If you’ve ever read a personal narrative that says “I was scared” or “It was fun” and nothing else, you know exactly why show don’t tell is such an important skill to teach. Students often tell us how they felt instead of showing us through details, and it’s one of the trickiest writing skills to teach well.
The good news is that show don’t tell gets a lot easier to teach once you give students a simple tool to use. My favorite way to do this is by teaching them to use their five senses.
Why Show Don’t Tell Is Hard for Students
Telling is quick and easy. Showing takes more thought. When students are focused on getting their ideas down on paper, they naturally default to telling because it’s the fastest way to communicate an idea.
The key is helping students slow down and picture the moment they’re writing about. What did they see? What did they hear? Once they can answer those questions, showing becomes a lot more natural.
Teaching Show Don’t Tell With the 5 Senses
Instead of just telling students to “add more detail,” give them a specific strategy to use. I like to walk students through each sense one at a time and ask questions like:
- What did you see?
- What did you hear?
- What did you smell?
- What did you touch or feel?
- What did you taste? (if it applies!)
This gives students a concrete starting point instead of leaving them to guess what kind of detail to add.
I use a poster just like this one in my personal narrative unit to help students remember to check each sense as they revise their writing. It’s a simple visual, but it makes a big difference when students are stuck.
Practice Before Students Write Independently
Before asking students to add sensory details to their own writing, give them practice with it as a whole class. Take a “telling” sentence like “I was excited” and work together to rewrite it using the senses. Something like, “My hands were shaking and my heart was pounding as I waited for my name to be called” shows the excitement instead of just naming it.
You can also try quick warm ups where you give students a telling sentence and have them turn and talk with a partner to rewrite it using one or two senses. The more practice they get with this in isolation, the easier it will be for them to apply it in their own writing.
Use It During Revision
Show don’t tell doesn’t have to happen during the first draft. In fact, I think it works best as a revision strategy. Once students have their ideas down on paper, have them go back through their writing and look for telling sentences they can turn into showing sentences using their senses.
This takes the pressure off during drafting and gives students a clear, actionable step during revision instead of a vague “make it better” note.
Final Thoughts
Show don’t tell is one of those skills that takes practice, but breaking it down using the five senses gives students a strategy they can actually use. If you want a done for you resource that includes this poster along with mentor texts, lessons, and more, check out my Personal Narrative Writing Units for Grades 2-5!
Get more help teaching writing in these blog posts!
