Teaching kids to narrate

[KrissiK]

Are there any good websites, books, etc. that could teach me how to better teach my kids to narrate? I have a kid (7 years old) who is very very detail oriented. He sees one tree and misses the whole forest. I've been working on narrations with him all year, but with the way he thinks it's very hard for me teach him to condense a passage down into several sentences or determine what is one important thing as opposed to a minor detail. We do the review questions and everything, but he still really struggles. Plus, narration is fairly new to me, so I'm still not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

[texasmama]

Writing With Ease is a good program to teach narration to a child this age. I use it with my 9 year old. It is completely scripted if you use the workbooks (I do) so the parent doesn't have to guess at how to guide the child in narrating. It is also a gentle introduction at the level we are using (WWE2). I'm sure there are other programs, but WWE has worked well for us here. I was unfamiliar with the concept, as well, so I appreciated having a scripted, detailed program.

[abrightmom]

Are there any good websites, books, etc. that could teach me how to better teach my kids to narrate? I have a kid (7 years old) who is very very detail oriented. He sees one tree and misses the whole forest. I've been working on narrations with him all year, but with the way he thinks it's very hard for me teach him to condense a passage down into several sentences or determine what is one important thing as opposed to a minor detail. We do the review questions and everything, but he still really struggles. Plus, narration is fairly new to me, so I'm still not exactly sure what I'm looking for.

 

:001_smile: I'll go out on a limb and suggest that a 7 year old shouldn't be able to condense a passage down into several sentences or determine what is one important thing as opposed to a minor detail. I really think those skills will come later on with continued practice. Hopefully more experienced Moms can chime in on that one!

 

Writing With Ease is a good program to teach narration to a child this age. I use it with my 9 year old. It is completely scripted if you use the workbooks (I do) so the parent doesn't have to guess at how to guide the child in narrating. It is also a gentle introduction at the level we are using (WWE2). I'm sure there are other programs, but WWE has worked well for us here. I was unfamiliar with the concept, as well, so I appreciated having a scripted, detailed program.

 

:iagree::iagree: This is exactly the tool to use to teach these skills. It is a fantastic program to follow and if you read through the hardback book (Here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/store/the-complete-writer-writing-with-ease-instructor-text.html ) you will see how she builds these skills into your kiddo. We are getting close to the end of Writing With Ease Level 1. At this point in our narrations the child is being asked to answer a few questions and then to answer, "What is one thing you remember about the passage?" I don't have my hardback nearby to consult but as you move into WWE Level 2 the difficulty increases and the expectations build. The expectation to condense/summarize comes later on . . . I just can't remember which level! :D

[KrissiK]

We are using WWE1 and he's actually doing fine with that - "What's one thing you remember?". My problem has been with SOTW1 and also we really had trouble with "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" lesson 87 of FLL. He'd heard that story numerous times, but just... couldn't get past including every last detail and completely missing the point of the story. Actually, both my boys were pretty upset that the villagers didn't come running the third time and save the sheep for getting eaten. (heavy sigh! We're working on the concept that lying is wrong!:D)I know that it's just the way the child thinks. Thanks for the advice. I will continue to just work with WWE, then and not expect quite so much with FLL at this point.

[Chaqar]

:001_smile: I'll go out on a limb and suggest that a 7 year old shouldn't be able to condense a passage down into several sentences or determine what is one important thing as opposed to a minor detail. I really think those skills will come later on with continued practice. Hopefully more experienced Moms can chime in on that one!

 

Agreed. You can also help them learn this skill by modeling. Ask questions or make suggestions after their narration. WWE makes it easy by detailing some of the questions you might ask, but you get a feel for it as you do it.

[abrightmom]

we really had trouble with "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" lesson 87 of FLL. He'd heard that story numerous times, but just... couldn't get past including every last detail and completely missing the point of the story. Actually, both my boys were pretty upset that the villagers didn't come running the third time and save the sheep for getting eaten. (heavy sigh! We're working on the concept that lying is wrong!:D)I know that it's just the way the child thinks.

 

:lol: For what it's worth, my boys would do the exact same thing . . . sometimes what is happening in the story takes over and we just have to forget the whole narration/summary question thing. It's especially true with my kiddo whose imagination is WILD! It just takes over. Thankfully, with these 7 year olds we have plenty of time to work on this!!!!!! :lol:

[crazyforlatin]

Kind of a tangent, but doesn't the Charlotte Mason method of narration prefer detailed narration? We use WWE1 as well, but SWB seems to prefer the big picture while Charlotte Mason concentrates on the details.

[fairytalemama]

:iagree: about your CM assessment. Her method was to ask the child, "Tell me everything you remember about what we just read?" and if they do it in an unsatisfactory way to reduce the size of the passage. In Charlotte Mason's case, I think she was trying to teach the child more about paying careful attention to the reading than about condensing the passage.