Retelling

Retelling is the act of a student restating what happened in the story, being sure to include details from the beginning middle and end. Students have to recall the important details from the story. Retelling is a way to assess what students remember from and understand about a story, making it an excellent way to check for comprehension. Rog writes, "As a comprehension strategy, retelling encourages readers to attend to the meaning of the text; reinforces elements of story structure, such as characters, setting and plot; requires readers to distinguish between key ideas and supporting details; and encourages communication and oral language development" (pg 123). When students know that they are going to be asked to retell a story they listen more closely for the important details. In the early stages of reading, students should practice retelling as an after reading activity.

Try this with your kids at home or click here to use our "Shape GO!" Map to help them organize their thoughts :)