What makes a good Story Retell?

Today we talked about the characteristics of a good story retell.  We brainstormed a list of important parts of a story that the students felt should be included in their retelling of a story.  Here is a retell of our lesson:

Characters:  The fabulous students in room 15.

Setting:  On the carpet in Room 15 at HES before lunch time.

Problem:  Mrs. McKenzie noticed that the fabulous students are leaving out parts of the story when they do a retell.

Kickoff:  We talked about why we need to have a good retell.  A good retell shows that the reader understands what they have read.  While reading, active readers go over the parts of the story in their head to help them understand and remember what they are reading.

Beginning:  First, we looked at cards that showed the important parts of the story The Wizard of Oz and discussed why each part was important to the story.

Middle:  Next, we read the story Big Al (one of Mrs. McKenzie's top 10 favorite books) and talked with our partners to identify the important parts of the story that should be included in the retell.

End:  Finally, we made a "yellow brick road" out of our retell cards and had volunteers walk the yellow brick road while they retold the story.

Solution:  The fabulous students in room 15 know all the important parts of a story to include in a retell and will practice with the books that they read.

Feeling:  We are excited to practice retelling other stories.  We will also connect what we know about retells when we write our own stories.

Waking the "yellow brick road" to a good retell.

Give it a try at home - Have your child retell the important parts of the text when they are done reading.