If you are wondering how to teach show, don’t tell in a way that finally clicks with middle school students, begin by making this abstract advice concrete. In my experience, students need more than a reminder to “add details.” They need specific techniques, clear examples, and opportunities to practice rewriting sentences.
Many students naturally write sentences such as “She was nervous” or “The room was messy.” These sentences communicate information, but they don’t really allow the reader to experience the moment. Showing students how to replace general statements with sensory details, physical reactions, character behavior, and dialogue can make an immediate difference in their narrative writing.
With 20 years of teaching experience, a master’s degree, and a Specialist in Education, I have learned that students become stronger writers when we break complicated skills into clear, manageable steps. Here are some practical ways to teach showing versus telling in your middle school ELA classroom.
Explain the Difference Between Showing and Telling
Begin with a simple definition of each term. Telling directly states information, while showing provides clues that help the reader picture the scene or understand what a character is experiencing.
For example:
Telling: Marcus was nervous about the presentation.
Showing: Marcus rubbed his damp palms against his jeans and stared at the classroom door as his name was called.
The second example never uses the word “nervous,” but the physical reactions allow the reader to infer the emotion.
It is also helpful to remind students that telling is not always bad. Writers use telling to move quickly through less important information. Showing slows down the story and draws attention to meaningful moments. The goal is not to eliminate every telling sentence, but to help students recognize when showing will create a stronger experience for the reader.
Teach Specific Descriptive Writing Techniques
The phrase “show, don’t tell” can feel vague to a student who does not know what showing looks like. Give students a collection of specific techniques they can use when revising.
Add Sensory Details
Ask students what a character can see, hear, smell, taste, or feel. Sensory details help readers imagine that they are inside the scene.
Instead of writing, “The cafeteria was loud,” a student might describe trays clattering, chairs scraping the floor, and conversations echoing across the room.
Describe Physical Reactions
A character’s body can reveal an emotion without naming it. Shaking hands, a racing heart, tense shoulders, or a flushed face can help readers understand what the character feels.
Encourage students to ask, “What would this emotion look like from the outside?”
Use Character Behavior
Actions can reveal feelings, motivations, and personality. A character who repeatedly checks the clock may be impatient, nervous, or excited. Students can choose behavior that gives readers clues without directly explaining everything.
Include Dialogue and Internal Thoughts
What a character says, does not say, or thinks can show how that character feels. Dialogue and internal thoughts can also make a scene feel more immediate and engaging.
Teaching these techniques individually gives students a practical toolkit they can use during narrative writing and revision.
Model How to Rewrite a Telling Sentence
Before assigning independent show don’t tell activities, model the rewriting process for the class.
Begin with a sentence such as “The dog was excited.” Ask students to brainstorm what an excited dog might do. They may suggest barking, jumping, spinning in circles, or wagging its tail.
Use their ideas to create a showing sentence together:
“The dog raced across the kitchen, paws skidding against the tile as his tail thumped the cabinets.”
Thinking aloud during this process helps students understand that strong descriptive writing begins with picturing the moment. Students are not simply adding adjectives. They are selecting meaningful details that allow readers to form their own conclusions.
Practice With Sentences Before Paragraphs
Students may feel overwhelmed if their first task is to revise an entire narrative. Start with individual sentences so they can focus on one skill at a time.
Provide telling sentences and ask students to rewrite them using a particular technique. One sentence might require sensory details, while another asks for physical reactions or dialogue.
Once your students are comfortable rewriting sentences, they can move into paragraph-level practice. Ask them to locate telling sentences in a paragraph and revise only those sections. This shows students how stronger descriptions can fit naturally into a larger piece of writing without changing every sentence.
Use Engaging Show Don’t Tell Activities
Students need several types of practice before they can apply the skill independently. Choice boards, sentence rewrites, paragraph revisions, and detective-style activities can keep the practice from becoming repetitive.
A detective activity is especially helpful for building recognition. Give students a descriptive paragraph and ask them to locate examples of showing language. They can then label each example as sensory details, physical reactions, character behavior, or dialogue.
You can also examine descriptive passages from texts your class is already reading. Ask students to identify the specific words and details the author uses to create an image or reveal an emotion. The Association for Middle Level Education also recommends examining language in published passages to help students notice how effective description works.
Save Time With a Complete Show, Don’t Tell Mini-Lesson
My Show, Don’t Tell Narrative Writing Mini-Lesson gives you the instruction and descriptive writing activities needed to introduce, model, and practice this skill.
The resource includes a Google Slides presentation that aligns with the student notes, three versions of the notes, sentence and paragraph rewriting activities, technique-based practice, a choice board, a detective task, and answer keys.
Students learn the difference between showing and telling while practicing sensory details, physical reactions, character behavior, dialogue, and internal thoughts. The variety of activities allows students to move from supported practice to more independent application.
When students understand how to teach the reader through carefully chosen details, “show, don’t tell” becomes more than a confusing comment written on an assignment. It becomes a practical strategy they can use to strengthen their narrative writing.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Show, Don’t Tell Mini-Lesson
What is included in the Show, Don’t Tell Mini-Lesson?
The resource includes a Google Slides presentation, three versions of student notes, sentence rewriting practice, technique-based rewrites, a paragraph revision activity, a choice board, a detective task, and answer keys. These materials provide direct instruction along with several opportunities for students to identify and create showing language.
Can I choose a student notes page that fits my students’ needs?
Yes. The resource includes three versions of the student notes so you can select the option that provides the right amount of support for your students. This makes it easier to use the lesson with different classes, small groups, or students who may need additional scaffolding.
Is the Show, Don’t Tell resource editable?
The headers and backgrounds are not editable, but portions of the resource can be changed. For example, some definitions and examples are editable, allowing you to adjust the content to better align with your instruction and the needs of your students.
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