First graders need practice retelling a story after reading it. We want first graders to read accurately, think about what they are reading, retell the story after reading it, and make connections to the story. These are the areas that we are assessing to measure individual student progress in reading. We have been reading and comparing many fairy tales to help the kids become familiar with many versions of the stories.
Our IT integrated project had three parts. First, the students used SMART Board software to illustrate a fairy tale on the Mac computer. The students had to recall and sequence the entire story. Most first graders used between 8 to 12 slides to illustrated their fairy tale. They had three well known fairy tales to pick from: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Three Little Pigs or Little Red Riding Hood. They were all engaged and were able to complete their quality story in one session.
Second, each student recorded a video retelling their fairy tale. This was excellent practice for them to sequence the story. They were able to hear and see themselves retell their fairy tale. This was great feedback for them. It worked because they were familiar with their fairy tale.
The third part of this project was a student self evaluation. Each first grader had to evaluate how they performed on the sequencing and retelling of their fairy tale. This was a great project! We will do it again. The students were motivated and engaged in the project. It gave them excellent practice on retelling, sequencing and speaking. I have included a video of one of the first grader’s video retelling.
Scott, I feel so lucky to have a son entering first grade next year. What you do is amazing!