A fundamental aspect of statistical inference is representation of real-world data using statistical models. This article analyzes students' articulations of statistical models and modeling during their first steps in making informal statistical inferences. An integrated modeling approach (IMA) was designed and implemented to help students understand the relationship between sample and population, as well as reasoning with models and modeling. We explore the articulations of a pair of primary school students, who had previously participated in the Connections Project exploratory data analysis (EDA) activities, and suggest an emergent conceptual framework for reasoning with statistical models and modeling. We shed light on ideas of statistical models and modeling that can emerge among primary students and how they articulate those ideas. Implications for teaching and research are discussed.