Courage: Show, Don’t Tell

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage
to lose sight of the shore.” –Christopher Columbus

Show, Don’t Tell

When an author wants to let readers know that a character is, say, courageous, she doesn’t write, “Chris was courageous.” Instead, she sets up a situation in which the character has to act bravely, even if he or she feels fearful, showing just how courageous the character is.

Christopher Columbus showed courage by doing something—crossing an ocean when many believed he would fall off the edge of the earth into oblivion.

“Show, don’t tell” is an important element of writing stories. You don’t want to insult your readers by telling them how characters feel or what a character is like. You want to show them by

Paragraph Chart: High School

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Many students tell me that after they do the hard work of coming up with an idea, they do not know what to put in the paragraph or even how to write the paragraph.

Is this an issue for you as well? Could you use a little help in this area?

{Looking for the MIDDLE SCHOOL version of this tutorial? >>}

What Is in Your Backpack?

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

Have you ever seen a man with his back pocket bulging from an overstuffed wallet? Do you know a woman who carries around a huge purse? Do you ever wonder what could be in there, like old rubber bands, ketchup packets, her kids’ Legos, or a stapler?

You can tell a lot about a person by what’s in their purse, backpack, or even bedroom.

Be Prepared

Earthquakes. Fires. Tornados. Hurricanes. Super viruses.

Breaking your finger before the big game. Using bleach instead of laundry soap on your favorite shirt. Losing your cell phone—again.

Where am I going with all of this?

What Comes to Mind When You See This Picture?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Once in a while, it’s interesting to look at a picture and write whatever comes to your mind—no guidance, no rules.

So, here goes . . .

Proofreading: It’s Not Just for Cheerleaders

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Proofreading. What a pain.

You finish your essay and think you’re through with it, but, no. Now you have to proofread it.

It turns out that writing and proofreading are two separate skills. In fact, they use two different parts of your brain and should be done at different times.

To take this a step further, when I proofread, I

Stained-glass Butterflies and How to Write a How-to

SHARON’S BLOG

Students will follow along as I guide them through my experience with making stained-glass butterflies. As they read, they’ll be learning how to write a how-to and then insert transitions into the essay to move their readers easily through the process.

Suitable for students in 5th – 12th grade.

My stained-glass how-to essay

Last week I attended a class on how to make stained-glass butterflies. You know, the kind you hang up on a window with little suction cups.

My stained-glass butterfly and my mom’s. Hers turned out better than mine!

The teacher was very clear on how to do each step. We practiced cutting glass first, listening for the “hiss” that showed we were scoring the glass correctly with our cutters. After we had cut a line and a circle (both of which I messed up), he moved us to the next step.

I chose what I thought would be a simple butterfly design and found out how wrong I was.

Why Not Drop Out?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Across the country, nearly 1 out of every 4 high school students is dropping out, according to boostup.org.

Here are some statistics about dropouts. I was the most surprised by #11. That post mentions a “dropout factory.” You’ll find the definition of that term here, along with other facts about dropping out of school.

Why do you think students drop out of high school? Here are some interesting reasons, according to the students who are dropping out.

Do you think they should stay in school and graduate? After all, David Karp, founder of Tumblr, dropped out of high school

Create a New Park

MIDDLE SCHOOL PROMPTS

I recently visited The Headlands, an International Dark Sky Park west of Mackinaw City, Michigan, on the shore of Lake Michigan.

A dark sky park is an area set aside for night-sky viewing and is away from man-made lighting so that the night sky is clear. You can see so many more stars and night-sky features without artificial lighting nearby.

Although there are beautiful hiking trails in the woods for use in the daytime in The Headlands, its main feature is the large, open space created for night-time viewing.

If You Could Not Speak for 15 Years, What Would Your First Words Be?

HIGH SCHOOL PROMPTS

Do you know someone who does not or cannot speak?

Many reasons exist for someone not speaking. For instance, someone may be afraid to speak and be an elective mute. Some may have been born with physical problems that make it difficult or impossible to speak. Others may have lost the ability to speak due to an illness, which is what happened to Don. You can watch his story here.

Show, Don’t Tell

My stained-glass how-to essay

Looking for something?

.