Practicing Sequencing & Retelling a Story Standards with "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover"

1-2-3 Come Do Some Sequencing & Retelling a Story Activities With Me

Do you read "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" by Lucille Colandro?

My students absolutely love this collection of stories, and they are perfect for practicing the “sequencing and retelling a story” standards.

With that in mind, I designed these quick, easy & fun storytelling slider craftivities that will help your students retell the "Granny Clover" story in the proper order.

This simple craft is a great addition to your St. Patrick’s Day activities too.

There are 5 “cover” options available. Pick your favorite or give children a choice.

All of them are easy-peasy to cut, as they are in a box shape; however, you can also choose to cut around the patterns as well.

Check out the photo to the left to see which style you like best.

I’ve also provided two smaller patterns with a shorter slider for little ones.

You decide what’s best for your students’ abilities. I personally like the cut out covers, which I do for all of my teacher samples.

As always, both color, as well as black & white patterns are included.

Children color, cut & glue their slider strips together, then insert it into the “slits” of their cover.

Since it only takes me about 8 minutes, to pre-cut the slits for my students, I do this prep with an X-acto knife, which saves me classroom time, by doing this step for my kiddos.

As they pull on the end of their “slider” the various pictures go through the “window”, so that children can take turns retelling the story to a partner.

I introduce the lesson by reading "There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" , then share my sample with the children.

We retell the tale together, using the picture prompts on the slider.

My students now know what’s expected of them, and are very excited to transition to making a “Granny Clover” slider of their own.

When they complete the craftivity, they pick a partner & take turns retelling the tale.

For an easy & interesting way to assess comprehension, I’ve also included a “Let’s sequence the story” worksheet, where students color and trim the picture tiles then glue them in the correct order on their worksheet.

Use the teacher’s colorful copy as a whole group activity, sequencing the story as you read it, then again as a review afterwards. Grab that teachable moment to practice ordinal numbers as well.

For writing practice, there’s also a “Here’s What Happened…” writing prompt worksheet, as another way to check comprehension, plus practice sequential writing.

Use the colorful template to do this as a whole group activity with younger kiddos, discussing beginning, middle & end.

If you aren't familiar with the book, you can click on the LINK & check out a reading of "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover" on YouTube. It's less than 3 minutes long.

I like to show a quick video at the end of our day, which reinforces the lesson.

I also encourage my students to share their slider & storytelling skills with their family when they get home.

Since St. Patrick's Day is just around the corner, today's FREEBIE is a shamrock-themed set of 10 frames, which includes some quick, easy & fun math activities.