Tip #124 from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents (McKinley & Trombly): Show vs Tell
Today's tip for parents from two talented teachers comes from 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly.
#124
Show vs.Tell
All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten.
Another way to encourage your child to write with greater detail and more creatively is to practice the idea of “Show vs. Tell.” Most young writers tend to focus on the facts when they write. They are more concerned with getting done than they are with the quality of their writing. When you encourage your child to “show and not just tell,” you can help her begin to see how she can spice up her writing quite easily.
To do this, find an area in one of her writings where she has simply told what a character did or felt. For instance, maybe she wrote, “Joey was so mad.” Ask her to think of a way to show the readers Joey was mad without actually saying it. You can help her at first. Ask her what someone looks like when they are mad. What do they do? Act it out! Then, have her choose one or more ways and edit the story a little right there. She might change that sentence to “Joey’s face grew red, and his hands were tightly clenched.”
To practice this technique any time, even when she doesn’t have a story to edit, you could make up some “Silly Sentences” (Idea #159). Make up a very basic story and have her liven things up a bit by revising those boring sentences that just tell into sentences that actually show.
Cindy McKinley Alder Patti Trombly
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