First Five Phrases
Five phrases to begin
Elementary · Grades 1–6
Speak with Intention · The Learning Conditions
The five
Help children find and use language for learning, thinking, participation, and repair.
| Classroom moment | Try this | What it opens |
|---|---|---|
| When a child is stuck | “Show me the part you can do. Then show me where you need me.” | Supports help-seeking without taking over the thinking. |
| When a child gives an answer | “What makes you think that?” | Makes the child's thinking visible. |
| When a child makes a mistake | “Let's look at what happened here.” | Keeps the mistake available for learning without turning it into a judgment about the child. |
| When learning can connect | “Where have you seen something like this before?” | Invites prior knowledge and experience into the learning. |
| When a worthwhile question appears | “That's worth wondering about. What do we notice first?” | Protects curiosity while giving inquiry a place to begin. |
Why these five
Your words become their thinking
A child does not first think and then speak. She first hears others speak, then says it aloud to herself as she works, then thinks it silently as inner speech. That is why the words you use with a child become the words the child uses to think.
When you say hurry up every morning, a child learns to say hurry up to herself. When you ask what she can already do before she asks for help, she learns to check that first. You are not managing behaviour. You are building the way a child will think.
What to expect
The first time you ask “What makes you think that?” a child may stare at you, or say I don't know. That is not failure. It is evidence that nobody has asked her to examine her own reasoning before. Stay with the question. Within days she will begin to answer it. Within weeks she will begin to ask it of herself.
How to begin
One phrase a day
Take one phrase a day for a week. The awkwardness is normal — it means you are changing a pattern that has been automatic for years.
| Day | The phrase to practise |
|---|---|
| Monday | “Show me the part you can do. Then show me where you need me.” |
| Tuesday | “What makes you think that?” |
| Wednesday | “Let's look at what happened here.” |
| Thursday | “Where have you seen something like this before?” |
| Friday | “That's worth wondering about. What do we notice first?” |
Keep the wording concrete and short. Adapt it so it sounds like you. This is a starting point for professional judgment, not a set of words to reproduce exactly.