12 Tic-Tac-Tell
Emily Mahany
Strategy Overview:
- Tic-Tac-Tell is a game students can play to retell a story. It is a game board with 9 different talking points. Genre, Setting, Problem, Solution, Beginning, Middle, End, Characters, and Connection. Students take turns making X’s and O’s over the square and whichever one they pick they have to speak about.
- This is important because it gives students a chance to listen to what others are thinking as well as think about the story they read and pick out key information.
- This can be used in the classroom with any read aloud, partner reading, or students telling each other about the books they are reading individually.
- “When children retell a story, they practice using different tenses, expand their vocabulary, and learn to articulate their thoughts more effectively.” (mightywritersblog, 2024)
Strategy in Action
After a read aloud, the students will pair up and get two different colored pencils or crayons. The students will decide who is X and who is O. Students will then take turns, placing their Xs and Os on the game board. Whichever box they mark they will need to speak on that. For example, if they mark “Setting” they will need to speak about the story’s setting. The teacher will be circulating and checking for understanding. They will be checking in with partners and asking questions to check for understanding.
