  We study the approximation of chiral quark models with simpler models,
obtained via gradient expansion. The resulting Lagrangian of the type of the
linear sigma-model contains, at the lowest level, an additional term with two
derivatives. We investigate the dynamical consequences of this term and its
relevance to the phenomenology of the soliton models of the nucleon. It is
found that the inclusion of the new term allows for a more efficient
approximation of the underlying quark theory, especially in those cases where
dynamics allows for a large deviation of the chiral fields from the chiral
circle, such as in quark models with non-local regulators.
