How do you do narration with more than one child??

[diaperjoys]

I'm just getting going with SOTW 1 with my 1st grade 6yo. I'm thinking about having our K 5yo join in, to try to keep the two of them together in history. But I can't get my head around doing narrations with the two of them.

 

My 6yo is really rusty on the whole narration thing, and really needs to do it; it is new to both of us. How do you do two?? Do they together retell the story back while I write it down? Or do I send one child away, and work with one at a time?

 

Today I worked only with the 6yo while all the littles were napping. It was very, very difficult for him to come up with sentences during the narration section. I'm a little leery of adding another child to the scenario unless I have a pretty clear picture of how to go about it. Can some of you more seasoned homeschoolers point me in the right direction??

[MyLittleWonders]

We are slowly getting better with narrations - my boys have always loved telling about something on their own, but have had to warm up to telling about something that I want them to remember. ;) This is what I'm doing right now and it's working for us:

 

First I read to them the material I want them to narrate (right now it's usually an Aesop fable from ds#1's Classical Writing Primer or the except from Writing With Ease 1 for ds#2). I read to both of them (usually all three boys). Then, we talk about it together - go over the character, setting, plot ... the boys tend to take turns adding details to the narration.

 

Then, either later that day or the next (depending on when I read to them), I take one aside and have them narrate to me while I type their narration on the computer. I like to do it while they are doing school at the table (something like copywork or math). Then, I switch kids. Depending on everyone's moods, they will sometimes illustrate their narration or we'll get clip art from the computer to use for the illustration. Sometimes, they are illustration-less. ;)

[ABQmom]

We are slowly getting better with narrations - my boys have always loved telling about something on their own, but have had to warm up to telling about something that I want them to remember. ;) This is what I'm doing right now and it's working for us:

 

First I read to them the material I want them to narrate (right now it's usually an Aesop fable from ds#1's Classical Writing Primer or the except from Writing With Ease 1 for ds#2). I read to both of them (usually all three boys). Then, we talk about it together - go over the character, setting, plot ... the boys tend to take turns adding details to the narration.

 

Then, either later that day or the next (depending on when I read to them), I take one aside and have them narrate to me while I type their narration on the computer. I like to do it while they are doing school at the table (something like copywork or math). Then, I switch kids. Depending on everyone's moods, they will sometimes illustrate their narration or we'll get clip art from the computer to use for the illustration. Sometimes, they are illustration-less. ;)

 

I think the above idea is great, however, if you find yourself short on time, don't have both of them narrate on the same day. I was just reading up on narration in the Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. She says formal narration isn't started until age 6. She also suggests that you take turns if you have more than one child to narrate with.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

When my girls were younger, I would read the story, send the older one to complete some independent work while the younger narrated to me. When she finished, I called the older one back and had her narrate.

 

IMHO, for your two, I would keep working on narrations with just the 6yo until he is more comfortable with it before adding in the 5yo. There's plenty of time to start working on narrations with the Ker. HTH

[MyLittleWonders]

I think the above idea is great, however, if you find yourself short on time, don't have both of them narrate on the same day. I was just reading up on narration in the Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola. She says formal narration isn't started until age 6. She also suggests that you take turns if you have more than one child to narrate with.

That makes a lot of sense. The hard thing for us is keeping our 3 year old from wanting to try and narrate with his brothers (and he does really well when we let him roll with it). Ds#2 has narrated off and on with ds#1 simply for the same reason - he wants to do everything his older brother does. :)

[Haiku]

When my kids were K and 1st, I had them each narrating only one paragraph, so I simply had them each narrate a different paragraph. I let them listen in on each other's narrations because I figured that they would get the benefit of hearing me instruct the other child.

 

Tara

[RootAnn]

Kinda what she said. :iagree:

 

We are doing narrations in WWE 2, religion (bible stories), and history (SOTW 2). Depending on which subject, there is usually more than enough info for both to narrate something different. I don't usually make them go away from each other. The younger is far better at picking out (important) details, but has more trouble making a cohesive sentence. I usually have to remind her once a week to not retell me the entire story.

 

The older one gets the gist of the story, but makes everything into short, repetitive sentences. (The Vikings were farmers. The Vikings raided lands. The Vikings were called Norsemen. One Viking was named Eric the Red. etc. AGGGGHHHH!)

 

They are both there to hear me coach the other. They know not to copy what the other one said. I let the older use the written narrations (I write them for both kids) for her SOTW quizzes. Frequently, the younger one's narrations are more useful than her own. :)

 

IMO, I'd let the younger one sit in on the older one's narrations. Then, ds#2 can add in another sentence or two after ds#1 is done.

[Veritaserum]

I've got five kids, but only the older three give narrations. We do a few subjects together (history, literature, art, and music). For narrations, I'll ask them individually something like:

 

 

• "What's the most important or most interesting thing you remember?"
  
• "Tell me two or three things that happened in this part of the story."
  
• "Tell me the story of _________."
  

 

My oldest can write her narrations herself (although she doesn't like the mechanics of writing, so I will sometimes write it for her). For the younger ones, I have them give me a narration orally while I write it. I do them one at a time. Usually they are in the same room and they might hear someone else's answer, but I don't worry about. They generally like to choose their own way of relating the information.

