Retelling What You Read

Every time I see a student, I start off by talking to him or her about what book he or she is reading! I love to hear what kids are reading and to be able to share with them what book I am reading. Being able to retell what you have read so far or recently means you are a good reader. Good readers use reading strategies and retelling the story is a reading strategy!

When a student retells he or she should include:

character or characters

setting

problem

the solution or a prediction

Jodie and Ms. Brennan with our Retell Rewind rubric!

Some of the students use my Retell Rewind rubric to guide them and sometimes we use the rubric to score each other and see if we are able to include with all the important elements of a retell. On the rubric I also include use of a loud clear voice and good expression. I know that I love to talk to friends about what I am reading and get ideas about what to read next from talking to friends. It's important that I can tell a friend about a book I am reading and make it exciting if I really think they would like the book. Also, if a friend is telling me about a book, I hope that it's interesting to listen to them otherwise I'll be bored talking to them and not excited at all to read the book. 

I hope that kids and parents and friends and family and sometimes even strangers, can talk about books.  I love to ask people what they are reading and to find out if they have read books I have read. By doing this you are also practicing a retell! Try it, ask the next person you see what he or she is reading. How about asking the first person you see when you get to school what he or she is reading? Come back and tell us if you learned of any new books! Go Team Read!

We have been doing more great reading! Good readers use strategies and we have been talking a lot about these strategies and practicing them together. Here are some of the reading strategies that good readers use!

Reread

Visualize

Stop and Think

Infer

Identify Story Elements

Use Background Knowledge

Make Connections

Sometimes we do these and don't even realize we are doing them but other times we need to practice doing these as we read. All of these strategies help us think more about the text as we are reading so we can understand what we are reading. 

If you are using reading strategies while you are reading then you are being a good reader! It's hard to see what a good reader does because all this thinking while reading happens inside your head! A good reader can tell another person what is happening in the story and what they are thinking about as they read. Can you tell another person about the book you are reading? Can you tell him what you are wondering or predicting as you read?

Do you use these strategies? How have these strategies helped you as a reader? Is there a strategy that you think you need to work on more? Please share! 

More Reading Rewards and Retelling

     I am so proud to announce that before spring break two more students collected enough reading rewards to earn a book.  Last month, Jackie was the first student to earn a book and she chose The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.

Jodie chose Lunch Walks Among Us

 by Jim Benton.

Adrian chose Zapato Power: Freddie Ramos Takes Off 

by Jacqueline Jules.

     When my students come to work with me, they bring the independent reading book they are reading.  I love sharing the book I am reading with them and hearing about what book they are reading.  Students are asked to retell what they have recently read in their books.  We have been working on retelling.  I call it Retell Rewind because we have watched videos of not-so-great retells and then great retells so students can see what makes a good retelling.
     Retelling is a reading strategy good readers use to check their comprehension.  A good reader should be able to retell and explain the character, setting, problem, and solution in a story.  In case the character hasn't found a solution yet, the student can tell what he or she predicts is going to happen next.  We have talked about how important it is to retell and be clear but also give enough information.
     If you can come to school and tell me what reading strategy we have been practicing lately, you can earn one sticker towards a reading reward!

What Can You Infer?

Good readers use reading strategies when they read.  This means they are using reading strategies to really think about what they are reading.  Making an inference while you read is one reading strategy a good reader might use.

You might not even realize you are making inferences as you read, but there are really so many things to infer while you are reading that you might be doing it without even knowing it!  You infer when you stop and think about what the author has said and are able to make a statement about what you read.  You might infer how a character feels.  You might infer where a character is.  You might infer what the author is describing.  Any time you read something and can use what the author has given you to create your own ideas or understanding, you are making an inference.

Inferring can be tricky because sometimes kids confuse it with making a prediction.  When you make a prediction, you use what they author tells you to guess what happens next.  Making an inference is using the clues that author tells you to make a statement about what is happening in the story and what you know now.

If you can come to school and tell me which good reading strategy this post is about, you can earn one sticker towards a reading reward!

Retelling and Rereading

My students and I are often talking about being good readers.  I expect them to be reading at home and to be bringing their book when they meet with me.  I love to hear about what they are reading...I usually write down all the new books I hear about from my students!  We have talked about how important it is to be a good reader when reading at home.  One thing students have to do when they are reading independently is to think about their understanding as they read.  It is important for them to stop and think about what they have read.  If they can retell what they have read and feel that they understand the story, then it's okay to go on reading.  If they can't retell what they have read and aren't sure they understand the story, then it's important to reread. 

Being able to retell is a great way to check to see if you understand what you have read.  When I ask students to retell for me, I ask them to include story elements from the book they read.  The story elements are the different parts of the story:

Character - who is in the story?

