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E7 M - Retell a story in your own words

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E7 M - Retell a story in your own words

Mini-description: Retell a short story in your own words. Use a picture, keywords and a simple story structure to help you. Speak and write clearly. Do not copy every sentence.

Level: English as a first foreign language, Year 7, M level, Baden-Württemberg.

Look first. What helps you tell a story: pictures, keywords or full sentences? Give one reason in English.

I can ...

I can find the most important events in a short story.
I can put events in a clear order.
I can retell a story with my own words.
I can use the simple past and useful linking words.
I can speak for about one minute with keyword support.
I can improve my retelling after feedback.

Try first in English. Use German help only if you really need it.

Warm-up: What do you already know?

Say three things about a story you know.

Try: Who was in it? Where did it happen? What happened first?

Hint: Use: The story is about ... / At first ... / Then ... / In the end ...

Deutsch-Hilfe: Nenne Figuren, Ort und die wichtigsten Ereignisse. Du musst nicht jedes Detail erzählen.

Media starter: beginning – middle – end

Watch the first video. Stop after the examples and retell one mini-story without copying the speaker.

Notice: A retelling needs the important events, not every detail.

Try: Make three keyword boxes:

Beginning: Who? Where? Situation?
Middle: Problem? Important actions?
End: Solution? Result?

Reading: The lost phone

Read the story once without a dictionary.

The lost phone

On Saturday afternoon, Maya and her friend Noah went to the park after basketball practice. They sat near a small lake and talked about their plans for the weekend. After a few minutes, Maya wanted to take a photo, but her phone was gone.

First, they checked Maya's bag and the bench. Then they walked back to the basketball court. Maya was worried because the phone had photos from her cousin's birthday on it.

Near the sports hall, Noah saw something under a tree. It was a blue phone case, but there was no phone inside. A woman who was walking her dog came over. She said that a boy had found a phone and had taken it to the sports centre.

Maya and Noah hurried there. The phone was at the reception desk. Maya thanked the boy, who was still waiting with his dad. In the end, Maya felt relieved — and she decided to keep her phone in a zipped pocket next time.

Picture challenge: The picture is not from Maya's story. Use it only as a storytelling prompt. Invent three events: beginning, middle and end.

Understand the story

Answer in short English sentences.

Who are the two main characters?
Why was Maya worried?
What clue did Noah find?
Who had found the phone?
Where did Maya get it back?
What did Maya decide to do next time?

Hint 1: Scan for names, places and actions.

Hint 2: You do not need to copy full sentences.

Deutsch-Hilfe: Suche gezielt nach Figuren, Problem, Hinweis, Lösung und Schluss.

Build the retelling

A good retelling can follow this simple plan:

Part	Question	Useful language
Beginning	Who? Where? When?	One Saturday ... / Maya and Noah ...
Middle	What was the problem? What happened next?	Suddenly ... / First ... / Then ... / After that ...
End	How was the problem solved?	Finally ... / In the end ...

Rule: Keep the main events. Leave out small details if they are not important.

Vocabulary in context

Use the words in the story. Guess first from context.

Word or phrase	Simple English meaning	Your example
worried	thinking that something bad may happen	I was worried when ...
clue	something that helps you find an answer	The clue was ...
reception desk	a place where visitors can ask for help	We asked at the reception desk.
hurried	moved quickly	They hurried to ...
relieved	happy because a problem is over	She felt relieved because ...
zipped pocket	a pocket you can close with a zip	He kept the key in a zipped pocket.

Mini-transfer: Choose three words and use them in a new mini-story.

Grammar for retelling: Simple Past

For finished story events, use the simple past.

Examples from the story: Maya wanted to take a photo. They checked the bag. Noah saw something. A boy found the phone.

Try: Change the verbs into the simple past.

go → went check → checked see → saw find → found decide → decided

Important: After didn't and Did ...? use the base form: They didn't find it. / Did Noah see the phone?

Viewing task: Listen for the difference between regular and irregular past forms. Write down three examples.

