aiMOOC

E8 G - Retell the main events

QR-Code

E8 G - Retell the main events

Mini-Beschreibung: Gib die wichtigsten Ereignisse einer Geschichte geordnet in eigenen einfachen Worten wieder.

Niveau: Englisch, Klasse 8, G-Niveau, Baden-Württemberg

Media start – look first: Look at the storyboard. What can pictures help you remember? Think: Who? Where? What happened first, next and last?

First watch: Watch the video once. Do not stop. Listen for characters, setting and main events.
Second watch: Pause after an important event. Say one short sentence about it.

I can

After this aiMOOC, you can say:

I can find the main events in a short story.
I can put the events in the correct order.
I can retell a story with first, then, after that, finally.
I can use my own simple words.
I can give a short opinion and a reason.

What you already know

You already know the Simple Past and useful story words. Try these questions in English first:

Who is in the story?
Where does it happen?
What is the problem?
What happens next?
How does the story end?

Help ladder: Try → ask a partner → use the word box → use the hint → use short German help only if needed.

Main idea: Retell, do not copy

When you retell a story, you tell the important events again in your own words. You do not need every detail.

A clear retelling often has three parts:

Beginning: Who? Where? What starts the story?
Middle: What is the main problem or action?
End: How does the story finish?

Use sequence words:

First – Next – Then – After that – Finally

Media story: The Three Little Pigs

The pictures below are from an old public-domain version of The Three Little Pigs. Use them as a visual story.

Think: Who are the main characters? What may happen next?

Say one sentence: The wolf ...

Compare: What is different about this house?

Finish: Finally, ...

Listening and Viewing

Task 1 – first listen: Do not use subtitles or a transcript. Write only four words you understand.

Task 2 – second listen: Listen again. Find:

one word for the beginning
one word for the middle
one word for the end

Task 3 – speak: Retell the example in three or four sentences.

Hint: You can start with First ... Then ... Finally ...

German help if needed: Suche nur die Hauptereignisse. Du musst nicht jedes Wort verstehen.

Reading

Read this short story once without a dictionary.

A lost phone

On Saturday, Maya went to the sports centre with her friend Leo. After basketball practice, Maya could not find her phone. First, they looked in the changing room. Then they asked the coach. The phone was not there. After that, Leo called Maya's number. They heard a ringtone near the benches. Finally, Maya found the phone under her jacket. She was relieved and thanked Leo.

Try: Which four events are most important?

Possible check: Maya went to the sports centre → she lost her phone → Leo called it → Maya found it.

Context vocabulary

You do not need to translate every word. Use the context.

Word	Easy English help
event	something that happens
main event	an important part of the story
setting	place and time of a story
problem	something that is difficult
solution	how a problem is solved
sequence	the order of events
retell	tell a story again in your own words
finally	at the end

Mini-strategy: If one word is new, ask: Do I need this word to understand the main event?

Pronunciation

Say these sequence words slowly:

first – next – then – after that – finally

Focus on clear words and a steady pace. Being easy to understand is more important than sounding like a native speaker.

Clap the strong part:

FI-nal-ly
AF-ter that

Then say:

First, Maya went to the sports centre. Then she looked for her phone. Finally, she found it.

Speaking

Use the picture story above.

Round 1: Say only three sentences.

Round 2: Add one reason or feeling.

Example frame:

First, ... Then, ... After that, ... Finally, ... I think ... because ...

Partner feedback:

Did I hear the main events?
Was the order clear?
Did the speaker use simple own words?

Recordings are optional and private. Do not upload recordings or personal data unless your teacher has clearly asked for it and your school rules allow it.

Writing

Write a short retelling of A lost phone in about 60–90 words.

Use this plan:

Beginning: Maya and Leo at the sports centre.
Problem: The phone is missing.
Middle: They look and ask.
End: Leo calls the phone and Maya finds it.

Useful links between sentences:

First, ... Then, ... After that, ... Finally, ...

You do not need many sentence starters. Try to connect your ideas yourself.

Functional grammar

For your own retelling, the Simple Past is enough most of the time:

Maya went. They looked. Leo called. Maya found the phone.

You may understand these forms when you read or listen:

Past perfect, receptive only:
The third pig had built a strong house before the wolf arrived.
Meaning: building happened first.

Passive, receptive only:
The house was built of bricks.
Meaning: the focus is on the house, not the builder.

Reported speech without backshift:
Leo says that the phone is not in the changing room.

For G-level, you do not need to force these difficult forms into your own retelling.

Direct feedback and error check

Example 1
Not clear: Then phone. Then coach. Then bench.
Better: Then they asked the coach. After that, they heard the phone near the benches.

Why? A retelling needs connected statements.

Example 2
Too much detail: Maya had a blue jacket, Leo had black shoes, the room had six benches ...
Better: Keep only details that help explain the main events.

Example 3
Wrong order: Maya found the phone. Then Leo called it.
Check the story again. Ask: What happened first?

Mediation mini-task

Your German-speaking friend asks: Was ist passiert?

Answer mainly in English with four simple sentences. You may use one German word only if you really need it. Do not translate the whole story.

Transfer

Create a short fictional story about a familiar topic: school, sport, a journey, a lost object or a small problem.

Use a fictional profile. Do not use real private social-media data, names, addresses or account information.

If you use AI for ideas, check:

Is the language really G-level?
Are the facts and story events logical?
Does the text still sound like your own work?

AI should help you learn, not replace your own retelling.

Can-do check

Tick what you can do:

□ I can find 3–5 main events.
□ I can put events in order.
□ I can use sequence words.
□ I can retell in my own simple words.
□ I can give an opinion with a reason.
□ I can understand simple passive or past perfect forms when they appear in a text.

