The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Dorothy's Story Retold
This paper presents a student-written retelling of the opening section of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Written in clear, accessible prose, it introduces Dorothy, a nine-year-old orphan living with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em on a small Kansas farm. The retelling describes Dorothy's daily life, her emotional world, her bond with her dog Toto, and the dramatic moment when a cyclone lifts her house into the air. The paper demonstrates narrative comprehension and creative paraphrase skills, closely following Baum's original story arc while presenting it in the student's own words.
- Dorothy's Life on the Kansas Farm: Introduces Dorothy, her family, and cramped home
- Loneliness and the Gray World Around Her: Dorothy's sadness, orphan background, and dull surroundings
- Dorothy, Toto, and the Coming Storm: Toto's friendship and the cyclone's approach
- The Cyclone Strikes: House lifted into the air by the storm
- Conclusion: Dorothy and Toto's adventure begins
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What makes this paper effective
- The retelling consistently uses simple, age-appropriate vocabulary while remaining faithful to the original story's key plot points and emotional beats.
- The student effectively weaves brief definitions of unfamiliar terms — such as "cyclone," "orphan," and "cyclone cellar" — directly into the narrative, aiding comprehension without disrupting story flow.
- Descriptive detail is used purposefully: the dull gray color of the house, the drying grass, and Uncle Henry's silent gaze all build atmosphere and reflect Dorothy's inner emotional state.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates narrative paraphrase — the ability to read a source text closely and retell it accurately in one's own words. Rather than quoting directly, the student synthesizes plot, character, and setting into original sentences while preserving the meaning and sequence of the source material. This is a foundational skill in literary comprehension exercises.
Structure breakdown
The retelling follows a linear, chronological structure that mirrors the source novel's opening. It moves from setting (the farm and house) to character backstory (Dorothy's parents, Uncle Henry, Aunt Em) to inciting action (the arrival of the cyclone). Each paragraph advances the narrative logically, ending on the dramatic cliffhanger of the house lifting into the air — a faithful reproduction of the chapter's conclusion.
Dorothy's Life on the Kansas Farm
Dorothy was a nine-year-old girl who lived in the state of Kansas. She lived with her Uncle Henry and his wife, Aunt Em. Uncle Henry was a farmer, and Dorothy lived on the farm with them. The house that they lived in was very small — it had only one room. The kitchen and their beds were all in that one room, so it was very crowded. They had to cook, eat their meals, and sleep in the same space. The house was so small that it did not even have a basement. It had a small hole dug into the middle of the floor with a small door to cover it, called a cyclone cellar. A cyclone is something like a tornado — it brings very strong winds that arrive very quickly and can sometimes pick up a house and carry it across great distances.
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