Pronunciation: -ed endings

Regular past forms often end in -ed, but they do not all sound the same.

Listen and notice: checked, wanted, decided.

You do not need a perfect accent. Your goal is clear, understandable speech.

Try: Read this sentence twice: Maya checked her bag, hurried back and decided to ask for help.

Feedback check: Can a partner understand every key verb?

Listening and viewing: How to tell a story

Watch a short part first, then pause and try the idea yourself.

Focus: Notice how a speaker sets the scene, moves the story forward and ends it.

Try: Retell The lost phone in 45–60 seconds.

Keyword help: Saturday – park – phone gone – search – blue case – woman – sports centre – boy – relieved

Extra help: At first ... The problem started when ... After that ... Finally ...

Deutsch-Hilfe nur bei Bedarf: Nutze Stichwörter, aber schreibe keinen vollständigen deutschen Text vor.

Speaking: Retell with keywords

Work with a partner.

Student A looks at the keywords and retells the story.
Student B listens and ticks: beginning, middle, end, simple past, linking words.
Student B gives one positive comment and one useful tip.
Change roles and retell again.

Useful feedback: I could follow your story because ... One thing you can improve is ... Try to use ...

Privacy: Recording is optional. Keep recordings private unless your teacher has organised a safe school platform. Do not upload personal recordings without permission.

Writing: Retell in 90–120 words

Write a short retelling of The lost phone.

Plan first:

2 sentences for the beginning.
4–6 sentences for the middle.
2 sentences for the ending.

Use your own words. Do not copy the original sentence by sentence.

Checklist before you finish:

Did I keep the important events?
Is the order clear?
Did I use the simple past?
Did I use linking words?
Did I leave out unimportant details?
Did I check spelling and punctuation?

Functional language: link your events

Use a small number of clear linking words.

Start: At first ... / One afternoon ...

Continue: Then ... / After that ... / A few minutes later ...

Problem: Suddenly ... / But then ...

End: Finally ... / In the end ...

Try: Retell the story again, but do not use then more than twice.

Controlled E-lookahead: one earlier event

For M level, the simple past is enough for your retelling.

As a small outlook, you may sometimes see the past perfect when one past event happened before another past event:

Maya was worried because she had saved important photos on the phone.

You do not need to use the past perfect in your main retelling.

Picture retelling

Datei:A-Thousand-and-one-Stories.jpg

Look at the picture for 20 seconds.

Try: Invent a short story with five keywords only.

Possible structure: One evening ... At first ... Suddenly ... After that ... In the end ...

Do not try to explain the historical picture exactly. Use it as a creative storytelling prompt.

Storytelling and audience

Datei:GrimmsGoblins-142-StoryTelling.jpg

A retelling is communication. Your listener should understand the main events without knowing the original text.

Mini-test: Tell your story to a partner who has not read it. Ask: What was the problem? How did the story end?

If your partner can answer, your retelling was probably clear.

Mediation mini-task

Your German-speaking classmate asks what The lost phone is about.

Explain the main idea in 2–3 German sentences. Do not translate every line.

Then switch back to English and give the ending in one sentence.

AI and feedback

You may use digital feedback only if your teacher allows it.

Safe rule: Use AI to check one question, for example: Is my event order clear? Do not ask AI to replace your whole text.

Check every suggestion. Keep your own wording when it is correct and understandable. Never enter private names, accounts, photos or personal social-media data into an external AI tool.

Improve and use again

Do the task a second time after feedback.

Round 1: Retell with 8 keywords.

Feedback: One strength + one next step.

Round 2: Retell with only 5 keywords.

Goal: More independence, not more difficult vocabulary.

