Mini-Lesson

Students will retell a news story in their own words.

1. Challenge students to retell the timeforkids.com news story A Jaw-Dropping Find in their own words.

2. Call on two volunteers to share their retelling. Afterwards, restate the important details that you heard in the students' retellings. Focus on the Who, What, Where, When, Why and How details. For example, you might say, "This is interesting. I heard Maya and Alex tell us what happened and why it's important - a piece of a human jawbone was found, and scientists think it is the oldest known human fossil in all of Europe. Those details are really important. They're the 'What' and the 'Why' details of the story. But from their retelling of the story I'm not sure where the jawbone was found. I don't know when it was found either. What details are we missing? What details are we waiting to hear?

3. On the board, or on chart paper, list the words Who, What, Where, When, Why and How. Remind students that when telling, or retelling, a story it's important to include information about these five details. Fill in the list with the details you do have from the students' retelling. Then challenge students to retell the story with all of the details included. Fill in the chart as students present their retellings.