How important is it that I write the narration down for the dc?

[Amy M]

In WWE1-2, SWB suggests writing down the child's oral narration while he watches. When I read "Jot It Down" at Brave Writer, it also suggested Mom being scribe for the child's narrations or thoughts. I've done this for 1.5 years now with ds1. Sometimes scribing his history narrations can be kinda lengthy... so lately I've been slacking off on the actual you-write-down-while-he-watches part. I still have him narrate, do copywork, and dictation, I just haven't always taken the time to write down his oral narrations.

 

So I'm wondering about theory here. Is the thought this: that if I keep writing it down for him as he watches that eventually he'll figure out that he can do it on his own, and therefore decide to do it on his own? (Thus I'd be speeding up the writing process.) If I skip the writing down part, and just let him orally narrate with no words going down on paper by him or by me, am I skipping the most valuable part of narration? Or can I just let him orally narrate, and when it's time for him to switch over to writing down his own narration or taking a sentence or two from it from dictation that we can just do that at that time without my hand having to get sore over it for the year and a half leading up to that point?? :) Or am I missing something important?

[hollyhock]

Well, I can't answer all of your questions.. but I thought a child's narration was supposed to be 2-3 sentences or so. If they are much longer than that, maybe you could try to help your child summarize a little more. On the other hand, I don't think it's absolutely imperative that you write down every single narration. I personally don't think that having him watch you write it down is the most important part of narrating but it probably does help them see what it's supposed to look like. You could probably get away with writing them down less frequently, but I wouldn't drop it altogether.

[Alte Veste Academy]

For me, the magic of scribing for them in the early years was that it sent the message that they were writers, that their thoughts and words were what made them writers, and that writing and handwriting are not the same thing. It let the kids write something longer than their own handwriting stamina would allow. We do WTM and CM style narrations, and some of the CM narrations were quite long.

[wendyroo]

I write down a portion of my DSs' narrations.  I read a couple pages from our history or science books (Usbourne encyclopedias) and then we get out the art supplies and they draw a picture of something interesting that we read about while we all "discuss" what we read.  This "discussion" is our free form Charlotte Mason-esque narration where they go on and on and on about everything they remember and I couldn't stop the monologues even if I tried.  Once they run out of steam and are done drawing, I help them formulate a caption for their picture in the form of a complete sentence and I write that down at the bottom of their picture.  I use that as our primary grammar lesson, noting capitalization, punctuation, possessives, etc.  I also use it to reinforce phonics/spelling by pointing out how certain words are spelled.

 

Wendy

[Farrar]

Well, I can't answer all of your questions.. but I thought a child's narration was supposed to be 2-3 sentences or so. If they are much longer than that, maybe you could try to help your child summarize a little more. On the other hand, I don't think it's absolutely imperative that you write down every single narration. I personally don't think that having him watch you write it down is the most important part of narrating but it probably does help them see what it's supposed to look like. You could probably get away with writing them down less frequently, but I wouldn't drop it altogether.

 

There are different styles of narration.  In WTM style narration (so in SOTW and WWE) the focus is summary, so you're right for those.  But in CM style narration (which Brave Writer also leans toward), the focus is on retelling and memory, so it can be much longer.

 

Amy, my kids never let me scribe for them.  Me writing down their words was like trying to do something while everyone's watching, chanting, "Do It!  Do It!"  They froze up.  And....  talk...  talked...  like...  this...  so...  like this...  so...  slow...  slowly...  it was...  really...  it was...  painful.  Gah.  So we didn't use it.  I agree with Alte Veste - it helps them see themselves as writers, it preserves their words, it lets them add and revise a little.  But if it's not working, it's not an absolute must.  I'd maybe aim to scribe one every couple of weeks or something.

[Alte Veste Academy]

Amy, my kids never let me scribe for them. Me writing down their words was like trying to do something while everyone's watching, chanting, "Do It! Do It!" They froze up. And.... talk... talked... like... this... so... like this... so... slow... slowly... it was... really... it was... painful. Gah. So we didn't use it. I agree with Alte Veste - it helps them see themselves as writers, it preserves their words, it lets them add and revise a little. But if it's not working, it's not an absolute must. I'd maybe aim to scribe one every couple of weeks or something.

Maybe because I started when they were very young (before we ever began school, by asking them to tell me about their art), they were not self conscious and did the opposite, talking so fast and for so long that I had to tell them to slow down and take their time. :tongue_smilie:

[Classically Minded]

I started typing my dd10's history narrations and then I have her copy them, since they are much longer than WWE narrations.  She is having a hard time writing down her own narrations, so after listening to Brave Writer, I realized she is still in partnership stage.  This coming fall, I'm going to try and have her write the first sentence herself and then continue on building on that, to where eventually she writes it all herself without my help.

[Kathie in VA]

I also type my dd oral narrations. Then she can copy them or I can use them for dictation. Another option to consider is recording their oral narrations. They or you or you both can listen, pause it, get it on paper, & repeat till done.

[Farrar]

Maybe because I started when they were very young (before we ever began school, by asking them to tell me about their art), they were not self conscious and did the opposite, talking so fast and for so long that I had to tell them to slow down and take their time. :tongue_smilie:

 

So did I.  But somehow when it went from a phrase or a sentence about a picture (they never wanted to say more than that) to let me write down what you remember about what we just read when they were about 5 yo, it became a horrible, nerve-wracking torture.  They've actually gotten better about it now that they're older.  Typically they write narrations on their own now.  If we're working on something more detailed or longer term, they write the first draft, but then they narrate the revisions with me.  And it's no longer a torture.  Whew.  That's the BW "partnership" stage in action for us at least.

[Wind-in-my-hair]

I rephrase "what do you remember about the passage" to "what do you hope to remember about this passage" or "what do you want to tell Daddy about the passage?" That sort of removes the self-consciousness, and moves them into mindful reflection. And the latter is what I hope to get out of the narration exercise-- a child who thinks about what they are thinking, and can pronounce an idea in verbal format for sharing or recording. 1 to 3 sentences is what I expect to gather from my 6 year-old, and not everyday but a couple times per week. And in general I try to teach him to use complete sentences. He hates the correction, but he is learning that it is just so much more effective to speak in complete sentences, particularly when he is requesting a privilege or a specific favor.