Teach the skill in the classroom (10 minutes)

1. State and write the essential question, "How do I retell a story?"
   Display the poster, (print from file in Resources) Steps to Retelling:
   

   1	Read the story.
   2	Think about the story.
   	Find the important parts.
   	Put the parts in order.
   3	Retell the story.

   Tell students that we are ready to do the first step. In order to read the story we need to review some words and learn some new vocabulary.
   
   
2. On the board write the heading, "Red Hot New Words" and below that heading write the words, decay and fungi. Below that write the heading "Review Words" under which will be listed the following:

   earthworms
   tunnels
   mushrooms
   ferns
   moss
   woodpecker

   Introduce the "red hot new vocabulary words," decay and fungi. After writing these words on the board the teacher will show a PowerPoint slide of a rotting log with fungi growing on it. The teacher will explain the meaning of each of the words and show examples of each in the picture. By clicking the mouse the words will appear on the slide.
   
   The teacher will then read each of the review words to the students. Students will be given a copy of the "2x3 Vocabulary" sheet. All students will be asked to write the words "decay" and "fungi" in one of the boxes on the grid. Then students are asked to choose four of the review words to write in the remaining four boxes of the array.
   
   During the reading of the story the students are to listen for the six words they have written on their paper. Whenever a student hears one of his/her words, the student should raise a hand. Anyone who has the identified word on his/her grid will highlight or circle the word. The teacher will explain the word in the context of the story.
    
3. As a class, students will listen to and view the WiggleWorks version of Log Hotel; the story may be displayed via an LCD projector or TV monitor. Prior to reading ask students to predict what the story might be about based on the vocabulary words chosen.
   
   The teacher will read the story as Think Aloud modeling strategies for recalling details as the story is read. The teacher will pause frequently to engage students in a conversation about parts of the book. Students will be asked to respond to the "I wonder ….", "I noticed….", or "This reminds me of…." sentence starter by telling their ideas to a partner. The teacher will call attention to the fact that the log decays throughout the story and that in the end the cycle starts over with a new tree growing from a seed.

In the computer lab

1. Review the steps to retelling a story and display the poster Steps to Retelling:
   

   1	Read the story.
   2	Think about the story.
   	Find the important parts.
   	Put the parts in order.
   3	Retell the story.

   Tell students that we have done step #1 and now we are ready to work on step #2.
   
   
2. Students will now work in pairs to re-read the story in WiggleWorks at their own computers. (An alternative method would be to give each pair a copy of the trade book, Log Hotel.) Each pair of students will be given 6 sticky notes. The students are to read the story to pick out the beginning, the ending, and the four main events in the middle of the story. After deciding on the 6 key events students will write one event on each of their sticky notes.
    
   The six key events in the story are:
   1. The tree falls.
   2. Beetles and ants tunnel into the log and woodpeckers drill holes.
   3. Fungi grows on the log, the tunnels get bigger and the log becomes softer.
   4. The log crumbles and plants grow in the remains.
   5. Earthworms eat the rest of the log to make soil.
   6. A new tree grows from a seed in the newly formed soil.

   Give students 10 minutes to complete this task.
    

3. The teacher will call upon each pair to bring their sticky notes to the front of the room and place them on a chart in that shows the sequence of the events in the story.
    
   Draw lines and write labels on chart paper like this:

Write the events in the last row after reaching consensus based on sticky notes.	Beginning 1	2	3	4	5	Ending 6



4. The teacher will look for commonalities in the proposed sequence of events and discuss this with students. The class will discuss the choices and try to reach consensus as to what the six key points are in the story as well as to the sequence of the events.
    
5. The teacher will then assign each student a number from 1-6 (If you have additional people you can assign some students two numbers or have some students pair together with one number, but the class must be divided into sets of six. Sets of six will be assigned to color groups: red, green, blue, yellow, etc.
    
6. The student will then use Kid Pix to draw and write a one-sentence summary of his/her assigned event. Each student must save his/her file in the folder created for his/her color group using the key word(s) of the event as the file name. Tip: Save the file in the correct location at the beginning of the activities. Then students can save again when finished. Early finishers may elaborate by adding details to the text and/or drawing. Give students 15 minutes to complete this task.
    
7. Each student will then create a slide show individually using the slides from his/her color group. The teacher will need to demonstrate how to:
   a. add a slide to the show.
   b. move the slides if they are out of order.
   c. view the slide show.

The student will move the slides to place them in the correct order to retell the story. When finished they may view the show. Early finishers will assist other members of his/her group. (10 minutes)

8. The students will gather around one computer that has a slide show for the group.

The teacher may want to assign students to go to the computer located in the middle of the group's area. The students in the group will participate in a cumulative retell of the story. Each student should tell the part of the story that is represented on the slide he/she created. (5 minutes)

Reflect back on the Steps to Retelling poster:

1	Read the story.
2	Think about the story.
	Find the important parts.
	Put the parts in order.
3	Retell the story.

We are now ready to retell the story.

Prior to this retell the student will be reminded to be good listeners.
Good Listeners:
Have eye contact with the storyteller
Listen carefully
Think about the parts of the retell without talking out loud
Are ready to say something positive about the retell
from Revisit, Reflect, Retell Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehensions by Linda Hoyt