Story Retelling

Purpose: This activity encourages children to think about stories as they retell them. It helps them learn to tell stories in detail and in sequence, important pre-literacy skills that take time and practice to develop. Children develop favorite stories early in their lives and want to hear the same stories over and over again. As we retell these stories to young children, we can help them come to understand how stories work by giving them opportunities to revisit and rebuild the stories through memory. 

Language Skill	Literacy Concept	Theme	Type
listening,  reading, speaking	comprehension, story sense	stories	group activity

Materials/Advance Preparation:

• Gather some interesting stories in which it is easy to tell what happens first, next, and last. Fairy tales like Goldilocks and the Three Bears or The Three Little Pigs are good for this purpose because they have easily identified parts.  If you know the children's favorites and they are suitable, be sure to include them, especially at first.

Directions:

1. Read or tell the story.
2. At the end of the story, ask the children what happened at the very beginning of the story. Then ask what happened next, and next, and next. Then ask what happened at the end of the story.
3. Praise the children for remembering any parts of the story (even if they are out of order), and help them remember other parts when necessary.

Notes: This activity can be done even with 3-year-olds, as long as questions at the end of the story do not become a "test."  Rather, the point is to encourage the children to remember and retell.  Gradually move from remembering and describing any action to remembering a sequence, as they build their capacity with your support.

 

Eric Gidseg

 

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