Materials & Prep
Prepare three simple picture cards labeled beginning, middle, and end. The pictures should show: the pigs building their houses, the wolf chasing the pigs to the brick house, and the wolf leaving after he cannot get into the brick house. Use the traditional folktale The Three Little Pigs in the familiar version where the wolf blows down the straw and stick houses, but cannot blow down the brick house. Students remain together on the carpet.
Gather and wonder
Ask“If I say only, ‘The wolf blows down the houses,’ have I retold The Three Little Pigs?” Have students show thumbs up for yes or thumbs down for no, then turn and tell a partner why. Invite two quick responses. Say, “Today we will listen for the whole story: what happens first, next, and last.”
RecallAsk, “What happened before the wolf came?” Accept oral answers, gestures, or pointing to the beginning card.
Hear and model
Tell: “At the beginning, the three pigs leave home and build houses. One builds with straw, one builds with sticks, and one builds with bricks. In the middle, the wolf comes. He blows down the straw house and the stick house, so those pigs run to the brick house. At the end, the wolf cannot blow down the brick house, so he leaves, and the three pigs are safe.”
Think aloud“I want to retell in order, so I will not begin with the most exciting part. I start with how the story begins: the pigs build their houses. Then I tell what changes in the middle: the wolf blows down two houses and the pigs run away. Last, I tell how the problem ends: the brick house stays standing and the wolf leaves.”
ConfrontSay only, “The wolf blows down the houses.” Ask, “Did I tell the beginning, middle, and end?” Guide students to notice that this is an exciting middle event, but it leaves out how the story begins and ends. Point to each card and retell all three parts again.
Check for understandingHold up the three cards in a mixed-up order. Ask students to show one finger for beginning, two for middle, or three for end as you name an event. Use “The pigs build their houses,” “The wolf blows down the straw and stick houses,” and “The wolf leaves.”
Retell with partners
ModelPoint to the three cards and say, “At the beginning… In the middle… At the end…” Then demonstrate moving from one card to the next while retelling one event for each part.
Partner talk: Partner A points to the cards while Partner B retells The Three Little Pigs using the three sentence starters. Partners switch roles. Remind students, “Do not jump straight to the wolf blowing down the houses. Start at the beginning.”
ScaffoldKeep the picture cards visible. Say each sentence starter aloud and let students repeat it: “At the beginning, …” “In the middle, …” “At the end, …” Students may point, act out an event, or use a few words before saying the full idea.
CirculateListen for all three parts in order. If a child gives only the exciting middle event, point to the beginning card and ask, “What happened before this?” Then point to the end card and ask, “How did the problem finish?”
ExtensionInvite ready students to retell without looking at the cards and add one detail to each part, such as the material used for a house or what the pigs did when the wolf came.
Come back together
StudentsAsk everyone to touch the beginning card, middle card, and end card in order. Then have partners quietly retell the story one more time, with the listener holding up one, two, and three fingers as the speaker tells each part.
ShareInvite two or three students to retell the story for the class. Prompt only when needed with, “What happened first?” “What happened next?” and “How did it end?”
Closing check: Ask each student to say one complete beginning, middle, or end event to a partner, according to the part you name. Listen for whether the event matches the named part. Close by saying, “A strong retell tells the whole story in order, not only the most exciting part.”