Developing storytelling vocabulary | English | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

True or false? To experience a story you have to read it.
- True
- False ✓
When retelling a story, we should do which of these?
- Use a loud and clear voice. ✓
- Look at the floor.
- Look at the audience. ✓
- Whisper the story.
True or false? When retelling a story aloud, we should use expression.
- True ✓
- False
Successful listening includes ...
- looking at the speaker. ✓
- listening carefully to the words and expressions of the speaker. ✓
- playing a game.
- talking to my friend.
Put the parts of a story structure in the correct order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  opening
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  build-up
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  climax
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  resolution
Put the following events from 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' in the correct order.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  A family of bears went for a walk, leaving their porridge to cool.
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks spotted the bears' cottage and went inside.
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks tried each porridge and ate all of Baby Bear's.
- 4
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks sat in each chair and broke Baby Bear's.
- 5
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks lay in each bed and fell asleep in Baby Bear's.
- 6
  
  ⇔
  
  The bears came home and discovered Goldilocks asleep in Baby Bear's bed.
- 7
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks woke up, saw the bears and screamed. She ran away and never returned.

True or false? We should use simple vocabulary when telling a story orally.
- True
- False ✓
How does a fairy tale normally begin?
- Happily ever after,
- Once upon a time, ✓
- At the end of the forest,
Match each fronted adverbial to the correct main clause.
- One morning,
  
  ⇔
  
  the bears went for a walk while waiting for their porridge to cool. ✓
- That same day,
  
  ⇔
  
  Goldilocks came across their cottage and smelt the porridge. ✓
- Without hesitation,
  
  ⇔
  
  she went inside. ✓
- On the table,
  
  ⇔
  
  she spotted three porridge bowls filled to the brim! ✓
Put the following in the order that Goldilocks always tries the items in the house.
- 1
  
  ⇔
  
  Papa Bear's
- 2
  
  ⇔
  
  Mama Bear's
- 3
  
  ⇔
  
  Baby Bear's
Which of these would be appropriate precise and descriptive verbs to complete the following sentence: 'Without a second to waste, Goldilocks __________ the porridge.'
- ate
- devoured ✓
- gobbled ✓
- swallowed
Which of these would be appropriate adjectives to complete the following sentence: 'Feeling stuffed after her meal, Goldilocks wanted to find a __________ place to rest.'
- funny
- comfortable ✓
- hard
- cosy ✓

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There is some vocabulary that is commonly used when retelling a story, particularly a fairy tale.
'Goldilocks and the Three Bears' uses repetition of the number three as a key storytelling technique.
Fronted adverbials of time can be used to help sequence a story.
Using precise vocabulary helps to create vivid descriptions of characters, setting and action.

Pupils may only want to use vocabulary from the original story.

Explain to pupils that we are retelling our own version of the story and therefore we can include our own precise and descriptive vocabulary.

Vocabulary - the words we know and use to communicate with others
Adjective - a word that describes a noun
Fronted adverbial of time - a sentence starter that tells the reader when something happens