Story sequence and central message
Discuss the sequence of events in narrative texts and how items of information are related in non-fiction, retelling stories including key details and demonstrating understanding of central message or lesson
What a learner can do afterwards
- Retell a story in correct sequence with beginning, middle, and end
- Identify the central message or lesson of a story
- Explain how two pieces of information in a non-fiction text are connected
1 · Read
To retell a story in time order, say what happened first, next, and last. Keep the main events and useful details about who was there and where it happened. You do not need every tiny detail. Authors sometimes tell an earlier event later. Put events in time order for this retelling, then check it against the text.
Mia lost her kite. First she searched the yard. Next she searched the park. At last she found it in a tree. Mia kept looking until she found it. These events support the lesson 'Keep trying.' Finding the kite is an event. Keep trying is a lesson a reader can use.
A central message is a lesson a story can teach. Use the problem, actions, and ending to support it. A character's change can help. Some stories state a lesson. Others leave you to work it out. Different messages may fit if the story supports them. An exciting event alone is not a lesson.
To find a change, compare a character's earlier and later actions. Keep the new action apart from its result. To compare two stories, find a lesson that fits both. A message about only one story's object will not fit both.
Before and after tell you when. Because and so can show why. A later event does not prove an earlier event caused it. Look for words or details showing the link. Fact texts connect information too. Rain adds water to a river, so the river can rise. Read both facts to explain the connection.
Retell main events in time order. Use story details to explain a lesson, and check how events or facts connect.
Original lesson, questions and flashcards written for this learning dataset.
Four original readings about retelling, story lessons and connections, written for this learning dataset.
More to read
Tell the park visit
Ira put a ball in a bag. She walked to the park with her dad. They played catch. When it began to rain, they packed the ball and went home.
Retell the main events in time order. Begin with packing the ball. Tell about the walk and the game. Finish with going home when the rain began.
Keep details that help a listener follow the visit. You do not need to invent the bag's colour or tell every throw in the game.
Now cover the account and tell it in your own words. Look back afterward to check the order and details.
An idea supported by a story
Rin wanted to put a heavy box on a shelf. He could not lift it alone. He asked his cousin to help. Together they put it safely on the shelf.
One lesson is that asking for help can make a hard task possible. Rin's request and the cousins lifting together support that message.
'Rin has a box' describes a detail. It does not express the lesson.
A reader may suggest another message. Ask which details support it. Some stories tell you a lesson directly. In others, you work it out from what happens.
Time words and reason words
Read: 'After breakfast, Esi opened a map. She wanted to find the lake, so she looked for its name.'
After breakfast tells when Esi opened the map. The account does not say breakfast made her do it. The next sentence explains her reason: she wanted to find the lake.
A fact text can explain a cause too. It might say that water freezes when it gets cold enough. The cooling explains the change into ice.
When you explain why something happened, find the words or details that support the connection. Happening next is not proof of a cause.
Sort the event cards
On Saturday, Una chose some seeds. On Sunday, she planted them in a pot. On Monday, she checked the soil.
Make three cards: chose seeds, planted seeds, checked soil. Place them along a line in the order the events happened. Use the days in the account to check your order.
The spaces between these cards show no exact amount of time. This is an event-order aid, not a measured time scale.
Use the cards to retell the account. If the cards get mixed up, check the words before you move them back.
2 · Watch
به انگلیسیTake it off screen
Where it sits
Where this leads
24 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.