story elements anchor chart middle school

Many times it will help students who struggle with character or plot events think about the lesson from a different perspective.Īfter teaching about the moral or lesson in a story, you can include that in your retelling strategies- adding the heart/palm in your 5-Finger Retell, and adding the lesson or moral in the “Then/Resolution” part of SWBST.

I like to include the question- “What lesson does the author want the reader to learn/understand?” as well.

How does the character respond to the problem?.

List the questions a reader should ask themselves to help them understand the moral.

Draw a big heart in the center of your paper.

Students will need to understand that most stories contain morals or lessons. Lastly, you will want an anchor chart that describes the moral. Fill out the sticky note and stick it on the chart.Īfter several examples and modeling, your students will master this skill! And, then they will be able to easily summarize the stories they read on their own! The Heart of the Story Anchor Chart How did the story end? What was the resolution?” Have students help you recall the information.

Fill out the sticky note and stick it on the chart. What did they do to solve this problem?” Have students help you recall the information. What was the problem? Why couldn’t they _?” Have students help you recall the information. What did they want in our story?” Have students help you recall the information. Who was our story about?” Have students help you recall the information. Laminate the poster and it will last you years.Ī simple way to implement this strategy is to keep the anchor chart close-by when you are teaching your mini-lessons.Īt the end of each read aloud or mentor text, stop and use the SWBST summary. As I mentioned, leaving room for sticky notes allows you to reuse this anchor chart. Similarly, you will need to model this practice for your students several times. T-Then: What was the resolution to the story? How did the story end?.S-So: How did the main character(s) solve the problem?.B-But: What was the problem? What kept the main character(s) from getting what they wanted?.W- Wanted: What did the main character(s) want?.S- Somebody: Who is/are the main character(s)?.Next to each letter, record the meaning and prompting questions: I like to leave room for sticky notes on the left so that we can practice the strategy again and again.

Label your paper down the side with the letters SWBST. After several instances of modeling and recounting the story together, have them practice on their own or with a partner! SWBST Anchor ChartĪnother strategy for recounting and retelling stories is the “SWBST” or “Somebody Wanted But So Then” summary. Have students copy your movements and descriptions. When teaching the 5-Finger Retell, use your actual hand to model counting off each finger and retelling the parts. Make it interactive by having your students trace their hands in their reading notebooks to create their own mini-version of the “5-Finger Retell.” They can refer back to it any time they need! The palm of the hand is used for this part.

Moral– Lastly, *if* you’ve taught about the moral or lesson of the story, students will recount it.

Students can think back to what happened in the beginning, what was the turning point in the story, and how did the story end or resolve itself. I like to think of the events of a story like a roller coaster.

Events ( Beginning, Middle, End) – Next, the students need to retell the events in the story: The Beginning, Middle, and End.

Setting– Then, students need to describe the setting in the story.

Characters– The first thing students want to retell is the main characters.

Label each of the fingers with the following retell components. Teach your students the “5-Finger Retell” by drawing a hand on your page. This anchor chart is simple and effective. So, let’s dive in! The 5-Finger Retell Anchor Chart Whether you’re a seasoned educator or a new teacher, these are the 3 anchor charts you need to teach recounting and retelling stories. In this blog post, we will explore the use of recount and retell anchor charts in the classroom, and discuss how they can be used to support students in developing their comprehension and storytelling skills.

Are you looking for effective strategies to improve your students’ ability to retell and recount stories? Anchor charts can be a powerful tool in helping students to understand the key elements of a story and to organize their thoughts when summarizing or retelling a text.

Story elements anchor chart middle school