South Dakota ELA 1.RL.2

ELA1st GradeReading Literature

The Standard

Retell stories, including key ideas and details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

South Dakota English Language Arts Standards (2025)

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students retell a story in order, naming the characters, the problem, and how it is solved. They explain what the story teaches using something a character did.
What Mastery Looks Like: After hearing The Lion and the Mouse, a student tells how the lion lets the mouse go and how the mouse later frees the lion. The student says that anyone can help and points to the mouse chewing the net as evidence.
Common Misconceptions: Students may focus on small details while leaving out the problem or ending. They may give an event, such as the mouse chewing the net, when asked what the story teaches.
How to Assess It: After reading The Lion and the Mouse, ask: “Tell three events in order. What does the story teach, and which event shows it?”

Lesson moves

Use paper lion and mouse puppets and a string net to act out the lion's choice and the mouse's rescue, then retell both events.
Ask, “Why does the mouse help the lion later?” Have partners explain what the lion learns and name one event that shows it.
Play a picture-card race: pairs order drawings of the mouse caught, the lion trapped, and the mouse chewing the net, then retell.
Show a photo of a child helping an adult carry groceries; ask how that help is like the mouse freeing the lion.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to 1.RL.2, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

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