The Writer's Toolkit: Show, Don't Tell

Crafting Vivid and Entertaining Descriptions

What Does "Show, Don't Tell" Mean?

"Show, Don't Tell" is one of the most powerful rules in creative writing. Instead of simply telling the reader something is true (e.g., "The man was angry"), a good writer shows it through actions, dialogue, and sensory details, allowing the reader to experience the scene for themselves. Telling is direct and informative, but showing is immersive and entertaining. It invites the reader to become a detective, drawing their own conclusions from the evidence you provide. This technique is essential for creating a world that feels real and characters that come alive.

Telling vs. Showing: An Example

Telling 😴

The room was messy.

This gives us the basic information, but it's boring. The reader has no connection to the space.

Showing 😎

Week-old pizza boxes teetered on a stack of textbooks, and clothes were strewn across the floor like a colourful, fabric avalanche. The air was thick with the smell of stale coffee and dust.

This uses specific details (pizza boxes, clothes) and sensory information (smell of coffee) to create a vivid picture of the mess.

Deconstruction & Application

1. Deconstruction (Cultural Example): Pūrākau (legends) are masters of showing. How does this passage "show" that Kupe was a great navigator without "telling" us?

Kupe followed the path of the stars, his eyes tracing the silver line of Te Ika-o-te-Rangi. He felt the shift of the wind on his skin and tasted the salt spray to know his direction. He read the migration path of the godwits and the colour of the water, his waka cutting a true line across the vast, empty ocean.

2. Deconstruction: Read the "Telling" sentence below. How could you "Show" this instead? Brainstorm sensory details (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) and specific actions.

Telling Sentence:

The girl was nervous about her speech.

3. Application: Rewrite the following short paragraph. Your goal is to replace the "Telling" parts with "Showing" details to make the scene more entertaining and immersive.

It was a very cold day. The old man walked down the street. He was poor but happy. He went into the warm bakery.

Self-Assessment & Challenge

Success Criteria Checklist

I have replaced the "telling" sentences with "showing" details.
I have used specific actions to show character and mood.
I have included details from at least two of the five senses.
My new paragraph creates a clear picture in the reader's mind.

Challenge Task 🚀

Write a short paragraph that "shows" a character is a specific type of person (e.g., a messy person, a kind person, a brave person) without ever using that adjective. For example, show us a character is kind by describing their actions towards a stray animal.

Curriculum alignment

Body Systems — Knowledge: Different body parts are associated with senses, including sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

📋 Teacher Planning Snapshot

Ngā Whāinga Ako — Learning Intentions

Students will engage with this resource to develop literacy, critical thinking, and writing skills, with connections to Te Ao Māori and real-world New Zealand contexts.

Ngā Paearu Angitū — Success Criteria

✅ Students can apply the key skill or concept from this resource in their own writing or analysis.
✅ Students can explain the learning using their own words and connect it to a real-world context.

Differentiation & Inclusion

Scaffold: Provide sentence starters, graphic organisers, and entry-level tasks. Offer extension challenges for capable learners to address a range of readiness levels.

ELL / ESOL: Pre-teach key vocabulary before the lesson. Provide bilingual glossaries and allow first-language drafting.

Inclusion: Neurodiverse learners benefit from chunked instructions and visual supports. Ensure accessible formats throughout.

🌿 Mātauranga Māori Lens

Te ao Māori enriches this learning area. Whakapapa (thinking in relationships), tikanga (purposeful protocols), and manaakitanga (caring for all learners) are frameworks that apply as much to literacy and writing as to any other domain. Centre these alongside Western frameworks to honour the full range of students' knowledge systems.