Introduction

Terrence has been tutoring Marisa, a second-grader, twice a week for a month and a half. Today, Terrence is introducing a new strategy to help Marisa develop her reading comprehension skills: story retelling.

Terrence: I’m going to read aloud a short story called The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing. After I finish, it will be your turn to tell the story back to me as well as you can. You’ll need to pretend I’m someone who doesn’t know the story at all, so listen carefully.

There was once a wolf who grew tired of hunting for his food.“ It’s such hard work and it’s no fun being shot at by angry farmers,” he said.

So he thought of a clever plan. He decided to wrap himself in a sheepskin and live in a sheep pen. Then, when he grew hungry, he could kill a nice fat lamb for his dinner and not have to hunt to find it.

However, that same night the farmer also decided that he would like lamb for dinner and went down to the sheep pen. It was very dark and the farmer grabbed and killed the first sheep he found. Imagine his surprise when he found he had killed a wolf.¹

Marisa: I bet he was surprised! (She laughs.)

Terrence: Now it’s your turn. Retell the story to me. And remember, pretend I’ve never heard it before.

What Is Story Retelling and Why Use It?