Retell Stories With Key Details

Grade 1 Reading Worksheet

Circle the answer.

1. Read this first

   Tara's Tower

   On a quiet afternoon, Tara dumps a box of blocks on the rug. She picks the flat ones first. She sets one block on top of another. Slowly, the tower grows taller than her knee. Then it wobbles. Tara stops and thinks. She puts a wide, heavy block at the bottom. Now the tower is steady. Tara adds more blocks. At last, she steps back. Her tall tower is done, and she grins.

2. 1.

   Which sentence retells the whole story?

   • Tara steps back and grins at her tower.
   • Tara picks the flat blocks to start her tower.
   • Tara knocks down her tower and walks away.
   • Tara builds a tower, fixes it with a wide block when it wobbles, and finishes it.
3. 2.

   Which sentence tells only the beginning?

   • Tara steps back and grins at her tower.
   • Tara picks the flat blocks to start her tower.
   • Tara knocks down her tower and walks away.
   • Tara builds a tower, fixes it with a wide block when it wobbles, and finishes it.
4. 3.

   Which sentence tells only the ending?

   • Tara picks the flat blocks to start her tower.
   • Tara steps back and grins at her tower.
   • Tara knocks down her tower and walks away.
   • Tara builds a tower, fixes it with a wide block when it wobbles, and finishes it.
5. 4.

   What happens at the beginning?

   • She picks the flat ones first.
   • Then it wobbles.
   • The tower falls over at the end.
   • Tara knocks the tower down on purpose.
6. 5.

   What happens in the middle?

   • She picks the flat ones first.
   • The tower falls over at the end.
   • Then it wobbles.
   • Tara builds the tower outside.
7. 6.

   What happens at the end?

   • At last, she steps back.
   • Then it wobbles.
   • Tara builds the tower outside.
   • She picks the flat ones first.
8. 7.

   Which sentence should NOT be in a retell?

   • Then it wobbles.
   • Tara picks the flat blocks first.
   • She picks the flat ones first.
   • Tara builds the tower outside.
9. 8.

   What does Tara do in this story?

   • reads a book
   • draws a picture
   • builds a tall tower
   • paints a wall
10. 9.

    What lesson does this story teach?

    • Towers are best when they are short.
    • Quit when something wobbles.
    • Fix a small problem and keep going.
11. 10.

    Which true detail could you add to a retell?

    • Tara builds the tower outside.
    • The tower falls over at the end.
    • Tara knocks the tower down on purpose.
    • Tara picks the flat blocks first.