Self-check: Can do

I can ...	Yes	Almost	Not yet
find the main events	☐	☐	☐
use beginning – middle – end	☐	☐	☐
use simple past forms	☐	☐	☐
use linking words	☐	☐	☐
retell without copying	☐	☐	☐
improve after feedback	☐	☐	☐

Next step: If you ticked Almost or Not yet, repeat one short retelling with the keyword help.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What is the main goal of a retelling? (To give the important events in your own words) (!To copy every sentence) (!To add many new characters) (!To translate every sentence into German)

Which structure helps you organise a short retelling? (Beginning middle end) (!Question answer question) (!Title dictionary grammar) (!Past present future only)

Which tense is most useful for finished events in this story? (Simple past) (!Present perfect only) (!Future with will) (!Past perfect in every sentence)

Which sentence is a useful story linker? (After that they hurried to the sports centre) (!Yesterday because quickly blue) (!Phone park Maya sport) (!The word story is a noun)

Why was Maya worried? (The phone had important photos on it) (!She had lost her basketball) (!Noah wanted to go home) (!The sports centre was closed)

What did Noah find near the sports hall? (A blue phone case) (!A basketball) (!A dog lead) (!A camera)

Where was the phone in the end? (At the reception desk) (!Under the bench) (!Inside the lake) (!In Noah's bag)

Which sentence uses the simple past correctly? (They checked the bench) (!They check the bench yesterday) (!They did checked the bench) (!They checking the bench)

What should you do with small unimportant details? (Leave some of them out) (!Always invent more details) (!Translate them into German) (!Repeat each detail twice)

What is useful feedback after a spoken retelling? (One strength and one clear next step) (!A new story written by someone else) (!Only a mark with no comment) (!A complete replacement of the retelling)

Memory

beginning	setting and first situation
middle	problem and important actions
ending	solution and result
clue	help for finding an answer
relieved	happy because a problem is over
keyword	short support for speaking

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
Set the scene	Beginning
The phone disappears	Problem
They search for it	Action
The boy takes it to reception	Solution
Maya changes her habit	Ending

Kreuzworträtsel

retell	What do you do when you tell a story again in your own words?
middle	Which story part usually contains the main problem?
keyword	What short word or phrase can support you while speaking?
worried	How did Maya feel when her phone was missing?
hurried	Which verb means moved quickly in the story?
relieved	How did Maya feel when she got the phone back?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Story keywords: Write eight keywords for The lost phone and retell the story with them.
Beginning middle end: Draw three small boxes and sketch the beginning, middle and end.
Linking words: Write six short story sentences and connect them with at least four different linking words.
Voice practice: Read your own retelling aloud once, then say it again without reading full sentences.

Standard

Picture retelling: Choose one free Commons picture on this page and invent a 60-second story with five keywords.
Partner feedback: Retell a story to a partner and collect one strength and one next step.
Alternative viewpoint: Retell The lost phone from Noah's point of view.
Short written retelling: Write 90–120 words and reduce the original story to its main events.

Schwer

Missing scene: Add one short new scene that fits the story, then explain why it does not change the main plot.
Retelling comparison: Create a first and improved version of the same retelling and mark three changes you made after feedback.
One-minute presentation: Retell a new story in one minute with no more than five keywords.
Mediation challenge: Explain the story briefly in German for someone who does not understand the English text, then give the ending again in English.

Lernkontrolle

Main events: Read a new 150–180 word story. Choose the five events that are essential for understanding it and explain your choices.
Retelling structure: Retell the new story in beginning–middle–end form without copying full sentences from the source.
Language choices: Highlight three simple-past verbs and three linking words in your retelling. Explain how they help the listener follow the story.
Feedback and revision: Use one peer-feedback comment to improve your retelling. Show the sentence before and after your revision.
Transfer: Turn a four-picture sequence into a short spoken story and then into a 90-word written retelling.
Audience check: Give your retelling to someone who has not seen the source. Ask them to state the problem and solution. Use their answer to judge what you need to clarify.

Lernnachweis

For a successful learning record, you should be able to:

identify the main characters, setting, problem, important actions and ending of a short story.
organise events in a logical order.
retell a story in your own English words.
use mainly correct simple-past forms.
use useful linking words without overusing one linker.
speak clearly with keyword support.
write a structured retelling of about 90–120 words.
respond to feedback and improve one version.
explain your own learning with the Can-do check.

The learning record does not require public uploads, external AI use or a perfect accent.