Influences on Retellings: Learning from High and Low Retellers

Retellings have been used for language-based inquiries for over 75 years (Kalmbach, 1986). These inquiries provide evidence, for example, that repeated instruction with retellings raises comprehension (Gambrell, Koskinen, & Kapinus, 1991), that mediated story retellings benefit children with learning disabilities (Morrow, Sisco, & Smith, 1992), and that comprehension is related to children’s sense of story (Barnhart, 1990). Studies also show differences between the retellings of good and poor readers (Weber, 1990), and that retellings may be used to strengthen student responses and to learn subtle difficulties students may be having (Kalmbach, 1986). The National Reading Panel (2000), too, found a “firm scientific basis” (p. 4–42) for the effectiveness of retellings (recall of story) on building comprehension.