Developing the skill of narration

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  • September 23, 2009 at 2:47 am
    MamaLinda
    Member

    Greetings, Friends!

    I’m a mom of 9 (10 in April!), and new to implementing CM methods.  I’ve been attracted to it for years, but would become overwhelmed when I even tried to figure out how to implement it in my constantly growing family.  I have lots of questions as I “put feet” to all of this.

     

    So, first question.  We’re reading history, science, and geography together, as well as picture, hymn, poetry, and composer studies.  Honestly, I sometimes forget to ask for narrations!  When I do require them, I ask one child to tell me what they remember or what they know about Venus, or the Minoans, etc.  Usually, I’ll then ask another if they have anything to add.  They all do a good job at paying attention and remembering, but tend to list facts, and not use complete sentences when narrating.  What sugggestions or instructions could I offer them to help them refine their form – to better organize their thoughts?  My oldest 2 are 13 and 11, and I’d like them to begin writing, but it seems they should become more comfortable with the process orally before requiring it in writing.  Would you concur? 

    We’ve also done NO composition or writing (except penmanship) in the past.  Would starting some individual instruction in that area aid in the narration process?  If so, what would you recommend?

    OK, that’s actually my first SEVERAL questions…

    Thanks,

    Linda

     

    September 24, 2009 at 6:29 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    Hi, Linda, and welcome! Sounds like you have a good start. You could try various approaches to narration, like those listed in the Narration Ideas. Sometimes it also helps if you give the kids a “heads-up” before you read that they will be required to narrate this one. Especially if you’re not requiring it all the time, that little hint might help.

    One approach you might try could be the Complete the Story game. After the reading, you start retelling the story. When you get to a cliff-hanger part, or even just in the middle of a sentence, call on someone else to pick up the story. They in turn call on someone else to take it after a sentence or two. etc. (Of course, explain the game before doing the reading and narration. You might even do a couple of “practice runs” with familiar stories or just making up a story all together first to help them get the hang of it.)

    You’re right that your oldest two need more practice with oral narration before moving to writing. Composition is narration, just written down. They need to hone their ability to recall the information, put it in the right sequence, add their own vocabulary, and form those ideas into coherent sentences. Those are the skills used in oral narration. Once they are fluent in oral narration, and those skills are second nature, they can then turn their focus to all that writing those thoughts entails.

    Now, copywork and prepared dictation will help support those skills. With those methods the children will be seeing good sentence structure and literary style and practice writing it. So if they aren’t using those methods yet, you might consider adding them just a couple of times a week.

    I’d love to hear others’ ideas and suggestions.

    September 28, 2009 at 12:35 am
    MamaLinda
    Member

    Thanks, Sonya.  I did find some other narration threads just after I posted my question.  I gleaned a lot from them.

    I’ll start lengthening their required copywork to expose them to the details in a more studied fashion than just reading it (which they both do ravenously).  Is prepared dictation what your Spelling Wisdom is?

     

    Thanks, Linda

     

    September 28, 2009 at 9:29 pm
    Sonya Shafer
    Moderator

    Prepared dictation is the method that Charlotte used to teach spelling. My collection of Spelling Wisdom contains exercises that you can use for prepared dictation, but you can also use excerpts from any living books. The Spelling Wisdom series just makes it convenient to have the exercises already selected, plus it has the added bonus of making sure you’re covering the most frequently used words.

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