Commonplace book, written narrations and (other) study methods

A common place book is simply a book where one writes down quotes from books as they read, interesting thoughts, noble ideas and things like that. Written narrations are simply oral rations in written form; they happen after the child has read the book or the chapter & closed the book put it away and without looking back they play in their mind’s eye that book or chapter and write down what they remember. As they become more adept at Writtn narration, then that will expand a bit to compare and contrast or to answer a more specific question of sorts or things of that nature.

I suggest checking out http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com where Lindafay has some excellent information and shares her kids’ work. There is a search bar on the main page. Simply type in common place book or written narration and you will have excellent reference points.

At our house, commonplace books rarely have anything to do with narrations. They function as a place to capture Scripture/quotes/poems that stand out on an individual basis. But, if used in conjunction with assigned readings, I’m sure it would only be beneficial. 

If I were to have only used CM methods with our children, I’d say copywork, narration, and dictation would be fine preparation for developing very accurate study skills. I do think that learning outlining is also an excellent tool for preparing to take exams such as the CLEP, etc. 

This link was shared during a recent thread on the use of structured composition curricula. If you’re determined to stick to CM methods, it should be just the right  encouragement to stay the course. 

http://www.charlottemasonhelp.com/2011/02/welcome-to-charlotte-mason-help.html?m=1

We use IEW after a basic foundation of copywork, narration, and dictation. I will concede that others have done an expert job of teaching these skills without a purchased curriculum. My DH and I wanted more evidence that they were capable of completing formal writing assignments, so I sought out a curriculum years ago for our older DC. IEW has fit the bill in our situation. It has served us well and we’ve enjoyed using it as part of a co-op. 

Had I known other Homeschoolers with the courage to stick it out who could demonstrate this to me, I might have pursued their writing instruction more patiently. That said, I have no regrets that we’ve used IEW. It gave me the confidence I lacked at the time and continues to be a helpful tool for our children. 

I do have a copy of an outline that I have the kids use for writing various government papers. The older ones have studied gov’t after having IEW instruction, so they already had formal writing under their belts by that time. Our younger children will study govt. & econ. spread over a longer span of time. But, no matter the subject area, they use similar writing strategies to write topical essays and research papers. 

I’d think this would happen when only CM methods are used if you are consistent in your instruction and encouragement in the area of writing. 

HTH,

Becca<><

Threads on the topic:

http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/what-is-a-commonplace-book-and-how-does-one-use-it#post-115817

And,

http://simplycharlottemason.com/scmforum/topic/lovely-notebooks#post-114579