IN THE CLASSROOM

Writer's Corner - The magic of "Show, Don't Tell!"

Have you ever read a sentence that felt a bit boring? Our students have been working hard to banish boring character sentences from their writing by turning them into high-energy action sentences!

Lately, the Stage 2/3 classroom has been mastering the famous author’s secret: Show, Don’t Tell. Instead of just telling the reader what is happening or how a character feels, our students are learning to show it through vivid actions, sensory details, and movement. It’s the difference between watching a movie and reading a flat list of facts!

We started with a simple sentence: Ben was scared. 

From there we discussed what Ben might be doing, feeling and saying if he was scared. We then uplevelled the sentence to "Ben's knees shook as he pulled the blanket over his face."

Students then collaborated to uplevel the sentence: Anna was angry. Some of the uplevelled sentences are below.

Finally, they were given the task of independently uplevelling the sentence: he was happy. Here are some of the responses;

Try it at home!

Want to help your child practice? Next time they are telling you a story or writing at home, challenge them to "paint a picture with actions." Ask them: “What did that look like?” or “What was your body doing when you felt that way?” You'll be amazed at how a few small tweaks can turn a simple sentence into a thrilling story!