Next step: Continue with E8 G - Summarise a story or another course on Reading comprehension and Speaking.

Interaktive Aufgaben

Quiz: Teste Dein Wissen

What should a good retelling include? (The main events in the correct order) (!Every small detail) (!A full translation) (!Only your opinion)

Which word is useful for the first event? (First) (!Finally) (!Because) (!Maybe)

What does setting mean in a story? (The place and time) (!The final sentence) (!The writer's age) (!A list of verbs)

Which sentence is a clear retelling sentence? (Then Maya asked the coach for help.) (!Coach phone bench Maya.) (!All words from the story must be copied.) (!The story has many letters.)

What should you do with small unimportant details? (Leave many of them out) (!Add more of them) (!Translate all of them) (!Read them aloud three times)

Which sequence is correct for A lost phone? (Maya loses the phone, Leo calls it, Maya finds it) (!Maya finds it, Leo calls it, Maya loses it) (!Leo finds it, Maya calls it, the coach loses it) (!The coach calls it, Leo loses it, Maya goes home)

What is the main job of sequence words? (They show the order of events) (!They translate difficult nouns) (!They make every sentence longer) (!They change the characters)

What does had built show in The pig had built the house before the wolf arrived? (The building happened before the wolf arrived) (!The building happens tomorrow) (!The wolf built the house) (!The house is a question)

What should matter most in pronunciation? (Being easy to understand) (!Copying one exact accent) (!Speaking as fast as possible) (!Avoiding all pauses)

What is a good final self-check? (Are the main events clear and in order?) (!Did I copy every sentence?) (!Did I use the longest words possible?) (!Did I add private information?)

Memory

Beginning	start of the story
Setting	place and time
Main event	important action
Sequence	order of events
Finally	at the end
Retell	tell again in own words

Drag and Drop

Ordne die richtigen Begriffe zu.	Thema
First	Maya goes to the sports centre.
Then	Maya cannot find her phone.
Next	Maya and Leo look for it.
After that	Leo calls the phone.
Finally	Maya finds the phone.

Kreuzworträtsel

Setting	What word means the place and time of a story?
Event	What word means something that happens?
Retell	What verb means tell a story again in your own words?
Sequence	What word means the order of events?
Problem	What word names the main difficulty in a story?
Finally	Which word can introduce the last event?

LearningApps

Lückentext

Offene Aufgaben

Leicht

Bildfolge beschreiben: Wähle drei Bilder aus der Schweinchen-Geschichte und sage zu jedem Bild einen einfachen englischen Satz.
Sequence words: Schreibe vier Sätze mit first, then, after that und finally.
Main events finden: Markiere in A lost phone vier Hauptereignisse und streiche zwei unwichtige Details.
Mini-Retelling: Erzähle A lost phone in höchstens fünf englischen Sätzen nach.

Standard

Storyboard erstellen: Zeichne zu einer kurzen fiktiven Geschichte vier Bilder und schreibe je einen englischen Satz dazu.
Partner-Retelling: Erzähle einem Partner eine Geschichte. Der Partner notiert nur die Hauptereignisse und prüft die Reihenfolge.
Listening Retell: Sieh das Video erneut und fasse ein Beispiel daraus in vier bis sechs Sätzen zusammen.
Opinion with reason: Ergänze Deine Nacherzählung um einen Satz mit I think ... because ...

Schwer

Perspective change: Erzähle eine kurze Geschichte aus der Sicht einer anderen Figur nach, ohne neue Hauptereignisse zu erfinden.
Error analysis: Verbessere eine absichtlich ungeordnete Nacherzählung und erkläre auf Deutsch kurz zwei Änderungen.
Mediation: Erkläre einer deutschsprachigen Person den Inhalt einer kurzen englischen Geschichte in einfachem Englisch, ohne Vollübersetzung.
Transfer story: Erstelle eine eigene fiktive 6-Bilder-Geschichte und nimm freiwillig privat eine kurze englische Nacherzählung auf.

Lernkontrolle

Reihenfolge begründen: Du erhältst fünf Ereignisse einer neuen Geschichte in falscher Reihenfolge. Ordne sie und begründe zwei Entscheidungen mit einfachen englischen Sätzen.
Wichtig oder Detail: Entscheide bei acht Informationen, ob sie ein Hauptereignis oder nur ein Detail sind. Begründe drei Entscheidungen.
Retelling transfer: Lies eine neue kurze Geschichte und erzähle sie in 70–90 Wörtern nach. Nutze eigene Formulierungen.
Listening transfer: Höre einen kurzen Text zweimal und notiere danach nur vier Hauptereignisse. Das Transkript erhältst Du erst nach dem zweiten Versuch.
Fehler verbessern: Überarbeite eine Nacherzählung mit falscher Reihenfolge, zu vielen Details und fehlenden Verbindungswörtern.
Formen verstehen: Erkläre aus dem Kontext, welche Handlung in einem Satz mit past perfect zuerst passiert ist und worauf ein einfacher Passivsatz den Fokus legt.

Lernnachweis

Für einen guten Lernnachweis ist wichtig:

Du erkennst die wichtigsten Ereignisse.
Du ordnest sie logisch.
Du formulierst überwiegend in eigenen einfachen Worten.
Du nutzt passende Verbindungswörter.
Du kannst beim Sprechen verständlich und in angemessenem Tempo erzählen.
Du kannst Deine Auswahl der Hauptereignisse begründen.
Du verstehst schwierigere Formen wie past perfect oder passive im Kontext, ohne sie zwingend selbst verwenden zu müssen.
Du gehst sicher mit Medien, Aufnahmen und persönlichen Daten um.