Dialogue Tags = Synonyms for Said in Dialogue

Young writers often use the word ‘said’ over and over again when their characters are talking to each other. While it’s okay to use ‘said,’ too much of it can make the writing feel a little monotonous. Using the word ‘said’ repeatedly in a story is like getting the same flavor of ice cream every time you visit the ice cream shop; it’s nice, but sometimes you need more variety!

This year, encourage your students to develop better characters by using dialogue tags such as whisper, shout, or giggle instead of just saying ‘said’. We’re excited to help you grow your writers with our brand new Dialogue Tags List for kids!

Use a Dialogue Tags List to Show Characters’ Emotions

This printable teaching resource is a handy dialogue tag word list designed to help students link dialogue tags with the different emotions that they convey. It is the perfect classroom tool for enhancing narrative writing skills, helping beginning writers create more vivid, emotion-driven characters and dialogue in their stories.

This dialogue tags list is organised by traits and emotions such as happiness, sadness and anger, thus providing your students with a variety of rich word options that go beyond the overused “said.”

Download and Print Your List of Dialogue Tags

This resource is available as an easy-to-use Google Slides or PDF Resource file. To get your copy, click the dropdown arrow on the download button to select your preferred file format. We have included full-color and black-and-white options for all your printing needs.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator.

More Ideas for Your Writing Toolkit

Are you looking for more? Make sure you grab these handy worksheets and resources while you’re here!

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Writing Out Loud: Dialogue Punctuation Teaching Presentation

Teach your students how to write dialogue correctly with an interactive teaching presentation.

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Punctuating Dialogue - Worksheet Pack

Reinforce understanding of how to punctuate direct speech with differentiated quotation marks worksheets.

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Writing Out Loud: Dialogue Punctuation Worksheet

Practice using quotation marks in writing with a Punctuating Dialogue worksheet.