Teaching article
Make dialogue reveal the story's problem
Give each speaker a reason to speak rather than adding empty conversation.
Give two invented characters something different to achieve in the same scene. Their exchange can show the reader what is at stake, so the dialogue has a purpose beyond filling speech bubbles.
Ask what the reader learns from the exchange. Dialogue can reveal a goal or relationship rather than simply decorate a page with speech marks.
What does this line make clearer?
State what each character needs. Write one purposeful line for each. Check whether the exchange advances the scene.
One character asks where the missing sign went; another explains that it was moved during cleaning.
Dialogue should not require private personal disclosures.
What new information does the exchange provide? Use dictated speech bubbles or live oral rehearsal.
Resources
- Six-Panel Comic Challenge — Use the panels when a visual story sequence supports the task.
Further reading
Read next
- Question or statement? Start with what the sentence does
- Give the instructions to someone who has not seen the task
- Where a word search fits in vocabulary practice
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