teaching resource

5 Finger Retelling Interactive Activity

  • Updated

    Updated:  11 Sep 2023

Practise using the 5 finger retelling strategy with this interactive activity.

  • Editable

    Editable:  Google Slides

  • Pages

    Pages:  1 Page

  • Curriculum
  • Grades

    Grades:  K - 1

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teaching resource

5 Finger Retelling Interactive Activity

  • Updated

    Updated:  11 Sep 2023

Practise using the 5 finger retelling strategy with this interactive activity.

  • Editable

    Editable:  Google Slides

  • Pages

    Pages:  1 Page

  • Curriculum
  • Grades

    Grades:  K - 1

Practise using the 5 finger retelling strategy with this interactive activity.

5 Simple Texts With Retelling Activities

After explicitly teaching your students how to retell narrative texts using the 5 finger strategy, practice with simple texts is the next step. Finding texts that are simple enough in the beginning is tricky. This 5 finger retelling interactive activity has been carefully designed and created by a teacher for those beginning stages of practice in a student’s retelling journey. This interactive activity includes 5 simple texts with activities around the following topics:

  • Setting and Characters
  • Events
  • Problems and Solutions

Tips for Differentiation + Scaffolding 

As teachers, we know that we will have a mixture of abilities in our class when it comes to a range of topics. Teaching retell is one that students sometimes find tricky, particularly those that are struggling with their reading skills. For students who find reading difficult, you may like to add a recorded voice reading the text on each of the text slides. This allows for students to focus purely on being up to retell the story after listening to it.

For those students who are ready, they can read the text themselves. For fast finishers, why not get them to write their own simple narrative for a friend to retell.

Easily Prepare This Resource for Your Students

This interactive activity is available to download in Google Slides. Use this activity in edit mode so that the interactive elements work.


This resource was created by Samantha Rose, a teacher in Florida and a Teach Starter collaborator.


More 5 Finger Retelling Resources

Don’t stop there! We have a range of different resources focusing specifically on the 5 finger-retelling strategy:

Image of 5 Finger Retelling Flipbook

teaching resource

5 Finger Retelling Flipbook

Explore the 5 finger retell strategy with this guided flipbook.

Teach Starter Publishing14 pagesGrades: K - 1
Image of 5 Finger Retell Teaching Slides

teaching resource

5 Finger Retell Teaching Slides

Teach your students about the 5 finger retell strategy with this set of teaching slides.

Teach Starter Publishing1 pageGrades: K - 1
Image of 5 Finger Retell Classroom Posters

teaching resource

5 Finger Retell Classroom Posters

Guide students through the 5 finger retell process with this set of classroom posters and individual student guide.

Teach Starter Publishing7 pagesGrades: K - 1

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