This study examined the maternal teaching practices of Mexican American mothers and the relation of these practices to their children's task performance. The questions considered in the study were: (1) what teaching behaviors characterize maternal instruction; (2) how does use of these behaviors change throughout instruction; and (3) how do these teaching behaviors relate to child performance. The subjects of the study were 17 Mexican American mother-child dyads, recruited from preschools that served middle- to low-income families. All mothers were required to be proficient in English and use it predominantly in their household. Shoelace tying was the task chosen for the purposes of the study. Mothers were asked to use 48 hours to instruct their children to tie shoelaces so that they become fully competent in the task. A pretest and post-test were conducted to evaluate the children's task performance. The three categories of variables examined were: instruction time, mother's teaching behavior, and child's task performance. Analysis of data indicated the most frequent forms of verbal instruction and non-verbal behaviors used by the mothers. Statistical tests revealed that children did perform significantly better after instruction, but instruction time was not significantly associated with task performance. Some other patterns that emerged were mothers' preference to instruct in multiple short sessions, greater reliance on verbal instructions, and maternal instruction influenced by maternal education. The limited size and nature of the sample however, prevent the findings from being generalized. Contains 39 references. (BAC)