Writing Mini-Lesson

1
Writing Mini-Lesson

• Show, Dont Tell!

2
Show, Dont Tell!

• I could hardly wait until my mom came home from
  the hospital with the new baby. The baby was
  cute.
• OR.

3
Show, Dont Tell!

• Melissa has big blue eyes, straight black hair,
  and soft skin. She has red cheeks, too. Her
  fingers and toes are tiny, and her clothes arent
  much bigger than an American Dolls.

4
Show, Dont Tell!

• Please shut your eyes while I read this sentence
  to you
• Mavis was angry when she heard what the umpire
  said.
• What does that look like?

5
Show, Dont Tell!

• Please shut your eyes again and listen to this
  sentence
• Shaking her head back and forth, Mavis pounded
  home plate with her fist after the umpire
  shouted, Youre out!
• Now what picture do you have in your head?

6
Show, Dont Tell

• Strategies writers use to SHOW what is happening
  include
• describing the characters actions rather than
  just saying how he or she feels.
• using action verbs.
• using similes and metaphors.
• using dialogue.
• Appealing to some of the five senses to paint a
  picture of what is happening.

7
Show, Dont Tell

• The girl cried a lot.
• Describe the picture that this sentence paints in
  your mind.
• What words could we use instead of girl? What are
  more specific words that mean cry?
• How else can we say a lot?
• Example The teenager threw herself on her bed
  and sobbed into her pillow until she fell asleep.
• NOW YOU TRY IT!