1. How do you check your understanding after reading an article?

2. Voice: In this lesson, you will learn how to check your understanding of an article by retelling the information to others.

3. Voice: Let’s Review: We’ve been reading the nonfiction article, My Name is Mengmeng. We know it’s important, after reading an article, to check our understanding. We’ve learned one way to check our understanding: using a main idea hand- if you haven’t seen how to check your understanding using a main idea hand, be sure to watch that lesson next!

4. Voice: Let’s also review the word: retell
Voice: Let’s also review the word: retell. As we’ve learned in previous lessons, the word retell means to tell again. We are going to practice retelling using our own words.

5. Voice: Let’s talk about a common mistake
Voice: Let’s talk about a common mistake. Sometimes, when asked to retell information, we repeat exact sentences from an article.
So let’s do a quick practice on what it means to retell using our own words. To do this, we will use a paragraph from our article, My Name is Mengmeng. The family would be considered poor in the United States. Mengmeng’s father does not have a lot of money. Mengmeng does not have a lot of new clothes or fancy toys.
I have two examples of retelling information: in one example, I use my own words and in the other example, I take an exact sentence from the article- let’s see if you can choose the right one!
In this first talk bubble, I retold using the exact sentence; in the second one, I used my own words.

6. Use specific details and facts from the article
Retell
Use your own words
Use specific details and facts from the article
Voice: Let’s get started with our lesson. So how do we retell the information to others? We discussed the importance of using our own words. The next step is to make sure you retell using specific details from the article-we want to check our own understanding of the new information we just read while also teaching our listener interesting facts! If we didn’t use specific facts from the article, it could mean we didn’t understand what we read.

7. Voice: For example, let’s consider a few specific facts from the beginning of our article. Take a look at the interesting facts I’ve highlighted. To retell in my own words, I might say: Mengmeng lives in a farming village- and has a twin brother, Wenwen! His house is made of stones and cement.

8. Voice: Let’s hear how it sounds if I did not use details from the article- Mengmeng is a boy from China- he has a brother and they live in a house. This example is missing many details- we don’t know that Mengmengs’ brother is his twin- or that he lives in a village of farmers-we are also missing details about his house! Remember, retelling is a way to check your understanding of the article- and by using specific details, you’re thinking about what you understand while telling others what you know.

9. Voice:If you find yourself unable to remember specific facts and details, it’s important to go back to the text and reread or ask for help if the article is too difficult.

10. Use a sentence starter: “This text teaches me..”
Retell
Use a sentence starter: “This text teaches me..”
Voice: Also, if you’re struggling to form sentences as you retell information, use this sentence starter: This text teaches me…

11. Voice: For example, using this paragraph from our article, you might retell by saying: This text teaches me that jianbing is a pancake made from cornmeal.

12. Voice: So readers, in conclusion, to check your understanding by retelling, follow these steps: 1) Retell using your own words 2) Use specific details and facts from the article and 3) Use the sentence starter “this text teaches me” to help you form your thoughts.

14. Practice Retelling
Take a look at this section from our article. Can you pull out the specific details and facts? Practice retelling using your own words.

15. This text teaches me…
Jianbing is a cornmeal pancake
Mengmeng walks 40 minutes to school
Mengmeng’s favorite food is pickled vegetable

16. LearnZillion Notes:
--You may need extra slides for guided practice. If you don’t, just delete these slides!

17. Choose a nonfiction article.
Retelling can be harder than it seems, so it takes practice before you feel comfortable using your own words.
Choose a nonfiction article.
Find a buddy and practice retelling the new information!
LearnZillion Notes:
--On the Extension Activities slide(s) you should describe 2-3 activities written with students as the audience (not teachers). Each extension activity should push the students a bit further with the lesson but in a different application or context. Each activity should be designed to take roughly minutes. Teachers will likely display the slide in class and then assign an activity to a student or group for additional practice and differentiation. Ideally, these Extension Activities will be created such that a teacher can differentiate instruction by giving more difficult extension activities to students who have shown mastery of the lesson, and less difficult activities to students who are not yet proficient.
--If you need more than one slide to list your extension activities, feel free to copy and paste this slide!

18. Retelling is one way to check for understanding; you may have also learned how to use a main idea hand.
What project can you create to prove your understanding of the article, “My name is Mengmeng”?
Present your project idea to your teacher and get started!

19. Retell
Retell using your own words
Use specific facts
Use the sentence starter, “this text teaches me”, to help guide your thoughts