Show Don't Tell for Kids: How to Teach This Writing Skill Without the Confusion
"Show, don't tell."
It's the most repeated piece of writing advice in existence. Teachers write it in the margins. Writing books dedicate whole chapters to it. And most kids (and honestly, most adults) hear it and think: what does that even mean?
If your child has gotten this feedback and felt confused — or if you've tried to explain it and hit a wall — you're not alone. The phrase itself isn't very helpful. It doesn't tell you what to do differently. It just says something you did was wrong without explaining why or how to fix it.
Here's a clearer way to think about it, and a few tools you can use to actually teach it.
What "Show Don't Tell" Really Means
At its core, the rule is about where the writing happens.
Telling puts the reader outside the story, receiving information:
She was nervous.
Showing puts the reader inside the experience:
Her hands wouldn't stop shaking. She checked the clock for the fourth time.
Both sentences communicate the same thing. But the second one pulls you in. You're not being told how to feel — you're feeling it through the details.
The difference isn't that telling is lazy and showing is hard work. It's that telling summarizes while showing dramatizes. Both have their place — but the most memorable moments in stories almost always show.
Why Kids Default to Telling
It's completely natural. When kids write, they're focused on communicating what they know: the character is scared, the dragon is scary, she feels happy now. They know the emotion. They want you to know it too. So they state it.
The shift to showing requires a different kind of thinking — not "what do I know about this character?" but "what would I see if I were standing next to them right now?"
That's a hard question for young writers. It takes practice. But once kids get it, it changes how they write everything.
A Simple Way to Explain It
Try this with your child:
Ask them to write the sentence: He was angry.
Then ask: "If I were watching this in a movie, what would I see on screen? What would the actor do? What would his face look like? What would he say?"
Let them answer out loud. Then say: "Write that instead."
Almost every time, what they describe — slammed door, clenched jaw, voice going quiet instead of loud — is more interesting than "he was angry." They already know how to show. They just haven't learned to put it on the page yet.
Four "Show Don't Tell" Techniques Kids Can Actually Use
1. Use the Body
Emotions live in the body. Sweaty palms, racing heart, stomach dropping, shoulders relaxing — these physical details communicate feeling without naming it.
Ask your child: Where does this feeling live in the body? What does it make the character do physically?
- Instead of she was embarrassed → Her face went hot. She stared at the floor.
- Instead of he was excited → He kept bouncing on his heels, checking the door every few seconds.
2. Use Action
What does the character do because of how they feel? Behavior is a window into emotion.
- Instead of she was sad → She picked up the photo and put it back down without looking at it.
- Instead of he was scared → He didn't run. He couldn't. His legs just stopped working.
3. Use Dialogue
What does the character say — and how do they say it? Dialogue can carry enormous emotional weight when it's specific.
- Instead of she was angry at him → "Fine," she said. She didn't look at him when she said it.
- Instead of he was nervous about the speech → "I'm not ready," he kept saying, even after everyone told him he was.
4. Use Specific Details
The more specific a detail, the more real it feels. Vague descriptions tell. Precise ones show.
- Instead of the room was messy → There were three empty cereal bowls on the floor and a sock hanging off the lamp.
- Instead of it was a sad place → The swing set had one swing missing. The other one creaked even when no one was on it.
Practice That Actually Works
The best way to build this skill is through short, focused exercises — not full stories. Try these with your child:
Emotion swap: Write a feeling on a slip of paper (jealous, proud, confused, relieved). Have your child write 3-4 sentences that show the emotion without naming it. Read it back and try to guess what the emotion is.
Movie freeze-frame: Pick a scene from a book or movie where a character feels something strongly. Ask: "What would you see if you froze the frame right here? Write what you see."
Before and after: Take a telling sentence and rewrite it as showing. This works well as a warm-up — it's quick, it's focused, and kids can see the difference immediately.
StorySpark works exactly like this — instead of just asking kids to "write a story," Spark asks the right questions at each step, including prompts that naturally push kids toward showing rather than telling. When a child types "she was scared," Spark might ask: What does scared look like on her face? What does she do? The craft lesson happens in the moment, not as abstract instruction.
When Telling Is Actually Fine
One thing worth teaching alongside this: telling isn't always wrong.
Sometimes you need to move quickly through a scene. Sometimes the emotion is background information, not the focus. Professional writers tell all the time — they just know when to tell and when to slow down and show.
A good rule of thumb for kids: show the moments that matter most. The big scene, the turning point, the moment of fear or joy or loss — those deserve full showing treatment. Everything in between can be told.
The goal isn't to eliminate telling. It's to know the difference, and to choose.
Ready to help your child practice writing that actually pulls readers in? StorySpark guides kids through storytelling step by step — with the kinds of questions that make "show don't tell" feel natural, not like a rule to memorize. Start writing for free.