About this activity
Three mini-stories to hear, draw and retell: Sam poured cereal, the milk was all gone, he ate toast instead; Mia lost her hat at the park, her dog sniffed around and found it in a bush; it started to rain at recess, everyone ran inside, we played games in the classroom. Each is drawn in three parts and then told back, ending with a retell using first, then and last.
How to use it in a session
Read the story once and do not repeat it before the drawing. The drawing is the memory support, and repeating the story removes the reason for it. Draw all three parts before asking for any narration — a child who tells you each part as they draw it has produced three sentences rather than a story. The final card asks for a retell from the drawings alone, which is the target.
What to listen for
Watch whether the problem survives. Every one of these stories has a complication — no milk, a lost hat, rain — and it is the element children skip when retelling, because it is not an action. Listen for the connectives in the final retell; first, then and last are what a teacher will ask for and they are the part that has to be prompted at this age.
Carrying it home
Any three-part story works. Telling one, having the child draw three quick pictures, and then asking for it back takes five minutes and is a bedtime routine rather than homework.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through second grade, for early narrative retelling.
- Is it free?
- Yes, all three stories and their retells play with no account.
- Why draw rather than just retell?
- Because the drawing holds the sequence while the child finds the words. It separates remembering the story from telling it, which lets you see which of the two is actually difficult.