ROCKIN' RETELL - AN "OUT OF THE BOX" SUMMARY PACKET

Someone PINCH me!  I finally finished it!  It darn near killed me, but I pushed through the distractions (spring sunshine has been my biggest nemesis) and managed to wrap it up yesterday!  So, without further ado, I bring you . . . Rockin' Retell - Centers + Activities.

CLICK HERE to take a closer look!

This summary packet contains 71 pages of common core goodness that can be slipped in throughout the year - it's great test prep too.  Here is my thought process on this (just in case you wanted to know).  Most of our babes become pretty savvy when it comes to summarizing a story and the task can become rather ho-hum.  I wanted to create a pack that attacked retell from numerous different angles.  Angles that help keep things fresh and exciting for kids.  I tried to think of things I would like to see unfold as a teacher . . . then I slapped on my student thinking cap.  I put myself in my students' shoes and thought of things that 6-8 year olds would get worked up about.  I think I did a pretty good job (I act like I am 6 more than I act like I am 33 these days) . . . and I am super stoked with how this one turned out.  

I tried a few of the activities during the past few weeks (just to make sure my kid brain wasn't WAY off base).  Let's just say I was pleased as punch with the outcome.  

We started with News Report Retells.  I have a bunch of hams in my class this year and I thought why not try a little roll play??!!  This lesson has two activities tied to it.  A whole class acting ditty and a partner interviewing task.  Both were big hits with my babes!

The next week we abandoned our regular old summary sheet for something MUCH MORE kid friendly - comic books.  Yup.  My sweeties completed a retell comic book style.  They worked extra hard for me on this one and didn't even know it.  The buy-in was extraordinary!

Last week we read a different tale and rolled with this Phone-A-Friend idea (inspired by Ms. Ashley Hughes clip art).  Common Core is all about student interaction and I wanted to keep creating things that encourage interaction. What better way to do this than with cell phones??  This lesson comes with a whole class portion as well as an individual follow up activity.  My kids LOVED playing with those silly fake phones . . . they were frothing at the mouth to get a chance to retell our read alouds!  

We will be rollin' with the Rockin' Retell craft next week and I think it's gonna be a grand event.  We are always playing air guitar when something good happens in class, so it only seemed logical that I make a craft to capitalize on this excitement.  If I know my crew, I know that their eyes will light up when I tell them we are going to be "Rock Star Retellers" for the day!  I'll be sure to post pictures next week :)

Alright my friends . . . that's my Rockin' Retell Pack in a nutshell.  There are oodles of other activities jammed in there too, but I figured I better give it a rest!  Check back on Friday for a Rockin' Retell Freebie.  I am working on something extra fun, but I need a few more days to get my ducks in a row.  Oh, and be sure to watch Facebook today.  I am going to do a giveaway later tonight.  Be sure to follow my Teacher Idea Factory page if you don't already!! With this said, I am off to get busy!  Thanks for visiting :)