Mama2Three Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Hi there! We are doing a fair amount of "school" this summer while DS is off. One thing that I haven't started yet is having him narrate back what we have read. We read chapter books, and I'll ask questions along the way to make sure that they are listening and catching important points or nuances of the story (eg, foreshadowing). He usually is quick with an answer. Of course we also read shorter stories, too. So my questions are... how do we start doing narration? Should I start with the shorter stories, or a chapter from a chapter book? He LOVES being read to and I'm concerned that if I make it too much work for him, he won't enjoy it as much. TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Posted August 3, 2008 Share Posted August 3, 2008 Have you ever done a picture study? I know it seems off topic, but have him take a good look at a picture, and then turn the picture away from him and have him tell you what he saw. If you do this with more than one child, ask the youngest child first, then ask the older one if he saw anything else. Even my three year old can participate in this. Anyway, this becomes really fun. Then when you've read a short passage, you can say, "Remember when you told me about that picture yesterday? Let's see if you can do the same thing with the story. Tell me everything you can remember. Some people prefer their child give short narrations with just the most important details of the story, others like long narrations with as much detail as possible. I tried having them tell the story in as few sentences as possible, but found they enjoy it much more if they can just tell the story in their own way. It really is amazing how accurately they can repeat descriptions, and dialogue! Narration really is a great way to cement the information into the child. The teacher has learned so much by teaching, and the child who narrates is doing the same thing because they are teaching it back to you! Short stories, or chapter books? We narrate everything except books from their free reading selections. With a six year old you may not want to take a whole chapter, but break it down into smaller chunks. Good luck and have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama2Three Posted August 3, 2008 Author Share Posted August 3, 2008 Thanks, I like the idea of starting with picture study. My 4 yo will enjoy doing it, too. I'm all ears for any other suggestions or thoughts!! :bigear: :bigear: :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetbaby Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Sounds like you have already started narration. I think as soon as a child is able to talk, he or she can narrate. :lol: My toddler narrates books that we read by pointing and telling me in her words what the characters are doing. ex."ewefant jump!" "Baby cry!" How old is your child? I think the ability to relay the information back in a logical manner will progress as the child gets older. My children are doing written and oral narration in history, science and assigned literature books. They are in 3rd and 4th grade. I require them to summarize the the stories in their own words. I do ask them to include the title, author, plot, character descriptions, settings, conclusions, etc. in the literature narrations whether written or oral. That's just my pet peeve. I feel you should know who and what you are reading. As for history and science, they narrate the lessons orally and also written in the form of notebooking and nature journals. I'm no expert but that's how we roll at my house. :smilielol5: http://www.amblesideonline.org/Narration.shtml http://simplycharlottemason.com/timesavers/narration/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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