Narrative Techniques & Description Worksheet for 12-Year-Olds | English Creative Writing

Instructions

Read through each section carefully and complete the activities. These exercises will help you practice identifying and using different narrative techniques to make your writing more exciting and descriptive.

Part 1: Match the Technique

Match the narrative technique on the left with its correct definition on the right. Write the correct letter in the blank space.

Techniques

1. ____ Foreshadowing
2. ____ Flashback
3. ____ Simile
4. ____ Metaphor
5. ____ Personification

Definitions

• A. A comparison between two things, stating one thing is another (e.g., "The classroom was a zoo.")
• B. A scene that interrupts the story to show an event that happened at an earlier time.
• C. A comparison between two things using the words "like" or "as" (e.g., "He was as quiet as a mouse.")
• D. Giving human qualities or actions to inanimate objects or animals (e.g., "The wind whispered through the trees.")
• E. A hint or clue given by the author about something that will happen later in the story.

Part 2: Show, Don't Tell

The sentences below "tell" the reader something, but they aren't very interesting. Rewrite each sentence to "show" the same idea using descriptive details and actions. The first one is done for you as an example.

Telling: The man was angry.

Showing: The man's face turned beet red, and he slammed his fist on the table, rattling the glasses.

1. Telling: The room was messy.

Showing: _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Telling: She was excited.

Showing: _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Telling: The cake was delicious.

Showing: _________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

Part 3: Using Your Senses

Imagine you are walking through a forest just after it has rained. Brainstorm details that appeal to each of the five senses to describe the scene. Write at least one detail for each sense.

• Sight: __________________________________________________________________


• Sound: _________________________________________________________________


• Smell: _________________________________________________________________


• Touch: _________________________________________________________________


• Taste: __________________________________________________________________

Part 4: Find the Technique

Read the short passage below and then answer the questions that follow.

The old clock on the wall was a tired soldier, its hands marching slowly toward midnight. As the final chime began to sound, Leo felt a shiver of unease, a dark premonition he couldn't explain. Suddenly, his mind jumped back to last summer's camping trip, the night his older brother had warned him about the legend of the Midnight Visitor. He shook his head, trying to clear the memory, but the heavy silence that followed the final chime felt watchful and menacing.

1. Find an example of a metaphor in the passage.

_________________________________________________________________________

2. Find an example of personification in the passage.

_________________________________________________________________________

3. Find an example of a flashback.

_________________________________________________________________________

4. Find an example of foreshadowing.

_________________________________________________________________________

Answer Key

Part 1: Match the Technique

1. E. Foreshadowing
2. B. Flashback
3. C. Simile
4. A. Metaphor
5. D. Personification

Part 2: Show, Don't Tell

(Note: Student answers will vary. The examples below are just suggestions.)

1. Telling: The room was messy.
   Showing Example: Clothes were thrown over every chair, and dusty pizza boxes were stacked precariously on the desk next to a pile of open books.
2. Telling: She was excited.
   Showing Example: She bounced on the balls of her feet, unable to stop a wide grin from spreading across her face as she clapped her hands together.
3. Telling: The cake was delicious.
   Showing Example: The rich, chocolate frosting melted on my tongue, perfectly complementing the moist, fluffy cake inside.

Part 3: Using Your Senses

(Note: Student answers will vary. The examples below are just suggestions.)

• Sight: Droplets of water glittering on green leaves; dark, damp bark on the trees; sunlight breaking through the clouds.
• Sound: The drip-drip-drip of water from branches; the squelch of mud underfoot; birds beginning to sing again.
• Smell: The earthy scent of damp soil and moss (petrichor); the fresh, clean smell of pine needles.
• Touch: The cool, damp air on your skin; a wet leaf brushing against your cheek; the rough texture of tree bark.
• Taste: The clean, fresh taste of a raindrop caught on your tongue.

Part 4: Find the Technique

1. Metaphor: "The old clock on the wall was a tired soldier..."
2. Personification: "...its hands marching slowly toward midnight." OR "...the heavy silence that followed the final chime felt watchful and menacing."
3. Flashback: "...his mind jumped back to last summer's camping trip, the night his older brother had warned him about the legend of the Midnight Visitor."
4. Foreshadowing: "...Leo felt a shiver of unease, a dark premonition he couldn't explain."