Retelling Nonfiction

Content area text presents a challenge for young readers. Often, students think that simply reading the words equals success. They may not understand that they have to remember important ideas from what they read.

Retelling can be a great tool to help students understand nonfiction. When students retell, they have to transform the printed words of the text into their own spoken words. Retelling allows readers to see if they understood the text, connect new ideas with existing information, and make inferences.

Simply directing kids to retell does not always lead to good results, though! In my experience, students need careful modeling and support as they work on retelling. Pictures or figures can help them to retell. The pictures can be cues to help them remember important information, and can also help students to show how ideas relate to each other.

This packet includes a reading selection and materials to support retelling expository text.

Item ExplanationBefore Reading This Before Reading activity is a variation

of Probable Sentences. Students read words from the text, rate their knowledge of them, and then use the words to write predictions for the text. This helps them to form expectations for what they will read.

“Surviving the Winter: The Painted Turtle”

I was so fascinated by accounts of how these tiny turtles survive the winter! In this article, written at a third/fourth grade level, students will learn about how tiny painted turtles live through freezing temperatures. As you read this with students, be sure to draw their attention to the headings and italicized words.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Retelling Nonfiction

This is a generic set of directions to guide students as they retell nonfiction. If your students are retelling nonfiction for the first time, be sure to model how to do it. Show students how to use headings as a guide for recalling information.

Painted Turtle Retelling Figures

As students retell, it is helpful for them to have pictures or manipulatives to move around. These pictures can help students to recall important ideas and show how they relate to one another.

After Reading This page asks students to reflect on their predictions and answer some questions about the article.

Postcard from a painted turtle

In this brief writing assignment, students will create a postcard from a painted turtle.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

“Surviving the Winter”: Before Reading

Read the vocabulary words from the passage. Put a star beside the words that you know. Put a question mark beside the words that you are not sure of.

winter temperature scarce

survive painted turtles supercooled

chemicals ice crystals hatchlings

Use the words from above to write two predictions for the article.

1.

2.

Draw a picture to show something that you expect to read about in this article.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Surviving the Winter:The Painted Turtle

An amazing survivorFor most animals, winter is a difficult time. Winter

brings cold days. The temperature drops below freezing. Food can be scarce.

Baby painted turtles don’t migrate to a warmer place. They can survive through cold, cold weather. They can survive in temperatures that are below freezing. They can even survive being frozen!

How can an animal freeze, and still be alive? Painted turtles have special adaptations that help them survive.

Turtle hatchlingsPainted turtles are common reptiles. They live in ponds

and streams all over the United States. Painted turtles spend a great deal of time in the water. They can only swallow while they are underwater, so they mostly eat water creatures and plants.

Female painted turtles come out of the water to lay their eggs in the summer time. If the summer temperatures are warm, baby female turtles will hatch. If the summer temperatures are cold, baby male turtles will hatch.

Something surprising happens when the baby turtles come out of their eggs in late summer. Instead of swimming away into streams and ponds, the hatchlings stay in their nests. Even as the weather grows colder and the days grow shorter, the baby painted turtles stay in their nests, about 5 inches underground.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Two ways to surviveWhen the temperature drops, baby painted turtles go

into a very deep sleep. Their heart beats only a few times each minute. They don’t even need to breathe.

Baby turtles survive cold winter temperatures with two special physical adaptations. Sometimes, the baby turtle’s blood becomes supercooled. This means that their blood actually goes below the freezing point of water. But it doesn’t freeze. Special chemicals in the baby turtles’ blood make this happen. The special chemicals act like antifreeze. They keep the baby turtles’ blood from freezing.

Supercooling isn’t the only way that baby painted turtles survive the winter. These amazing animals can actually live through being frozen!

Most animals die if they are frozen. Jagged ice crystals tear the living cells of their bodies. But when baby painted turtles freeze, the ice does not form in their cells. It forms in spaces between the cells. This way, the baby turtle does not die. When the weather gets warmer, the baby turtles thaw and crawl away.

So, on a cold January day, think about the baby painted turtles in their nests. Their blood can be supercooled. They can even survive freezing. Painted turtles may be small, but they have amazing adaptations.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Retelling Nonfiction: Things to Remember

1.Your job is to retell the main ideas from the text in your own words. Don’t just read the text aloud.

2.Have a copy of the text beside you to look at as you retell.

3.Think about the text structure. Make sure that you retell the ideas in a way that matches the text structure. (For example, don’t tell a text written as main idea and details in chronological order.)

4.Use the headings to help you retell one section at a time.

5.Use important vocabulary words from the text. If you have been given a list of words to remember, try to put these words into your retelling.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Painted Turtle Retelling Figures

Directions: Cut out the pictures below. Use them to help you retell the main ideas from “Surviving the Winter” with a partner.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

“Surviving the Winter”: After Reading

Reflecting on your predictionsLook back to the predictions that you made before reading. How was the text similar to or different from your predictions?

Thinking about the text1. What adaptations help a baby painted turtle to survive the cold

winter?

2. How is the blood of a baby painted turtle special?

3. What is an adaptation?

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

Postcard from a painted turtle

Pretend that you are a baby painted turtle. Create a postcard from your winter home.

On one side, draw a picture of what your winter home looks like.

On the other side, write a few sentences to tell what your winter experiences are like. Be sure to include specific details from the text as well as your own ideas. You may address your postcard to anyone (or any animal!) that you like.

Emily Kissner 2011 For classroom use only

I can’t wait for winter to be over!I can’t wait for winter to be over!