The students I did this retelling assignment with are both ESL students in the 3rd and 4th grade class. Unfortunately, I was unable to complete the retelling with the 4th grader so I continued with the 3rd grader who was just wonderful. At the beginning, I read the story to the boys and then had them read it one time to one another. I then explained to them that one had to retell the story while the other listens and helps out. At first they were a bit confused, so I had to begin with an example. From then on, the boys understood what to do and just watching them retell the story to one another was very interesting.

The three examples I am showing is the work of the 3rd grader. On the 1st and 2nd retelling sample, there was hardly any linguistic spillover. One particular part he really recalls was the mockingbird not saying anything to the iguana. This could be found on all three retellings. The student was able to recall the events from the story. However, he was unable to provide rich details in any of his details.

1st Retelling

2nd Retelling

3rd Retelling