1. Warm-up #3: Tuesday 08/04
Describe a time you have been embarrassed by your family. What was the situation and how did you react it?

2. Show and Tell
English 11

3. The #1 Rule: Show, Don’t Tell
Abstract words are general ideas that represent conclusions you have made.
Love
Hate
Serenity
Nervousness
Indecision
Fear
Passion

4. Use Concrete (Sensory) Images
Instead of using these abstract words, use concrete images to SHOW those ideas.
Pick three of the following words and write a descriptive sentence or two that conveys the meaning of that word without using the actual word.
Content
Dependent
Violent
Joyful
Lonely

5. Illustrate the following sentence
Emily was angry when she heard what the umpire said.
Shaking her head back and forth, Emily pounded home plate with her fist after the umpire shouted, “You’re out!”
Stick figures welcome!

6. Illustrate the following sentence
She cried a lot.
Throwing herself on the bed, Carly clutched her rejection letter to her chest, sobbing into her pillow until she fell asleep.

7. Use Concrete Images
Your belief will be abstract but find a way to ground your belief using specific details from a life event.
Describe a life event using concrete examples.
I was nervous.
VS.
I had to remind myself to let go of the folds of fabric I had tightly clenched in my fists. The sweat that had started forming on my forehead started making a run for it. I dipped my forehead down to the sleeve of my shirt and tried wiping the little beads of moisture away before anyone in the room noticed them.

8. Strategies writers use to SHOW what is happening include:
describing the character’s actions rather than just saying how he or she feels.
using action verbs.
using similes and metaphors.
using dialogue.
Appealing to some of the five senses to paint a picture of what is happening.
Take a look at Amy Tan’s narrative and underline the sentences where you see any of the strategies listed above.