Setting - where is the character and when?

Plot - what is the characters problem 

and does he or she solve it?

Good readers are able to identify all of these parts of a story.  Usually, I ask students to retell by telling me about these parts of a story based on what they read the night before or the last chapter they read.

Here is an example!  I just started reading A Whole Nother Story by Dr. Cuthbert Soup and this is how I would retell what I have read so far:

Saffron, Barton, and Crandall live with their dad-Mr. Cheeseman-their dog, and Crandall's sock puppet Steve.  They are actually living in a house they like when their dad announces it's time to pack everything up and move.  Their dad and mom invented a very important machine before she died.  There are mean people who want the machine so Mr. Cheeseman and his family are always trying to escape from them.  This time, just as they are leaving the house, the bad guys are coming down the street.  Luckily, Mr. Cheeseman invented fancy headlights that freeze them in time so they can get a way.

Can you find where I talk about the characters, the setting, the problem, and the solution?  I haven't read the whole book, I'm just telling you what I have read so far.  I'm excited to read more about their adventure as they try and stay away from these bad guys!  Being able to retell is one of the first steps in being a good reader.  This is a way for you to make sure you understand what you are reading.  

What do to if you don't feel like you can retell the story?  Then it's time to reread.  Good readers reread when they are confused.  If you reread and still don't feel like you understand, then you might want to talk to a parent or a teacher about the book and check again if it's a just-right book for you.  

If you can come to school and tell me about the three story elements, then you will receive one sticker towards a reading reward! 

What Do Good Readers Do?

Good readers use reading strategies!  We've been talking about what good readers do and will continue to discuss this.  It's tricky to see what a good reader does, because most of it is all inside the reader's head!  Here are ideas that we have brainstormed about what good readers do!

*Make Predictions

*Make Connections

*Visualize

*Use Textual Clues to Make Inferences

*Ask Questions

*Stop and Think

*Reread 

These are just a few from our lists and here is one of our actual lists!

Reading is one of the best activities to model for you child!  Take a few minutes to talk to you child about what you do when you read.  Discuss some of the reading strategies you use.  Add the strategies you talked about or the strategy you seem to use the most in the comments section.  If your child comes to school and can tell me one strategy that his or her mom or dad uses when reading he or she will earn one sticker towards a reading reward!

It's What Good Readers Do - Background Knowledge

Click below to see my first installment of "It's What Good Readers Do!" This week I'm talking all about background knowledge!

Reading Strategy - Making a Prediction

Reading Strategy - Making a Prediction

A reading strategy is a tool that a reader uses when reading.  The strategy helps the reader think about what he or she is reading or helps the reader understand.  

One reading strategy good readers use is making predictions. A prediction is a guess stating what you think a book will be about or what you think will happen next in the book. “Pre-“ at the beginning of the word ”prediction” means before. You make your guess or prediction before you read. If you understand what you are reading or are thinking about what you are reading then you should be able to make a prediction. Sometimes you will be right and sometimes you will be wrong-that’s okay! You can predict what a book will be about before you start to read. You can also predict while you read when you predict what will happen next in the story. You can even predict what will happen after you read.

Read the following paragraph.  Make sure you are thinking about what you are reading so you can make a prediction when you are done!

Sarah was so excited for Halloween on Friday night.  After school, she would go home and change into her costume.  This year she was dressing up as a fairy princess.  She would make sure she had her flashlight and a big pillowcase from her house and her mom would drive her to her friend Tanya's house.  Then...

What do you think will happen next in the story?  There are many things that Sarah could do. Write you prediction as a comment.  You can also tell about what helped you to make your prediction.  Make sure you try to make predictions before, while, and after you are reading!

Reading Strategies

You may have heard your teachers talk about using reading strategies.  What are reading strategies?  Reading strategies are things we do while we are reading that help us think about the text and understand the text.  

All good readers use reading strategies to help them really think about the text when they are reading.  Reading strategies are ideas or plans for what a good reader will do while ho or she is reading.  You can think of reading strategies as "tools" that a reader uses.  When a carpenter builds something, he or she uses tools to help him or her.  When a chef cooks something, he or she uses tools to help him or her.  When you, the reader, reads something, you use tools to help you read.  We call these reading tools reading STRATEGIES!

Some examples of good reading strategies are making predictions, visualizing, or making connections.  Good readers use strategies before, while, and after reading.  It’s important to think about the book before, while, and after reading to make sure you really understand what you read. 

I will be posting about a new reading strategy each week.   Try and think about using these good reading strategies when you read!  Can you tell me about some reading strategies you know and use already?  How does the strategy help you as a reader?