D. Composition: Expressing Ideas and Creating Texts · Writing for Real Audiences

Narrative Writing: Conflict, Character and Showing

D2.1 D2.3 D1.4About 45 minutes

Learning goals

I can build a story around a conflict that rises to a climax and is resolved.
I can show a character's feelings and growth through actions, dialogue and thoughts.
I can use setting details to create a mood.
I can organize my story into paragraphs.

Words to know

narrative
A text that tells a story, real or imagined.

conflict
The problem or struggle a character faces.

protagonist
The main character of a story.

mood
The feeling a reader gets from a story or a scene.

show, don't tell
Letting readers figure out feelings from actions, words and details instead of naming the feeling.

character growth
How a character changes or learns from the beginning to the end of a story.

dialogue tag
The words that tell who is speaking, like she said or he whispered.

Remember from Grade 4

In Grade 4 you planned stories on a plot mountain (beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution), showed character traits, wrote a strong lead, and put each speaker's words in a new paragraph.

In Grade 5 you will build your story around a strong conflict, show how your character feels and changes, and use setting to create a mood.

Conflict makes a story

A story without a problem isn't much of a story. Ava went to the park. It was nice. She went home. Nothing happens!

The conflict is the problem or struggle the main character (the protagonist) faces. It pushes the plot up the mountain to the climax, the moment when the character faces the problem head-on.

Three kinds of conflict: character against another character, against nature, and against themselves.

Show, don't tell

Telling: Noah was nervous.

Showing: Noah's hands were so sweaty that his cue cards went soft. He read the first line three times before the words made sense.

Showing lets readers figure out the feeling, so they feel it too. Show with:

Actions: what the character does
Dialogue: what the character says and how
Thoughts: what the character thinks
Body language: face, hands, voice

A model story (written for this site)

The bell for the Remembrance Day assembly rang, and Hana's stomach dropped like a stone. In ten minutes she would read "In Flanders Fields" in front of the whole school.

In the gym, three hundred faces turned toward the stage. Hana's knees felt like jelly. "I can't," she whispered to Ms. Tremblay. "I'll mix up the words."

Ms. Tremblay knelt beside her. "Remember why we read it," she said softly.

Hana thought of her great-grandfather's medal, resting in a velvet box at home. She took a slow breath, stepped up to the microphone, and began. Her voice shook on the first line, but by the last line it was clear and strong.

When she finished, the gym was silent. Then, from the front row, a Grade 1 student gave her a small thumbs-up. Hana smiled. Next year, she decided, she would volunteer first.

Worked example

Let's find the parts of the model story

Find the conflict, how feelings are shown, the climax, the mood, and how the character grows.

Conflict: Hana vs. herself: she is afraid to read aloud in front of the school.
Showing: her stomach dropped like a stone, knees felt like jelly, she whispered "I can't". The word nervous never appears, but we know.
Setting and mood: a big gym with three hundred faces, and later a silent gym. The mood moves from tense to respectful and proud.
Climax: Hana steps up to the microphone and begins reading.
Character growth: at the start she says I can't; at the end she decides she will volunteer first next year.
Paragraphs: a new paragraph for a new place (the gym), a new speaker (Ms. Tremblay) and the ending.

Conflict vs. self, shown through body language and dialogue, rising to a climax at the microphone, ending with Hana changed.

Hana's story on the plot mountain. Her conflict (against herself) builds to the climax at the microphone, and she has changed by the end.

Worked example

Let's turn telling into showing

Rewrite: Jacob was angry that his little sister broke his snow fort.

Think: what does angry look like? Red face, stomping, a loud voice, clenched fists.
Add action: Jacob stomped across the yard, snow flying from his boots.
Add dialogue: "You wrecked it!" he shouted. "That took me all morning!"
Add a detail that shows what was lost: The tower he had packed so carefully lay in white chunks on the ground.

Jacob stomped across the yard, snow flying from his boots. The tower he had packed so carefully lay in white chunks on the ground. "You wrecked it!" he shouted. "That took me all morning!"

Just for fun

Telling: The dog was hungry.

Showing: The dog stared at my sandwich so hard, I'm pretty sure the cheese started to melt. 🐶

Plan before you draft

Before you write a story, jot down: Who is the protagonist? What do they want? What's in the way (the conflict)? What happens at the climax? How have they changed by the end? If you can answer these five questions, you're ready to draft.

Hands-on activity

Story in a bag

You need: a paper bag, three small household objects (like a mitten, a key and a spoon), paper and a pencil.

Ask a grown-up to put three objects in the bag without you looking.
Pull them out. One must become important to your story's conflict.
Decide your conflict type: vs. character, vs. nature or vs. self.
Answer the five planning questions from the tip.
Write the climax scene first, using showing (actions, dialogue, thoughts). Aim for one or two paragraphs.
Read it to your grown-up. Ask: How did my character feel? How did you know? If they can tell without you naming the feeling, you showed it!

Your turn

What is a conflict in a story?

Name the conflict type: A canoeist must reach shore before a thunderstorm hits.

Name the conflict type: Maya wants to tell the truth but is scared she'll lose her friend.

Show, don't tell: Lucas was cold.

What is mood?

Name two setting details that create a spooky mood.

Why does a story need a climax?

More practice: warm-up

What is a protagonist?

What are the five parts of the plot mountain?

Telling or showing? She was happy.

Telling or showing? She skipped down the hall, humming.

When should you start a new paragraph in dialogue?

More practice: on your own

Show, don't tell: Grandpa was proud of me.

Give a conflict for a story set at a winter carnival, and name its type.

How could a character grow in a story where she is too shy to join a team?

Fix the dialogue punctuation and paragraphs: Are you coming asked Omar. Not yet said Jin.

Rewrite with a dialogue tag that shows feeling: "Watch out," said Ben.

Challenge

Write a short story opening (2 to 3 sentences) with a calm mood, then change one or two details to make it tense.

Explain why show, don't tell makes readers care more about a character.

In the model story, how does the Grade 1 student's thumbs-up help the ending?

Check your understanding

Quiz

A character struggles with being afraid of the dark. What type of conflict is this?

Which sentence shows instead of tells?

The climax is...

Which setting detail creates a peaceful mood?

What is character growth?

Which is punctuated correctly?

For parents and teachers

Big idea (D2.1, D2.3): Grade 5 writers draft narratives that build to a climax, using voice and stylistic elements like dialogue and descriptive detail. Organizing a story into paragraphs connects to D1.4.

How to help at home:

When watching a show or reading, ask: What's the conflict? What type is it? How did the character change?
Play show me: you say a feeling, your child acts it out, then writes the actions down.
Praise vivid verbs and sensory details.

Common difficulties:

Stories with no real problem, or a problem solved instantly. Ask: "What makes it hard for your character?"
Naming feelings instead of showing them. Ask: "What would your face and hands do?"
Dialogue all in one paragraph. New speaker, new line.

Please note: The story about Hana was written for this site. "In Flanders Fields" is a poem by John McCrae, often read on Remembrance Day in Canada.