"Watch Me, Listen to Me, and Do What I Do"

Full transcript

We tell children, "Watch me, listen to me, and do what I do." But what does that really mean?

It means helping the child understand that we're working on a movement, so every try becomes practice with a purpose.

"Watch me" means showing the child exactly what to look at, like how my lips come together and then spread into a smile. "Listen to me" means helping them hear what the movement sounds like when it's right. "Do what I do" means asking them to feel the movement in their own mouth, and to notice whether it matched with yours.

The DTTC hierarchy helps us adjust how much support a child needs. The learning happens when the child is paying attention to the movement on every try.

So tell them what you're working on, point their attention to it, and talk with them about how it felt. When children understand what they're practicing, they become partners in their own learning.