Creative Story Retelling

Overview

This is Lesson 3 in the unit "Exploring The Gigantic Turnip," designed for EYFS children aged 3-5 years, taught alongside KS1 pupils in the afternoon at a small rural C of E primary school in Cumbria. The lesson focuses on developing early narrative skills, comprehension, and vocabulary by encouraging children to retell the story using props and visuals.

The lesson aligns closely with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) Framework (2021) and the National Curriculum for KS1 English, with a focus on Communication and Language and Literacy development. It incorporates Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction by including review, modelling, guided practice, and independent retelling opportunities.

Learning Objectives

EYFS Framework (Early Learning Goals relevant to this lesson)

Communication and Language –
- ELG: Listening, Attention and Understanding: Children answer how and why questions about their experiences and in response to stories or events.
- ELG: Speaking: Children use talk to connect ideas, explain what is happening and anticipate what might happen next.
Literacy –
- ELG: Comprehension: Children demonstrate understanding of what has been read to them by retelling stories and narratives using their own words and recently introduced vocabulary.
- ELG: Word Reading: Begin to recognise and use language patterns and simple vocabulary from the story.

KS1 National Curriculum Links

English – Reading: Comprehension
- Listen to and discuss a wide range of stories.
- Become familiar with key stories, retelling them and considering the sequence of events.
English – Speaking and Listening
- Participate in discussions, performances, role play, improvisations and debates.

Success Criteria ("I can..." statements)

I can retell the story of The Gigantic Turnip in the right order.
I can use some describing words to talk about the story.
I can use props to help me tell the story.
I can listen to my friends’ stories and ask or answer questions.

Resources

Large picture book or story cards of The Gigantic Turnip story.
Character and object props (e.g., puppets or cut-outs of the turnip, grandfather, grandmother, granddaughter, dog, cat, mouse).
Story sequencing cards with pictures.
Large story mat (floor space with visual story map).
Visual cue cards with descriptive words and sequencing phrases.
Soft seating area or circle time space.

Lesson Structure (30 minutes)

1. Warm-up and Story Recall (5 minutes)

Activity: Circle time, use big book or story cards to briefly recap The Gigantic Turnip. Encourage children to share one thing they remember.
Rosenshine focus: Retrieval practice – reviewing and activating prior knowledge.
Differentiation: Use simpler pictures and repeat vocabulary for SEN learners; challenge advanced learners by asking what might happen next or why.

2. Introducing Props and Story Sequencing (5 minutes)

Show each prop and explain which part of the story it relates to.
Invite individual children to hold a prop and say one sentence about it, modelling a descriptive phrase (e.g., “The big, heavy turnip”).
Lay out visual story sequencing cards on the story mat.
Differentiation: Use sentence starters for emerging speakers ("The ___ is big"). Advanced learners encouraged to add extra descriptive words.

3. Guided Group Story Retelling (10 minutes)

Children retell the story in sequence, passing the prop as they speak. Pupils are encouraged to use the sequencing cards.
Teacher models how to use descriptive language and correct sequence with repeated phrasing.
Use open questions to prompt deeper thinking ("Why do you think the turnip was so hard to pull?").
Differentiation: Support SEN children with one-on-one prompting or pairing with more confident speakers. Use visuals to scaffold narratives.

4. Independent/Paired Story Retelling (8 minutes)

Children work in pairs or small groups to retell the story using props and sequencing cards.
Teacher listens and gives positive feedback, noting use of vocabulary and sequencing.
Offer sentence frames for those who need it ("First, the ___... Then, the ___...").
Encourage advanced learners to add new adjectives and explanations, or to create an alternative ending.

5. Plenary and Reflection (2 minutes)

Gather the children and invite 2-3 to share their favourite part of the story retelling.
Reinforce the success criteria by praising their descriptive language and correct sequencing.

Differentiation Strategies

For SEN learners:
- Visual supports and pictorial sequencing cards.
- One-to-one adult support or pairing with a peer mentor.
- Use of simple sentences and repetition.
- Allow non-verbal responses (pointing or selecting cards).
For advanced learners:
- Encourage use of varied vocabulary and complex sentences.
- Prompt creation of alternative story endings or feelings of characters.
- Ask to describe events in more detail or predict what might happen next in a new story.

Extension Activities

Creative Drawing: Children draw their favourite scene from the story and label it with descriptive words.
Role Play Outdoors: Using outdoor space, children act out pulling the gigantic turnip, developing gross motor and collaboration skills.
Vocabulary Hunt: Find and collect natural items outside representing parts of the story (twigs for sticks, leaves for turnip leaves) and describe them.

Assessment

Observe children’s ability to sequence events correctly during retelling.
Listen and note use of descriptive language and vocabulary recall.
Use checklist aligned with ELG for Communication and Language and Literacy to track each child’s narrative development.
Record anecdotal notes on engagement and confidence using props.

Notes on Context

Being in a small rural C of E school with mixed age and ability groups, this lesson maximises active, talk-rich learning through multi-sensory experience and collaboration. The use of continuous provision and outdoor spaces complements this lesson by embedding story-world learning holistically.

This lesson plan aims to nurture confidence, vocabulary development, listening skills, and story comprehension by combining well-loved storytelling with innovative, hands-on retelling supported by rich visual and tactile props.

End of Lesson Plan