Show and tell has always had a special place in my teacher heart. When I taught Kindergarten, every Friday was Show and Tell. Each week, students brought an object from home that started with the letter we were studying that week. You can read all about teaching phonics with show and tell here; but post is all about how to have virtual show and tell with your class!

How to Set Up Virtual Show and Tell

Chances are if you are doing digital learning with your class, you already have some sort of video conferencing platform set up by your school or district. Use this to set up show and tell. Before having show and tell, you need to let your students (and their parents) know about it so they can have an item ready.

If you are planning to make their a regular part of your virtual instruction, I recommend choosing a day and sticking to it. That way everyone knows that Friday is Show and Tell Day. This will increase participation!

I also recommend giving your students some guidelines to stick to that tie in with something you are leaning about. Having some guidelines or a show and tell theme will keep your class (and you) from only wanting to share cool toys.

Show and Tell Ideas

Here are a few show and tell ideas for younger elementary students to get you thinking.

• Something that starts with a certain letter of the alphabet. I have an entire post of ideas for objects that begin with each letter of the alphabet too! This is an amazing learning idea for preschool or Kindergarten students who are just learning the alphabet!
• Something that starts with the same letter as your first name
• A furry friend
• A favorite book
• A nonliving thing
• A drawing of your favorite animal and one interesting fact about it.
• Something that is made of wood (or another material)
• Something that can be recycled
• Something with numbers on it
• Something with a specific number on it (like 4)
• An art project

Tips for Virtual Show and Tell

• Be sure to remind parents about show and tell so their child can be ready.
• Participate! Be sure to have you own item ready and model how to share it!
• Set up some rules and guidelines for the experience Can students ask questions? How long can they speak? How many objects can they share? Just like in a classroom, the first time will be rough, but your students will learn the routine and it will go much smoother the next time.

Show and Tell Writing

Another way to take the learning deeper is to tie Show and Tell into your writing. Students can write a simple sentence or a few sentences about their object that they can read to the class. Or, you can write about the experience afterwards!

If you are planning to use Show and Tell to work on the letters of the alphabet, be sure to check out this Show and Tell Alphabet Journal. You can print and assemble journals for your students to pick up at the beginning of the year or students can even print and fill out pages of the journal from home.

Will you be giving virtual show and tell a try this school year?