Story Writing
Retelling a Story with the help of prompts (Oral) for Class 4 English
The students will learn several things about retelling a story with the help of prompts. They will also study some story retelling examples along with images.
In this learning concept, the students will learn:
- To retell stories
- To identify prompts
Every concept is taught to class 4 English students with the help of examples, illustrations, and concept maps. Once you go through a concept, assess your learning by solving the two printable worksheets given at the page’s end.
Download the worksheets and check your answers with the story retelling worksheet solutions for the concept provided in PDF format.
Retelling a Story Definition
Retelling is a way of presenting an already heard story after summarizing it in a short form. In story retelling, you have to present the story just like the way you read or heard it. You cannot leave out any important information or include any unnecessary details. It is the best way to remember, recall, and sequence a storIy.
Example:
Once upon a time, there was a fox in the forest. One day, he was very hungry
and went to search for some food. He searched high and low, but couldn’t
find anything that he could eat. Finally, as his stomach rumbled, he
stumbled upon a farmer’s wall.
At the top of the wall, he saw the biggest, juiciest grapes he’d ever seen.
They had a rich, purple colour, telling the fox they were ready to be eaten.
To reach the grapes, the fox had to jump high in the air. As he jumped, he
opened his mouth to catch the grapes, but he missed. The fox tried again but
missed yet again. He tried a few more times but kept failing. Finally, the
fox decided it was time to give up and go home. While he walked away, he
muttered, “I’m sure the grapes were sour anyway.”
Retelling the story:
>One day in a forest, a fox was very hungry and went to search for some food. He searched but couldn’t find anything that he could eat. Finally, he came upon a farmer’s wall where he saw the juiciest grapes he’d ever seen. He jumped high into the air to catch the grapes, but he missed. The fox repeatedly tried but missed yet again. Finally, the fox decided it was time to give up and went home. As he walked back home, he thought to himself that the grapes were sour, so he didn’t get to eat them.
What are the points that should be included in a story retelling?
Story retelling should include the points given below:
- Characters: Characters are an important part of a story. Make sure to include all the names of the characters in the story retelling.
- Features of the characters: There has to be some description about the look of the characters. You can include information like their style of speaking, their nature, etc.
- Events:
Mention the events that are taking place in the story. It could be any
problem presented in the story that the central character is facing.
Also, mention the solution to that problem.
- Events are presented in sequential order All the events in the story will have a sequence. While retelling the story, the sequence has to be correct.
- Main Idea Try to give the main idea. Include all the necessary information and avoid the things that are not important.
How will you prepare a story for retelling?
- Pick a fiction or non-fiction story.
- Identify the key details like characters, setting, conflict, resolution, and other key elements.
- Identify the main idea.
- Remember the sequence.
- Now narrate the story.
Story Retelling Prompts
Let us have a look at the prompts for story retelling. They are:
| Prompts |
|---|
| a) Setting |
| b) Beginning of the story |
| c) Characters in the story |
| d) Location |
| Actions |
| e) Conclusion |
Common Mistake
Avoid adding anything extra to the story while retelling it. Only that information should be included, which happened in the original story.
