---
title: Feelings- Show Not Tell
description: Show don't tell with literature as the jumping off point and build vocabulary through listening, charting and modeling! Grades K-5
---

[Love To Write and Read All Day ](https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/love-to-write-and-read-all-day)

# [Feelings- Show Not Tell](https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/love-to-write-and-read-all-day/feelings-show-not-tell)

 Written by [Kylene Reed](https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/love-to-write-and-read-all-day/author/kylene-reed) | January 19, 2026

****Empowering Writers' guides are meant to be used with any topic or unit that you are teaching about. The lessons can be taught with books that you already use in your classroom. At the beginning of the year, many of us teach a unit on feelings. I love this book, and believe it or not, it still resides in my classroom library in 6th grade. Here is a cute example of how you can use it while teaching show not tell and other "What Do Feelings Look Like"  lessons in your K-1 Getting Ready to Write book!

As I read, I charted the vocabulary words from the book that showed how Mr. Fish was feeling. We took time to pantomime the actions and feelings as I wrote the word. Then, the students copied them from my poster into the bubbles around the picture that they drew. Check out all of this great vocabulary to use throughout the year!

2nd Grade Sample                            First Grade Sample

<https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/hubfs/G2%20fish.jpeg>     <https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/hubfs/G2%20fish.jpeg>   

[View full post](https://blog.empoweringwriters.com/love-to-write-and-read-all-day/feelings-show-not-tell)

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