Five-Finger Retelling

Five-Finger Retelling

Students use the fingers of one hand to support their oral retelling of a story. Students hold up each finger as they say the following:

Thumb: The characters are . . .

1st finger: The setting is . . .

Tall finger: In the beginning . . .

Ring finger: In the middle . . .

Little finger: At the end . . .

Refer to the picture of a hand on the other side of this paper. The picture of the children over the thumb reminds students to name the main characters. The picture of the house over the first finger reminds students to identify where the story takes place (setting). The beginning, middle, and end of the story is prompted by a train analogy. Students are asked to think of the parts of a train to aid their retelling. The engine over the tall finger reminds students to start the retell at the beginning, the middle car over the ring finger reminds students to tell what happened in the middle of the story, and the caboose over the little finger reminds students to tell what happened at the end of the story. The heart over the palm of the hand prompts students to make a connection to the story by telling what the story reminds them of in their own life.

When students use their fingers to retell a story, they remember to refer to characters by name and include the most important events from the beginning, middle, and end in sequential order.

Comprehension is improved when children retell what they read and make a personal connection. After reading a story with your child, encourage your child to retell the story in his or her own words using the Five-Finger Retelling procedure. Your child may look at the picture of the hand during the retell until he or she can retell independently.