Lesson 02 — Retelling What I Heard

Learners practice retelling a story by finding one important part and saying it in their own words, then put simple story pictures in order.

D04 P3: Intellectual & Cognitive Awareness D04.S1 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

D04.S1.K.01 Listen to a story or speaker and retell one important part in their own words.

Essential question

How do I tell back one important part of a story in my own words?

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Materials

Standard materials

A familiar short story · 1 Reuse the story from Lesson 1, or another the learners know well
Story sequence cards · 1 set A few simple pictures showing the main events, to put in order

Low-tech / no-cost

Hand gestures Learners use their fingers to count "one, two, three" story parts as they retell
Drawn story pictures Learners draw one picture of the part they remember, then tell about it

Enriched / lab & device

A tablet to record retellings · 1 per pair Learners record themselves retelling, then listen back and check what they remembered

Works in different contexts

large-group Retell as a group "echo" — the facilitator starts each part and the whole group joins in with the words and actions
self-directed A learner retells the story to a toy, a grown-up, or a recording, then checks: did I include one important part?
outdoor-only Walk through the story in three steps across the ground — one step per part — telling each part aloud as you go

Three picture frames show a seed growing into a flower, labeled first, next, last, with a pointing hand and star marking the part a child retells in their own words.

Lesson 2 — Retelling What I Heard

Summary

Learners retell a familiar story by choosing one important part and putting it into their own words. They discover that their own words are a good way to tell a story back.

Objectives

Listen to a story and retell one important part in their own words. (D04.S1.K.01)

Connection

When you hear something wonderful, you want to tell someone about it. Retelling is how a story lives on — one person listens, then tells it again in their own way. There is no single “right” way to tell a story back; your own words are a good way, because they are yours.

Materials

A familiar short story (reuse the story from Lesson 1)
Story sequence cards — a few pictures of the main events (optional)

Preparation

Re-read or re-tell the familiar story.
Lay out or prepare simple pictures of its main events.

Facilitator note

This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. Celebrate every retelling — a one-sentence retelling is a real retelling. Learners may retell in their home language; that counts fully. A retelling may also be signed, drawn, pointed to on sequence cards, or acted out — all are real retelling, so a learner who does not speak aloud is never asked to. The goal is “one important part in my own words,” not a perfect summary, and never a memorized script.

Procedure

Gather (5 min). Think of a story you love. If you told it to a friend, how would you start?
Hear it again (10 min). Listen to the familiar story one more time. As you listen, hold up a finger for each important part you notice. How many parts did you count?
Find the important part (10 min). Choose ONE part that feels important to you. Maybe it is the biggest surprise, the funniest moment, or the part that changed everything. There is no wrong choice — important to you is what matters.
Retell in your own words (15 min). Tell that one part to a partner, in your own words, in whatever language feels best. You do not have to say it exactly how the storyteller said it.
Close (5 min). Remember: your own words can carry a story. When you retell, the story becomes a little bit yours too.

Differentiation

Support: Offer two pictures of story parts and let the learner point to the one they will retell; model one sentence to begin.
Extension: Invite learners to retell two parts and put them in order using the sequence cards.

Assessment

Formative (performance): Can the learner share one important part of the story in their own words — spoken, signed, drawn, pointed, or acted out — without repeating it word-for-word?
Artifact (portfolio): A drawn picture of the part they chose, with a dictated sentence.

Resources

CASEL SEL Framework (foundational competencies; communication and relationship skills): https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/

Home connection

At home, listen to a story or a piece of news from a grown-up, then retell one important part in your own words and ask if you got it right.