The College of New Jersey
School of Education
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly
Topic of Lesson: Retelling
Grade Level: 1st Grade
Cooperating Teacher: Ms. Robinson
Lesson Essential Questions:
What is important when retelling a story? How do we sequence events?
Standards: CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.2 Retell stories, including key details, and
demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its
characters, setting, or events.
Objectives
Students will be able to follow directions
during the read aloud by placing their
printable images into the “old lady’s
stomach” throughout the read aloud.
Students will be able to recall and sequence
events in the story using printable images
to create a visual story map.
Students will be able to retell major events
in the story using their visual story map
they previously created.
Assessment
Students will place each printable image
into the bag as that particular event occurs
during the story.
Students will create a visual story map by
properly sequencing their images on their
desk to match the order of events in the
story.
Students will turn and talk to share their
retellings with a partner, students may use
their visual story maps if necessary.
Materials:
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Simms Taback
Old lady cut out for each student
Ziplock baggie for each student
Printables of events for each student
Larger teacher printables of events
Tape
Printed ordinal numbers
Prior Knowledge: A basic understanding of how to retell a story.
Lesson Beginning: Today we will be doing a read aloud. We are going to need your help
to remind us what the rules are for during a read aloud. If students transition and go over
rules well they will be rewarded a point, the teachers will receive a point if they do not
transition well or all participate in going over the rules. We will begin the lesson by
asking the students if anyone knows what a retelling is? Retelling is telling the
important parts of a story again. What are some important parts of a story that you
would include in your retelling? (i.e. characters, events, problems, beginning, middle,
end, solution) Today we are going to focus on the events that happened in a story. The
story we are going to read today is There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. In this
silly story the old lady eats many different animals. You are also going to receive an old
lady (Show old lady Ziploc) and the different animals that she eats! As the story goes on
you will put each picture in her stomach, as it happens in the story. You may not play
with your baggie and items throughout the lesson. If you are caught playing with the
items or being rough with them they will be taken away. Let’s do the first one together!
Read page 1 of the story and place a fly into the baggie. Model incorrectly placing items
in bag. Now as I read I want you to continue placing animals in your bag as they are
eaten in their story. While we are reading we want to remember the sequence of events
(order of events) to help us with our retelling.
Instructional Plan:
Read the story, ask questions when noted and only accept answers from quiet hands.
 Pg 5- What did she swallow now? Place an item in your bag. How many items
should we have in our bag now?
 Pg 9- What did she swallow now? Place another item in your bag. Can someone
retell the beginning of the story for me? You can use the picture and your baggie
to help you.
 Pg 14- Can anyone predict what the old lady will swallow next? Have students
remind each other what makes a good prediction-whole brain learning gesture“Good readers use what they see and what they know to make predictions” What
did you use to make a prediction?
 Pg 16- Were our predictions correct?
 Pg 17-Can we have a volunteer to remind us what we should have in our bag
already? Review number of items left on desk.
 Pg 20- Remind students to place an item in their bag.
 Pg 22- Can someone predict what will happen next? Remind students to use what
they see and what they know to make predictions.
 Pg 24- Were our predictions correct?
 Pg 26- Can anyone explain to the class what a moral is? A lesson to be learnedthis is a silly lesson to learn because we know we don’t eat a whole horse!
Now that we read the order that the old lady swallowed the animals, let’s see if we can
retell the story together! Ms. Perez and I forgot the order and we need your help! Call
students up to the board to place the animals in order. Recite the animals in order ALL
TOGETHER using ordinal numbers. There’s a song that goes with the story, we can use
it to see if we have the animals in the correct order! Check responses stopping the song
when appropriate. Then sing once through if time permits. While students come up to the
board to place items we will ask questions (ie. What happened first? What happened last?
What happened before? After? etc.).Then cover the animals and have students try on their
own to order the animals. Then go over correct order reveal sequence on board. Have
students turn and talk to retell the story to their partner. Next, call on one student (more if
time permits) to retell the story using their visual story map.
Differentiation: Teacher will be modeling throughout the story what the students should
be placing in their bags. Teacher will constantly remind students to place items in their
bag and will review what items should already be in their bags. Teacher will scaffold
retelling by asking students to retell towards the middle of the story. Additionally,
students will be able to use pictures to aid in their retelling. Visual learners will benefit
from the use of pictures to retell the story. Verbal learners will be able to talk to a partner
to retell the story. Musical learners will be able to check their answers by using the sing
along version of the story. Kinesthenic learners will be able to physically move pieces
into their baggies in order and arrange images in order.
Questions:
 Can anyone explain what retelling is?
 What are some important parts of a story that you would include in your retelling?
 Can anyone predict what the old lady will swallow next?
 What did you use to make a prediction?
 Can anyone explain to the class what a moral is?
 What happened first? What happened last? What happened before _____? After
_____?
Classroom management: We will review the class rules for read alouds with students at
the beginning of the lesson. If students follow the directions they will receive a point, if
they do not the teachers will receive a point on the scoreboard (whole brain teaching).
During the read aloud we will only accept answers from quiet hands. To regain students’
attention throughout the lesson we will use the whole brain teaching method of class, yes.
We will explain the use of materials prior to handing them out and then warn students if
the materials are used incorrectly they will be taken away. To promote fairness we will
call students up to the board randomly using the index card method.
Transitions: To start of the lesson we will go over the rules for read alouds, one rule is
using strategies. We will go over what retelling is, and that retelling is a strategy. We will
introduce the story There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and that we will be
using the strategy of retelling when reading. We will have students add items to their
baggies while reading this story and remind them this will help them remember the order
of events. After reading students will use the items in the baggie and place them in the
order that they occurred as a class. We will check our answers as a class using the sing
along version to the story. Next, the class will try sequencing on their own. We will
check their answers as a class against the model on the board. We will have students use
their visual story map to retell the story to a partner. They will share retellings to class.
Lastly, we will have students remind us what retelling is, what it consists of and when we
can use this strategy again.
Closure: Can anyone remind me what a retelling is? What do we include in a retelling?
When can we use this strategy again? (guided reading, we will be working on following
this lesson)