Show, Don't Tell Polaroid Activity

Teach students to show, not tell — and watch their writing transform before your eyes.

This Show, Don't Tell Polaroid Activity is a creative and visually engaging printable writing resource for Australian primary school students in Years 3–6. Using the iconic polaroid photo frame as the visual hook, students practise the powerful writing technique of "showing" a feeling or moment through descriptive detail rather than simply "telling" the reader what happened. It's one of the most impactful lessons in a writing teacher's toolkit — and this activity makes it memorable.

Aligned to the Australian Curriculum English strand (Literacy — Creating Texts) and available as a no-prep instant download.

Why teachers love it:

• High-impact writing technique — one of the most transformative lessons for student writing quality
• Visually engaging format — the polaroid hook captures student interest immediately
• Display worthy — finished polaroid writing looks stunning on a classroom wall
• Zero prep — instant download, print and use

Perfect for:

• Years 3–6 Australian primary classrooms
• Creative writing and narrative writing lessons
• Australian Curriculum English — descriptive writing and figurative language
• Writing craft lessons and targeted writing skill development

What's included:
A printable Show, Don't Tell Polaroid Activity with writing templates. Students draft their "show, don't tell" writing inside the polaroid frames. Designed for individual student use on A4 paper.

Print and go — your writing lesson is sorted. 🖨️

Setting writing goals?
Our writing goals guide shares ten ways we use writing goals in the classroom alongside this resource.

SPECIFICATIONS

Format: PDF, set up for A4 paper. Exactly what's inside is listed above.

Editing: This download is not editable. The PDF is flattened to protect the design and the artists' work we license.

Printing: Open the file in a PDF reader and choose 'Fit to page' or 'Actual size'. Do a test page on plain paper first — card, colour and black-and-white all print well.

Licence: One classroom, one teacher. Please don't share, resell or post the file online; buy an extra licence for each colleague who wants their own copy.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

You'll need a PDF reader on your device — the free Adobe Acrobat Reader is the most reliable. Double-click the downloaded file to open it.

If a page shows on screen but won't print properly, open it in Acrobat Reader, choose Print → Advanced → tick 'Print as image'.

Stuck? Contact us and we'll sort it out.

OUR HAPPINESS GUARANTEE

We want you to love every Mrs Edgar resource. If something isn't right, contact us within 30 days and we'll make it right. Because this is a digital file we can't refund a download that has already been opened, but we will always help you get it working. See our Returns Policy.

FAQS

Where is my download?
Check your inbox (and junk folder) for the email from Mrs Edgar with your link. You can also log in to your account at mrsedgar.com.au and download it from your order.

It came as a ZIP file — how do I open it?
On a Mac, double-click it. On Windows, right-click and choose 'Extract All'. Your PDFs will be inside.

Can I print in colour or black and white?
Yes. Our resources are designed to work both ways; black-and-white versions look great on coloured card.

The download won't start on my school computer.
Some school networks block downloads. Try again at home, or right-click the link and choose 'Save link as'.