Show Not Tell

Hale talks about noticing craft in literature and in week 5 resources there is a list of genre and craft lessons to help you find appropriate text. Using picture books to teach specific craft is a powerful and endless resource! As you begin noticing craft in literature you can build your own storehouse of "craft lessons".

A favorite book, The Leaving Morning,by Angela Johnson illustrates "Show Not Tell" in text and structure. After an initial reading to enjoy the book, I read the first page.

THE LEAVING happened on a soupy, misty morning, when you could hear the street sweeper. Sssshhhshsh...

The students and I know that this story starts out in the morning, but when? EARLY! How do we know?

• It's EARLY when the street sweeper comes by, before all the cars come out!
• It's quiet early in the morning.
• Sometimes it is foggy; soupy, misty are words that describe what fog looks like.
• AND the street sweeper has lights on because it is dark. That's early! (The picture is text too!)

To show that saying goodbye took a long time, the author stretches the goodbyes out over several pages with just a few words on each page.

Even young children can "see" craft and then be taught to try out that craft in their own writing.