Showing vs. Telling, Day #5--Top 10 Writing Apps

To show or to tell, that is the question. I have written this comment countless times on student papers, eager to put words down on a page. The mark of a good writer is not their ability to tell the reader what is happening, but to show the reader, evoking the reader's emotions and allowing the reader to connect to the story. Technology or no technology, this is a very important aspect of the writing process--transforming a written piece into one that shows. Practice, practice, practice is the key. However, sometimes, students need additional examples to prompt them to show rather than tell. Check out the resources below that assist in adding "showing" elements.

Where to start?

• Try using ReadWriteThink's Comic Book Primer to get students into the habit of showing rather than telling. 

For the more advanced writers, Purdue OWL offers links to action verbs and help with a variety of writing types--including adding in "showing" elements. 

Meanwhile, others offer activities to use with your students in constructing "showing" elements. 

• Scholastic's January Top 10:  http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top_teaching/2011/02/my-january-top-ten-list-writing-lessons-and-resources (This even includes a SMART file for your Promethean or SmartBoards)
• Or, one school districts plethora of writing resources:  http://www.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/boldtkatherine/WritingResources.htm
• Colorado Springs has a useful write-up on showing vs. telling as well:  http://www.coloradospringsfictionwritersgroup.org/archive/2003-10_article-creative_writing_101-show_versus_tell.pdf
• As does Dennis Jerz:  http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/creative1/showing/

Some great action verbs can be found here: http://www.uhv.edu/hr/JAQ/action_verbs.htm or http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/543/02/

All of these activities can be used in unison with paper images or electronic images. Using appropriate searching techniques (see last month's searching series), students can find information and images to describe. 

Then, there is always the graphic organizer staple. By properly using graphic organizers and brainstorm sites (like in Day #2), students can divide up their thoughts into the senses. This enables them to more easily show readers a story. 

Stay tuned to Thesis help!