Show Don’t Tell...Show Don’t Tell Thinking About Emotions What do you think it means to show but not tell? LO: To empathise with a character’s feelings using emotive language

Show Don’t Tell

Thinking About Emotions

What do you think it

means to show but not

tell?

LO: To empathise with a character’s feelings using emotive language

Think of an emotion in your head

Now, think of an action to represent that

emotion

E.g. angry- making fists into balls, pacing up

and down and frowning

Emotion Examples:

Excited, anger, amused, shock, fear, curiosity,

relief, embarrassment, sadness

The next slides show an emotion and then things someone might do if they

are experiencing this emotion.

You could get your acting hats on and act out what each emotion shows as

you read through the slides.

Only spend 5 – 10 minutes on this as this is a starter activity – your main

task will come later

Excited

talkative,

pacing around,

rubbing hands,

eyes darting around,

big smiles,

hugging,

shaking hands,

punching someone on the arm,

giggles,

victory dance,

staring into the distance,

group feeling of joy.

Amused

smiling,

eyes wide,

head up,

walking quickly,

friendly,

talkative,

using arms a lot,

throwing head back,

cupping the cheeks,

holding ribs,

holding hand up to stay stop,

covering the mouth,

trying to keep a straight

face,

bouncing on toes,

breathlessness,

tapping with fingers.

Fear

dry mouth,

biting lip,

wanting to run,

gasping for air,

cold sweat,

talking non stop,

dizziness,

shivery skin,

flinching at noises,

shaking,

shrill voice,

stuttering voice.

crouching

tip-toeing

hands up

Anger

breathing deeply,

picking fights,

sarcasm,

pounding fists,

prodding finger,

deeper louder voice,

shoulders and head

forward,

eyes wide and glaring,

hands forward in fists,

red face.

Shock

yelp or light scream,

stiffening posture,

sudden coldness,

eyes wide and water,

head darting left and right

hand against chest,

hand against throat,

shaky soft voice,

grabbing someone’s arm for

comfort,

heavy feeling in the stomach,

tingling skin,

asking who, what, why questions.

Curiosity

straining to see,

ears and head pointing to

hear,

shushing others to be quiet,

head moving left and right,

wide eyes,

slower breaths,

lips parted slightly,

gasp of wonder,

small smile,

soft voice,

moving from left to right foot

Relief

smiling

wide grinning eyes

eyes closed

hand holding brow

blowing air out of mouth

holding hair with both hands

mouth open, hands wide

shaking head, disbelief

laughter

Embarrassment

looking down,

can’t look at other’s eyes,

hiding face with long hair,

walking quickly away,

grasping things against chest,

gritting teeth,

keep swallowing,

face goes red,

stammering,

panicky thoughts,

shoulders slumped,

glancing around anxiously for an

exit.

Sadness

downcast eyes,

red or watery eyes,

slow walk,

feeling sick,

crying, not wanting to talk,

jerky breathing,

shoulders slumped,

rubbing face,

rubbing hair,

downturned mouth,

avoiding other’s eyes.

A good writer shows emotions through describing actions

rather than using the emotional word.

Emotion Actions

Amused Smiling, eyes wide, head up, walking quickly, friendly, talkative, using arms a lot, throwing

head back, cupping the cheeks, holding ribs, holding hand up to stay stop, covering the

mouth, trying to keep a straight face, bouncing on toes, breathlessness, tapping with fingers.

Fear Dry mouth, biting lip, wanting to run, gasping for air, cold sweat, talking non stop, dizziness,

shivery skin, flinching at noises, shaking, shrill voice, stuttering voice.

Anger Breathing deeply, picking fights, sarcasm, pounding fists, deeper louder voice, shoulders and

head forward, eyes wide and glaring, hands forward in fists, red face.

Shock or

Surprise

Yelp, stiffening posture, sudden coldness, eyes water, hand against chest, hand against

throat, shaky soft voice, grabbing someone for comfort, heavy feeling in the stomach,

tingling skin, asking who, what, why questions.

Curiosity Straining to see, ears and head pointing to hear, shushing others to be quiet, wide eyes,

slower breaths, lips parted slightly, gasp of wonder, small smile, soft voice

Excited for

what’s to come

Talkative, pacing around, rubbing hands, eyes darting around, big smiles, hugging, shaking

hands, punching someone in fun on the arm, giggles, victory dance, group feeling of joy.

Embarrassment Looking down, can’t look at others eyes, hiding face with long hair, walking quickly away,

grasping things against chest, gritting teeth, keep swallowing, stammering, panicked

thoughts, shoulders slumped, glancing around anxiously for an exit.

Sadness Downcast eyes, slow walk, feeling sick, crying, not wanting to talk, jerky breathing, shoulders

slumped, rubbing face, avoiding others eyes.

How could we write sentences that

SHOW (through description) what was

happening in the canteen, without using

the word ‘chaos’.

Through activities like this, we

are building your imagination

and developing your descriptive

skills

Could change to…

In the canteen, empty chairs and tables were

strewn all over the place, sticky footprints

covered the floor and a mass of litter covered

the ground like a matted blanket. Conversation

filled the air and people were constantly

adding to the problems as each minute passed.

How is this better?

Why is emotive language important?

Using descriptive and emotive language creates

mental images in the reader’s mind

When readers are given a clear picture, they are

more engaged in the story (this draws them in

and makes them want to keep reading)

It will make your writing more descriptive and

interesting

As the footsteps tapped closer and closer,

Jack felt his stomach muscles tighten. He

flattened himself to the wall, the gritty

bricks against his cheek. Sweat chilled his

palms. He used both hands to steady

himself.

What is this description actually telling

us?

Why is it effective?

As the footsteps tapped closer and closer,

Jack felt his stomach muscles tighten. He

flattened himself to the wall, the gritty

bricks against his cheek. Sweat chilled his

palms. He used both hands to steady

himself.

The words in red help us to imagine and

picture what was happening to Jack as a

result of the worry he was feeling.

It is more effective than writing, ‘Jack was

nervous when he heard footsteps’

What is this description actually telling

us? Why is it effective?

TASK 1:Choose at least 3 emotions from the grid. For each one, write sentences that SHOW how the person is feeling.

Think about facial expressions, body language and actions that you can describe.

To challenge yourself, use a thesaurus

to use more sophisticated vocabulary

EXT: Include similes and

metaphors as part of your

descriptions

LO: To empathise with a character’s feelings using emotive language

TASTE

TEXTURE

– in your

fingers

and your

mouth

SMELL

SOUND 15 MINUTES

To challenge yourself, use a thesaurus

to use more sophisticated vocabulary

(Try to avoid opinions e.g ‘they are

delicious’, stick to informative

descriptions only)

TASK 2: