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Lesson 1
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Lesson: Readers retell stories
Read the story of the Little Red Hen.
Bring
in a bread machine and allow the kids to help you make bread. (last year we had someone come in for a "bread field trip"
and they had the kids grind wheat to make flour and then made the bread with the flour we made.)
Explain
to the children that many stories are handed down orally from generation to generation. Many cultures have stories they
hand down. Fairy tales and fables are often handed down orally. Retelling a story is a very important skill.
Today
I am going to teach you how to retell a story. When retelling it is important to give ALL the details.
Start
by doing a tiny summary of the LIttle Red Hen. (There was this hen, she needed help making bread. No one would
help her so she did all the work herself. Then she wouldn't share the bread because no one helped her.) Ask
the kids what they thought of that story.
Now tell them that you are going to RETELL the story of
the little red hen. This time do a full retell complete with all details and voice.
Ask kids
to turn to their talking partner and give it a try.
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Lesson 2
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Lesson: Readers tell about the characters
Yesterday we practiced retelling a story. Remember
that when you retell a story you give lots of details.
One of the things that readers give details
about is the characters. Today I am going to act out a character from a fairy tale and I want you to guess who I am.
Why
were you able to guess my character?
When you retell a story you need to tell details about
the character.
Turn to your talking partner and tell them about a character and see if they can guess
your character. Your character should come from a fairy tale.
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Lesson 3
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Lesson: Readers tell about the setting
Show a picture of the beach and have a student describe
the setting. Repeat with pictures of the woods, a park, a pond, outer space, etc.
Stories take
place inside a setting. A setting is a place. Our classroom is our setting. Every story needs a setting.
When
we retell we need to tell about the setting. It's important to give details. Giving details about the setting
makes the retell more interesting. Setting can include a description of the place, the time, the time period,
etc.
Show another setting image and have children tell about the setting to their talking partner.
Remember,
when you retell, tell as much as you can about the setting.
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Lesson 4
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Lesson: Readers tell about the problem
Often times when I pick you guys up after lunch recess
I hear a lot of the kindergarten children tattling and telling about problems they had on the playground.
What
are some problems that kids have on the playground? Sometimes the problems are about conflicts that kids have with other
kids. Sometimes the problem is that someone lost their hat or mittens, or that the ball went over the fence or that
a child fell and got hurt.
Just like there are problems on the playground, stories also have
problems. The characters often times have a problem. Listen to me read this story today and think about what problem
the characters have.
Have kids do a quick sketch in their reader's notebook that shows or
tells the problem in the story. Remind them that the problem often stretches through the story so one picture might
not be enough.
Talk about the problem in the story.
When we retell
a story we want to tell about the problem.
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Lesson 5
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Lesson: Readers tell about the solution to the problem
Remember when we talked about problems
on the playground? When kids tell about a problem they usually are telling because they need a solution. If they
lost their hat, they are hoping you can help them find it. If they fell they want a bandaid. If the ball went
over the fence, they want permission to go get it.
We also talked about how a story usually
has a problem. The problem keeps the reader reading because they want to find out what happens. If an author just
wrote the problem into their story, but never told you how the story turns out you'd be a frustrated reader.
When
we retell a story we need to tell how the problem was solved. To help us remember this I am going to give you each a
bandaid to put on your reader's notebook. Everytime you look at the bandaid I want you to remember that when you retell
you need to tell the solution.
Let's take a minute and practice. I want you to retell
the story I just read to your talking partner. Be sure to end your retell with the solution.
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Lesson 6
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Lesson: Readers give details when they retell
Arrange for another teacher or person in the building
to come in to your room and have a whispering conversation with you. Have them share the juicy details about lunch with
you or something like that. Do it in such a place that the kids notice your quiet conversation. Many will get
quiet in hopes of hearing what you are talking about.
Most of us are curious. If our
friends are whispering we want to lean in and listen so we can get some juicy details.
When
we retell we need to include juicy details. Often when we retell we leave out some of the best parts... like about the
wolves sharp pointy teeth that gleamed in the sunlight.
It's important to include those details
in our retell.
In your reader's notebook quickly jot down an interesting juicy detail you
heard in the story and then share it with a talking partner.
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Lesson 7
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Lesson: Readers tell about the big idea
Blow up a balloon just a little bit, then a bit more..
until it is very big.
Many stories have a BIG idea or lesson that the writer wants us to learn. As
I read this story I want you to really think about the BIG idea. There might be lots of ideas in the story, but I want
you to think about the one that you think is most important.
After reading use the balloon
as the sharing stick. Whoever has the balloon shares their thinking and then hands the balloon to someone else.
After
the discussion tell the children that when we retell we want to make sure that we include all the important details that help
the reader understand the big idea. Model for the children how you retell the story you just read and include the big
idea or message of the story.
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Lesson 8
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Lesson: Learning to use a story map
A story map can help us organize our thoughts about a story.
A story map is like a map of the important parts of a story, but it is not a retell. It only includes some information.
It's like the skeleton of the story.
Show the kids a story map and have them help you
complete a map of the story you just read them.
A retell includes everything in a story, every
juicy detail. A story map takes all that and squeezes down the story to it's most important parts.
Sometimes
when I ask a child to retell a story, I get a story map version. It tells me that the child read the story, but it doesn't
entertain me or allow me to really get into the story. A story map is a tool that can help you organize your
thoughts about a story, it can help you prepare to retell a story. But remember, it's just a skeleton of the story. A retell is the whole body!
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