'Showing, Not Telling' Grammar Practice Exercises for Grade 3

📚 Topic Summary

Showing, not telling, is a writing technique where you use descriptive language to help your reader experience the story through actions, senses, and emotions, rather than simply stating facts. Instead of saying 'The boy was sad,' you could show it by saying, 'Tears streamed down the boy's face as he slumped onto the park bench, his shoulders shaking.' This makes the story more engaging and vivid for the reader.

In essence, you're using details to create a movie in the reader's mind. Instead of TELLING them, you SHOW them!

🎨 Part A: Vocabulary

Match the term with its correct definition:

1. Vivid
2. Descriptive
3. Emotion
4. Sensory
5. Technique

Definitions:

1. A strong feeling.
2. Relating to the senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).
3. Producing powerful feelings or strong, clear images in the mind.
4. A way of carrying out a particular task, especially the execution or performance of an artistic work or a scientific procedure.
5. Describing something with many details.

✍️ Part B: Fill in the Blanks

Fill in the blanks with words that show rather than tell:

The old house stood on the hill. Its windows were _______, and the paint was ________. A _________ gate hung crookedly at the entrance, and the garden was overgrown with ________. Inside, the air smelled of ________ and dust.

🤔 Part C: Critical Thinking

Rewrite the following sentence using the 'showing, not telling' technique:

The girl was nervous.