Gathering Narrative
Retell Samples Using
Frog, Where Are You?
Karen Erickson, PhD
&
Hillary Harper, M.S. CCC-SLP
The Time is Now in Pre-K
October 14th & 16th, 2009
Why Language Samples?
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
Everyday communication context, naturalistic
Language sample analysis (LSA) used in the
majority of studies of language production in
children

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Provided the details of developing language
Developmentally sensitive

Children produce samples of increasing
complexity through childhood and beyond
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
LSA Strengths

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Can be used with anyone who is able to
produce some language
Provides measures of language use in
context
Allows multiple analyses of the same sample
at the word, morpheme, syntax, semantic and
discourse levels
Aids in identifying language disorders among

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Students with developmental disabilities
English language learners
Dialect speakers
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Types of Language Samples

Conversation
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Narration
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Questions asked and answered between
communication partners
Social responsiveness, discourse
Retelling an event, experience, story, movie, or
TV drama
Structure: title, scene, characters, conflicts,
mental states, resolution, ending
Organization, beginning, middle, end,
coherence, referencing, listener perspective
Exposition

Explain how to play a game or do something
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Eliciting Narratives: Materials
You will need:
 copy of the book Frog, Where Are You? by
Mercer Mayer (1969).
 script or audio file of Frog, Where Are You?
 quiet location free of distractions with a table
and two chairs.
 Means for recording student’s language
sample (flip camera, cassette tape, etc.)
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Eliciting Narratives:
Preparation


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Select a quiet area where student’s voice can
be heard on recording
Check the recorder for loudness levels.
Record your name, date, student's name,
birth date, age and grade.
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Eliciting Narratives: Directions

Seat the student next to you. Say:
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“I would like to find out how you tell stories.
First, I am going to tell you a story while we
follow along in the book. When I have finished
telling you the story, it will be your turn to tell
the story using the same book.”
Tell (don’t read) the story to the student, loosely
following the script (provided on the next page).
You do not need to memorize the story script,
just become familiar enough with it to tell a
similar story.
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Eliciting Narratives: Directions

After telling the story or playing the audio,
prepare the flip camera/tape recorder to record
the student’s sample and say “Now I would like
you to use your own words to tell the story.”

Turn the book to the first page with pictures and
start recording. Say “Do the best that you can
do. Now you tell me the story.”
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Adult’s Role During Retell

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During the retell, move slightly away from the
student, turning so that eye contact is easy.
The student should be in charge of page
turning during the retell
Provide assistance if the student has trouble
turning pages or starts skipping too many
pages.
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Adult’s Role During Retell


Remember…do not give specific cues to the
student during the task
To focus student’s attention on the book or to
encourage student to keep talking can say:
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“Tell me more”
“Keep going”
“You are doing a great job”
“And then…”
Use open-ended prompts rather than “wh”
questions
(Miller & Nockerts, 2009)
Flip Cameras
Basic Skills Checklist:

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Turn it on/off
Record
Delete
Note time remaining on memory card
Questions????
Frog, Where Are You?
With a partner take turns as the “adult” and
“child” to elicit narratives

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Adult role: Read through the Frog, Where Are
You? transcript and videotape “child” retelling the
story.
Child role: Listen as you are told the story and
then retell it in your own words.
Frog, Where Are You?
Reflecting…

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Easiest aspect?
Most challenging aspect?
Which portion will you need to practice more?
For which students do you think language
sampling will be the most informative?
References

Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts
(2009). Narrative Story Retell Reference
Database. Retrieved on October 12, 2009
from
http://www.saltsoftware.com/salt/downloads/
NarStoryRetellRDBDoc.pdf .