tell me I bought something to show and share. I thought here we go……but feelings aside I said show me as this was a student who really hasn’t engaged much in our every day going’s on. He says it’s a tower. I look and he has brought a tiny Eiffel Tower made of metal. This told me he is engaging as on the Friday before a student has created an Eiffel Tower out of flower gems at the creative area. It shows me he is with us and maybe hasn’t been comfortable to speak up yet but now he has and boy I was glad I didn’t shut it down! We also explored the metal it was made of as materials are part of science overalls in Gr 1 and we had been talking about plastic and wood earlier in the day. One last way I find sharing more useful and meaningful is to find math in the never ending pictures of the child’s family vacation picture that get emailed! If someone sends from their trip that’s what we do! Find math and tell me how you know what you know! That’s works for us usually to keep kids engaged!!
LikeLike
Thank you for posting about show and share/tell. It’s amazing how many people are shocked when we say we do not do traditional show and share/tell in our room either. In our room we have moments throughout the day for students to share their learning. Students might ask to share their creations with loose parts. We stop the class walk over and the group or child talks about what they made and why they wanted to share it with others, perhaps they created a bridge for the first time or learned how to make a bird house. Other students ask to share their “band” that they created from wooden blocks. They perform for us. Others wish to share their art creations, paintings or talk about what they did in the dramatic areas. These moments provide time for oral language development, time to teach compliments/feedback as well as time for us to point out and extend others’ learning. We essential do show and share everyday.
LikeLike
Show and tell seems to have been born out of the idea that it would encourage a child to speak im front of a group, build confidence. Instead it opens the door for a situation that is more like “bring and brag” and sets apart the haves from the have notes. In our days with so much technology at our fingertips, I think there is many other ways to get to the goals of speaking in a group or sharing ideas.
LikeLike
My teaching partner and I have never used a “show and tell” practice in our Kindergarten classroom and we in fact have a “no home toys” rule. We were noticing tears, arguments, and a perseveration on these objects from home when they would arrive at school. Inevitably, they would always end up becoming lost. Something we have noticed happening from this choice is that the things children come to us wanting to share from home have become more meaningful than a favourite toy (e.g., bringing a photo of bunny footprints from the backyard when we were inquiring about animal tracks, bringing bubble wrap from home to take on an idea she had in the art studio, a photo album about his summer vacation, etc.). The children in our class are learning what meaningful and important learning is and they are making connections to our bigger classroom community and goals. “Show and tell” unfortunately doesn’t do this.
LikeLike
We do show and tell occasionally, but only at the requests of the children, usually two or three times a year. On a daily basis, we ask that toys from home be left at home, for all of the reasons you mentioned – the stress of having cherished items get lost, broken or used by others. But once in a while it becomes apparent that the children very much want to show their special items and tell their stories about them. So, we dedicate one circle time to this process. I don’t know that they get a lot from it, and I know I don’t as a teacher, but they do seem to enjoy the process and on occasion connections are made that do become more meaningful.
The practice I value much more than show and tell are those times when a child unexpectedly finds something interesting and brings it in to show the group. A bone, a special rock, a photo of a recent vacation are all great fodder for group discussions, theorizing and sharing of experiences. These items are often the jumping off point for learning inquiries and the value of just one child sharing a special item feels much higher than the process of the whole group sitting for a full show and tell session. This small bridge between home and preschool can be beneficial for some children while others don’t seem to need the same process. Overall though, we do tend to find this to be a more positive experience than the full show and tell.
LikeLike
Good morning, Difference Makers. I have done Show and Share for 23 years and I have had great success with this activity with 26 kindergarteners and 16-18 preschoolers. I use a large plastic bucket to hold items safely during the day. I believe one of the reasons is that I share my expectations with the parents in my Welcome Packet, by email, a note home and verbally before we even start. I asked that items are no larger than a standard piece of typing paper and that they not breakable, as they will be in the bucket. I reserve Show and Share for a few weeks after we’ve been together as a group. During those weeks, we discuss how we want to be treated and how we treat our friends. I make a big production about this activity so they are all eager to participate. I always remind them that Show and Share is a privilege that we earn and they gladly listen to their friends to keep their privilege. After every Show and Share, we talk about how we felt it went and we give ourselves kudos in the form of clapping, high fives, pats on the back, etc. I also bring an item to model how speaking about an object. I facilitate and help children move along or if they have trouble speaking, I ask them questions about their object. After each child speaks we thank them. I change it up so they don’t get bored. For example, last week they brought a First Letter Vest that they made at home to share. Again, I communicated with parents about the expectations and sent the vest home two weeks ago to give them enough time to finish the project. I have them bring something that is a shape, etc. Sometimes we talk about art we’ve done during the week and they all select a piece and talk about it. Towards the end of the year, when we are all accustomed to speaking in front of friends, we have Surprise Show and Share and they bring an object in a box (I provide) and they write or dictate clues to their family. The child shares the clues and their friends guess. I pick one child a week until they’ve all had a turn. I also change up the location of Show and Share. We might do it outside or in our library. Sometimes we do it by flashlight with the lights dimmed. Sometimes I let a friend chose who is next until they’ve all had a turn. The point I am trying to make with my examples is that Show and Share can be whatever we want it to be. It doesn’t have to be the traditional sit quiet and still in a circle. If I’ve learned anything in the last 23 years, it’s that with children, anything can change at any minute, so I’m ready to change, too.
