Story retelling analysis for sense of story structure
Child's Name Age
Title of the Story Date
General directions: Credit “gist” as well as obvious recall, counting boy, girl, or dog, for instance, as well as Nicholas, Mei Su, or Shags. Credit plurals (friends, for instance) as two.
Setting (4 points)
a. Begins the story with an introduction ____
b. Names the main character ____
c. Number of other characters named ____
d. Actual number of other characters ____
e. Score for “other characters” (c/d) ____
f. Includes statement about time or place ____
Theme (1 point)
Refers to main character's primary goal
Or problem to be solved ____
Plot episodes( 1 point)
a. Number of episodes recalled ____
b. Number of episodes in story ____
c. Score for “plot episodes” (a/b) ____
Resolution( 2 points)
a .Names the problem solution/goal attainment _____
b. Ends story _____
Sequence (2 points)
Retells story in structural order: setting, theme ______
Plot episodes, resolution. (Score 2 for proper,
1 for partial, 0 for no response)
Highest score possible: 10 Child's score _______
* Checks can be used instead of numbers to get a general sense of elements children include and progress over time. A quantitative analysis as shown above is optional. Retellings can be evaluated for interpretive and critical comments.
(Morrow, 1993)
Gambrell, L. & Almasi, J. (Eds.). (1996). Lively discussions! Fostering engaged reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.