After the student reads a benchmark book and you take a running record, have the student do an oral retelling of the story. Ask the student to close the book then tell you about the story in as much detail as she/he can remember. If the student has difficulty retelling parts of the story or remembering certain details, you can use prompts such as "Tell me more about (character x)" or "What happened after...?" Analyze the retelling for information the student gives about:  

• Main idea and supporting detail
• Sequence of events
• Characters
• Setting
• Plot
• Problem and solution
• Response to text-specific vocabulary and language 

Retelling Checklist

• Can the student tell you what happened in the story or the subject of the book in her or his own words?
• Does the student include details about the characters in the retelling? Can she or he explain the relationships between the characters?
• Can the student describe the setting? How detailed is the description?
• Can the student recall the events of the story, and can she or he place them in the correct sequence?
• Can the student identify the problem and the resolution?
• Does the student use vocabulary from the text?
• Does the student's retelling demonstrate minimal, adequate, or very complete and detailed understanding of the text?