LikeLike
I have witnessed the pros and cons of show and share over the years but would like to find a solution to show and share. Currently, I am a student in Early Learning and Child Care Development, a mother of two with developmental delays, and have been working in early learning for the last several years. I agree with the no toy policy. The disadvantages as mentioned such as tears from losing the object of affection, disappointment of not having a turn, focus on the object and not the child are all reasons that discourage show and share. However, for the quiet children (like mine) wanting to communicate this can be a critical moment in social and communicative development. I admire Angie Harrison’s method above, using show and share within learning moments during the class as opposed to bringing something in. As I have discovered in my courses, family involvement is key to Reggio- inspired learning therefore including a child’s family and bringing something meaningful and/or cultural from home could be done on a rotational basis. I look forward to reading others ideas on this topic.
LikeLike
I love this article. My spin is that “it depends what show and tell is for.” There are so many versions of early childhood education. I agree that in high quality programs, show and tell is skimming the surface. But so many early childhood programs only skim the surface, and show and tell may be their toe in the water to enable children to shine. Maybe a special day for each child? Sometimes I have been guilty of setting such a high bar for ece practice that the efforts of those who are just beginning to see the child have no way to begin the process.
LikeLike
Thank you for sharing your reflection about Show-Tell as always inspired my work for young children. I work with PreK -DLLs and I use S&T to incorporate new vocabulary and self expression with my kiddos. But before we started I send a letter to parents with guidance about what they can bring (no toys nothing expensive and able to let children to use their senses). For those they forgot I asked in the morning to make or choose something from the class to share for those they don’t want to share I explained to the class and we created a feeling of tolerance and community explaining that is hard for them and we will wait maybe next time they will share. Most of the time I don’t have any problem but I did have some episodes 😊
LikeLike
Great article. Show and tell has never appealed to me as I think as a child I would have been one of the 18 – 20 children bored out of my brain waiting for my turn. I suspect when it got to be my turn I would have been the one boring the brains out of my friends for as long as I could keep the talking going!
LikeLike
We have Learn and Tell as part of our end of day routine. Anyone who wishes to share something they created or learned that day is welcome to talk about it. Students are often sought out the next day by their classmates to share their knowledge to help build or create. Sometimes parents send in photos of a new skill or exciting discovery from home too.
LikeLike
Hi, Victoria. I really like that idea. Thanks for sharing.
LikeLike
Show and Tell was never a part of my practice. I had witnessed it in other programs, seeing some children bring treasures from home while other would scurry to pick something from around the room to share with their peers. And it was easy to tell that the attention of the children was on what they would say about their treasure and not what others were sharing! The practiced reminded me of a tradition our family had upheld for many years at Christmas time (when I was a child). We would travel to our relatives homes and sit around the tree as they shared what they had received on Christmas morning and from whom….boring! Not to mention being out on display as you showed off your possessions which I found embarrassing. I was more comfortable sharing during conversations around the dinner table or while playing.
I have found that children do not require us to construct ‘sharing times’ for them. They are always eager, to share it in their own time. As educators, encouraging children to share thoughts and ideas during the everyday moments is a more productive practice than putting children on display in a practice such as show and tell.
LikeLike
Good morning, I use a program which originated from a teacher at University of Victoria named News Clues. Each child has a designated day to bring a item hidden in a paper bag with 3 clues written on it. I ask the families to choose from specific criteria; something from nature, something earned or something made. After the three guesses are made the child holds up the item and talks about why it was chosen. Finally the student chooses two peers to either compliment, share a connect or ask a question. The families are encouraged to practice the three clues together so the child is prepared. This is a wonderful way for a child to share an interest or hobby and they all seem to enjoy it. Many count the days until their special day.
Liz
LikeLike
We have show and share in our kindergarten classroom . Students bring items related to the sound of the week and them present the item to the class at the end of the day. Could be anything: toys, pictures, etc. We also keep a chart with all the different items they bring. Classmates are encourage to ask questions about the item. Help students gain confidence to talk in public and also increase the vocabulary.
LikeLike