Practice showing not telling

General

In this lesson, students will learn some ways to show characters' emotions and emotions, instead of just telling. They will read examples and discuss the differences between the two ways. They will also write their own passages to convey what happened in a story.

Standards

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.3b
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.3b
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.3b

Learning objective

Students will be able to "show" and not simply "tell" so that they can bring a scene or character to life in my writing.

Introduction

Discuss the concepts of setting and interesting characters, and why they are essential to creating a good story. Students will read two sentences describing a picture and name the setting. They will also look at a different picture with a description and name the characters.

Explain why it is important to show, not just tell, the reader what we want them to know.

Instruction

Students will read two examples of the same story about Marianna and her sister. One will tell what happened, while the other will show what happened. Students will discuss the differences they noticed between the two passages.

Next, students will practice showing emotion. How might they show a character is sad? They will practice coming up with ways to show different emotions, as well as different settings.

Quiz

Students will respond to 10 questions that check their knowledge of key concepts taught in the lesson.

Closing

Students will recall:
- What happens to our writing when we show instead of tell?
- Will showing in my writing allow me to be more creative?

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