Listed below are two research papers that support the idea that students' reading comprehension improves when given the opportunity to retell the story they read.
1)The Effects of Retelling Upon Reading Comprehension and Recall of Text Information
Gambrell, L., Pfeiffer, W., & Wilson, R. (1985, March/April). Journal of Educational Research, 78(4), 216-220.
2) Retelling and the Reading Comprehension of Proficient and Less-Proficient Readers
Gambrell,L., Kapinus,B.,& Koskinen, P (1991,July/August). Journal of Educational Research, 84(6), 356-362