1. What Is Retelling? Why Use Retelling? Retelling Tips Use the Strategy
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What Is Retelling?
Why Use Retelling?
Retelling Tips
Use the Strategy
Practice the Strategy

2. What is retelling?
Retell simply means “tell again.”
The author of a short story or novel tells the story once as he or she writes it.
You tell the story again in your own words, when you use retelling as a reading strategy.

3. Sometimes you retell the story to yourself as you read.
What is retelling?
Sometimes you retell the story to yourself as you read.
Sometimes you retell the story to a friend or to your teacher—usually as a summary.
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4. Why use retelling as a strategy?
Retelling helps you
identify the important events
see how events fit together
follow the story’s plot
understand how the story’s conflict is resolved
Retelling is particularly useful for reading stories with complicated plots.
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5. Retelling Tips
Start by retelling the title and author.
The story is a version of “Little Red Riding Hood” written by John Leggett for his essay on plot.
Explain who the characters are.
The main character, Red, meets a wolf while carrying a basket of ginger cookies to her grandmother.

6. Retelling Tips
Explain the conflict, or main problem.
Red just wants to get the cookies to her grandmother, but the wolf wants to kidnap her.

7. Retelling Tips
Name the main events, keeping them in order.
First, the wolf offers Red a ride on his motorcycle. Red says no and goes on her way. Next, the wolf makes a plan. He goes to the grandmother’s house, scares her away, and puts on her clothes. Then the wolf climbs into the grandmother’s bed and waits for Red to arrive.
Use words like first, second, next, and finally to keep everything in order.

8. Retelling Tips
Explain what happens at the end.
When Red arrives, she notices that something is different about Granny. The wolf gets ready to pounce on Red. Then he hears his motorcycle. Granny has returned and found it. When the wolf rushes outside, she uses the motorcycle to knock him into a briar bush. Finally, the police find and arrest the wolf.

9. Tell what you liked or didn’t like about story.
Retelling Tips
Tell what you liked or didn’t like about story.
I liked this version of “Little Red Riding Hood” because it had a modern twist—the motorcycle.
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10. Use the Strategy
As you read “Duffy’s Jacket,” stop at each open-book sign and think about what you have just read.
Stop and think.
Answer the question.
These questions will help you learn how to use retelling as a reading strategy.
Example
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11. Practice the Strategy
I’m going to give a retelling of a story called “Duffy’s Jacket,” written by Bruce Coville. The important characters are Duffy and his cousin Andrew. Other characters are Andrew’s mom, his Aunt Elise, and Andrew’s sister, Marie. Duffy is very smart but very forgetful. All of them go on a trip to stay in a cabin in the middle of nowhere.
What parts of the retelling summary are included in this paragraph?

12. Practice the Strategy
Once they get to the cabin, they discover that it’s not in such good shape. After they get unpacked and get things cleaned up, they go to sleep for the night. The next day, Andrew finds a message that says “Beware the Sentinel” written on the wall. No one know who wrote it. Then . . .
Now finish the retelling.
Use the Retelling Summary Sheet on page 12 in your textbook to organize your retelling.

13. Practice the Strategy
As you listen to your partner retell the story, decide whether he or she covers each item a little, to some extent, a lot, or not at all.
Use the Retelling Rating Sheet on page 13 in your textbook to rate your partner’s retelling of “Duffy’s Jacket.”
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14. The End