Story Retelling: A Classroom Staple

Story retelling is a joyful way to use repetition to build confidence in our learners’ ability to speak in the target language for extended periods of time. To do this well, it requires time and practice. Choosing the right story is hugely important since we’re going to be committing a lot of time in order for this to be effective. One approach to choosing a story is to use a known story or a fairytale. Fairytales often contain an element of repetition to the stories themselves, so this can be very helpful. Now that I have AIM training, I also choose AIM plays. AIM plays offer the benefits of repetitive and predictable stories.

Intentional teaching is huge. Start by sharing the story orally, since the intent in the end is that the learners will be able to retell the story themselves (not read it from a book).

Intentional teaching is huge. I start by sharing the story orally, since the intent in the end is that the learners will be able to retell the story themselves (not read it from a book). I am holding up oral storytelling as valuable and important when I do this. Oral storytelling holds its own special kind of magic. But, in order for this to work, I need to think about how the learners will understand the story without the picture cues. Puppets and props are often necessary!

I often have my learners draw their own popsicle stick puppets using directed drawing lessons from « Didou, dessine-avec moi. » During morning explorations, I often set invitations for my learners to build the sets for the story. We photograph their creations, and then I print these in colour to be used as a backdrop for puppet play retellings.

There are lots of fun ways to learn the story by heart. One of my favourite ways to practice together is the double circle. I usually provide some sort of support to the kids who will be retelling the story (such as puppets, or a story sequence chart). Generally the kids in the inner circle tell the story to their partner in the outer circle. The outer circle’s job is to listen, and to help their partner if they get stuck. After an appropriate amount of time to retell the story, the outer circle stand up and rotates (usually two or three spaces forward) and then the whole process starts again. This is a fun and supportive way to work on retellings. I like being so close at hand to the circle, so I can listen and offer support to those who need it most.