 

Writing with Ease has been a really useful tool for teaching narration (for me and the kids). :)

[nova mama]

DS7 and DD5 do narrations together. They were 6 and 4 when we started. I wouldn't expect the 6yo to come up with complete sentences by him/herself if you're just starting. I might ask, "What was the name of Dorothy's dog." When somone (could be either child) says "Toto," I respond, "Dorothy's dog's name was Toto." Then ask them to repeat after me. I expect the older child to be able to answer more questions, but you may find that the younger one can answer some, too. Now DS writes most of the narrations, but I still ask the questions to both of them and rephrase for them as needed.

[woolybear]

I've been using some suggestions from one of the Ambleside Yahoo groups for narration. Some of the ideas there included: doing and drawing from the reading and then talking about the drawing, acting out what you heard, setting up a scene either with legos or blocks and (this one works surprisingly well) "tell me just one thing about what we just read". My son never can say just one thing, but it takes the pressure off and gets him started.

 

As for the two of them, I usually have one narrate one reading and the other narrate something else. We do not do narrations on everything I read aloud, so this works out.

[Haiku]

I've been using some suggestions from one of the Ambleside Yahoo groups for narration.

 

Just a heads up for those who might not realize it: the CM (Ambleside) manner of doing narration and the WTM manner of doing narration are not the same.

 

Tara

[diaperjoys]

Just a heads up for those who might not realize it: the CM (Ambleside) manner of doing narration and the WTM manner of doing narration are not the same.

 

Tara

 

 

Ah, maybe this is point of confusion. Are you able to articulate the difference for me??

[Haiku]

CM narrations are for the purpose of giving a complete retelling of the story, with as much detail as the child can remember.

 

WTM narrations are a summary, with emphasis on the most important points. This is important for the logic stage, where the child learns to outline the key points of a passage.

 

Tara

[diaperjoys]

CM narrations are for the purpose of giving a complete retelling of the story, with as much detail as the child can remember.

 

WTM narrations are a summary, with emphasis on the most important points. This is important for the logic stage, where the child learns to outline the key points of a passage.

 

Tara

 

Thank you!

[Sahamamama]

With the situation you describe, IMO, it would be best to do the readings with both children, then work ONLY with your 6 yo on the skill of narration. If your 5 yo can quietly "listen in," he will have a head-start on understanding narration for NEXT year. But this year, your goal should be to work with the 6 yo, helping him to progress along with his ability to orally construct sentences that you write down for him.

 

IMO, working on this skill with one student at a time is challenging enough, especially if you (as the teacher) are also learning what questions to ask and how to pull the narration out of the student. Give yourself some slack and time to learn your own technique, so you'll be more patient with your oldest son. Focus on your 6 yo and then you'll really KNOW what he alone can and cannot do. If you have them chatter it out all together and "mix it all up," you'll lose the point of doing narrations -- to clearly construct/reconstruct meaning in whole, complete sentences. If both boys narrate at once, you'll probably also be more frustrated and not as clear on the 6 yo's narration skill (or lack of it). And it's an important skill -- if he can't construct sentences orally, how will he ever be able to write?

 

I do think the 5 yo could listen in (quietly), and towards the end of the year, when First Son's skill is well under way, you could phase in Second Son -- "Okay, this time, Second Son, you will do the narration at the end of the reading, so keep that in mind." And then he will have his turn! HTH! :D

[nova mama]

With the situation you describe, IMO, it would be best to do the readings with both children, then work ONLY with your 6 yo on the skill of narration. If your 5 yo can quietly "listen in," he will have a head-start on understanding narration for NEXT year. But this year, your goal should be to work with the 6 yo, helping him to progress along with his ability to orally construct sentences that you write down for him.

 

 

I agree that the focus for this exercise should be on the older child. And the children should be quiet and respectful while another is receiving instruction.

 

IMO, working on this skill with one student at a time is challenging enough, especially if you (as the teacher) are also learning what questions to ask and how to pull the narration out of the student. Give yourself some slack and time to learn your own technique, so you'll be more patient with your oldest son. Focus on your 6 yo and then you'll really KNOW what he alone can and cannot do. If you have them chatter it out all together and "mix it all up," you'll lose the point of doing narrations -- to clearly construct/reconstruct meaning in whole, complete sentences. If both boys narrate at once, you'll probably also be more frustrated and not as clear on the 6 yo's narration skill (or lack of it). And it's an important skill -- if he can't construct sentences orally, how will he ever be able to write?

 

I do think the 5 yo could listen in (quietly), and towards the end of the year, when First Son's skill is well under way, you could phase in Second Son -- "Okay, this time, Second Son, you will do the narration at the end of the reading, so keep that in mind." And then he will have his turn! HTH! :D

 

 

But I think it's a lot to ask of the 5yo to sit (for how many months?) without sharing any of what s/he remembers about the story. Maybe if you require them to raise their hands, give older child 2 turns for younger's 1, or something like that, you can let both participate while giving the older child what he needs. I suggest looking for a balance between "mixing it up" and requiring the younger child to be completely silent.

 

Also, when you're just starting out, I don't think most 6yos can tell you the most important thing that happened in the story. They might be able tell you something that happened. Or you can give them hints about the most important thing, let them take the next step, then you rephrase into a sentence. Some sample questions from Ch. 5 from TWTM:

"What was the story about?"

"What happened to Goldilocks at the end of the story?"

"What did the littlest Billy Goat say to the troll?"

 

I don't mean to be argumentative. I would just like to encourage you that the task is more doable than it seems.

Edited December 2, 2009 by nova mama

[woolybear]

Just a heads up for those who might not realize it: the CM (Ambleside) manner of doing narration and the WTM manner of doing narration are not the same.

 

Tara

 

 

Good point. I do forget that sometimes as we are definitely of the CM mindset.

 

Thank you.