Show, Don’t Tell!
This is a great activity for motivating learners to add more details to their
stories. Together, the tutor and learner should brainstorm five simple sentences.
Example – “I went to the store.” List these on the board or a piece of paper. The
tutor asks the learner to choose one of the sentences. Then, the learner and tutor
will take turns adding one detail that “shows the story rather than tells it.” Once
the pair has a chance to build their sentence, choose another simple sentence to
practice this skill again. After a few practice sentences, the tutor can select
several sentences from the draft of the learner’s story. Using the same process,
the pair can revise and elaborate upon the original sentence.
Example:
Tutor: I went to the store.
Learner: I went to the store last Thursday.
Tutor: I went to the store last Thursday after soccer practice.
Learner: I frantically ran to the store last Thursday after soccer practice.
Tutor: Since I was afraid of being late to Jay’s party, I frantically ran to the store
last Thursday after soccer practice.
After practicing this technique for several sessions, the tutor may want to ask the
learner to revise sentences without assistance! A tutor who diligently uses this
strategy should find that most learners will begin to internalize this technique,
therefore improving their writing!