--- title: "Year 5 English: Freeze Frames and Thought Tapping" url: "https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2026-03-04-year-5-english-freeze-frames-and-thought-tapping" school: "Darwen St James’ C of E Primary Academy" --- # Year 5 English: Freeze Frames and Thought Tapping ![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/news/fd6d38f5-4202-4941-9c9c-e6c803589782.jpg) 4 March 2026 ![](https://darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy.schudio.com/images/news/fd6d38f5-4202-4941-9c9c-e6c803589782.jpg) ### Step into the Scene: ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ in Year 5 In our English lessons this week, Year 5 have been exploring the art of **‘Show, Don’t Tell’** to bring their characters to life. To help us understand how to describe emotions without simply naming them, we took our learning onto its feet! The children worked in groups to ‘freeze frame’ a dramatic moment: a time traveller from a sterile, silent future space colony arriving suddenly in the middle of a bustling, modern-day playground. We focused on using our bodies and facial expressions to convey the traveller’s shock at the sensory explosion of sights, sounds, and smells. The tension rose as we moved into ‘thought-tracking’; when a child’s shoulder was tapped, they had to break their freeze frame to deliver a single, powerful line of dialogue. From the traveller's stunned whispers to the confused shouts of the modern-day pupils, it was a masterclass in character development. These physical experiences are now providing a fantastic foundation for our descriptive writing as we translate those frozen moments into vivid prose. [Year 5](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/tag/year-5) [English](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/tag/english) [![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/imagecache/100x100c/news/4732bfef-fa7d-4d1f-99dd-7df464cba077.jpg)](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2026-03-03-pre-school-p-e-yoga) Previous ### [Pre-School-P.E-Yoga](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2026-03-03-pre-school-p-e-yoga) [![](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/imagecache/100x100c/news/adb29b81-29f5-4fbc-b9c0-4f65125368d3.jpeg)](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2026-03-06-world-book-day-reading-cafe) Next ### [World Book Day Reading Cafe](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news/2026-03-06-world-book-day-reading-cafe) ### Academy Life - [News](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/news) - [Events](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/events) - [Clubs](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/basc) - [School Council](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/school-council) - [Attendance](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/attendance) - [Charities and Fundrasing](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/academy-life/charities-and-fundraising) - ![School Games Gold](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/Gold_Logo_25-26(1).png) - ![Healthy school](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/healthy_school.png) - ![Picture News](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/6_Years_of_Picture_News.png) - ![AP smilestar](https://files.schudio.com/darwen-st-james-c-of-e-primary-academy/images/partners/Screenshot_2026-07-27_10.26.27.png) ##### Location St James Crescent Darwen Lancashire BB3 0EY ##### Contact Us 01254 703260 ##### Stay Connected - [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Darwenstjames) - [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/darwenstjames/) © Copyright 2021–2026 Darwen St James’ C of E Primary Academy School & Trust Websites by [ ![Schudio logo](https://darwenstjames.co.uk/img/logo/light.png) ](https://www.schudio.com/)