Literacy Strategy of Retell
You can retell a story by remembering what events happened first, next, then, and last. As you retell a story, you are better able to understand the story structure, story events and the story’s main idea. You will also be able to remember the story better after retelling the story.
Here is a simple way to do a good retell.
1. Write the title and author.
2. Make a table like the one below. Summarize the story by filling in each of the boxes below, using either words or pictures.
| First | Next | Then | Last |
You can follow this method for most simple stories.
Here is an example of what you might create for a retell of the story The Three Little Pigs.
Title and author: The Three Little Pigs, by James Halliwell-Phillipps
1. Write the title and author.
2. Summarize the story by filling in each of the boxes below, using either words or pictures.
Title and author: The Three Little Pigs, by James Halliwell-Phillipps
| First | Next | Then | Last |
| The three little pigs build their own houses. One is made of straw. One is made of sticks. Another is made of bricks. | A wolf blows down the house of straw. | The wolf blows down the house of sticks. | The wolf tries to blow down the house of bricks, but he can’t. He goes down the chimney and falls into a pot of boiling water. |
Now let’s apply our knowledge of “retell” to our audio story “Being First” available at Go Read and Write Podcast. Make your table and fill in the information as you listen to the story. You might want to use pencil as there may be things that you will have to change after you have listened to the story once. Go Read and Write Podcast