Give Me 5! Retelling the Story

TC Name:  Sarah de Almeida

RICA Domain: 5 Comprehension

RICA Competency: 13 Comprehension: Instruction and Assessment- Before Children Read, While Children Read, and After Children Read.  Retelling

Grade Level: 2^nd

Instruction:

I observed Ms. Danielson teaching a Post Reading Task with the use of retelling.  Up to now, students have been practicing fluency and reading for comprehension.  To practice fluency, she divides the students into small reading groups. There are four groups of seven.  Each groups is a different level and are labeled by colors.  When it is a group’s turn to read with the teacher, she gives them a reading finger (green rubber witch finger they put on their finger) and an “eye lighter.”  These tools help the student focus on one word at a time. She has been using this technique the whole year and students are expected use their tools properly.  The next step she introduced was “pass the question”.  There is one flashcard with questions on it about the story they just read.  The first person asks the second person the question that is on the flashcard.  The second person answers the question, then they ask the third person a question and so on.  Before introducing the third techniques, Ms. Danielson shows the class the new objective they will learn.  “I know and can talk about the parts of a story (plot, setting, characters).  I know the beginning, middle and ending of a story.”  The third technique Ms. Danielson introduced was Retelling the Story, Give Me 5!  Students use the Hand Chart to retell the story.  Each finger represents different parts of the story.  Once the students are finished in the reading group, they are to take an empty Hand Chart back to their desk and work individually on retelling a short story the teacher has placed on their desks.  All students have the same story, but must work individually to find the answers.

Instructional Setting:

While working with the teacher at the reading table students are learning, and practicing a new skill.  Once back at their seats, students are practicing the new skill individually.