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Long narrations, stuck on every detail
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My 6yo began Year 1 this year. She is a strong reader and has a great memory for written words. She can read a passage once and quote it back almost word for word, using the exact words. I understand that Charlotte said this is simply parroting and it not profitable, but exactly how do you change this habit? I’ve tried to explain a few times about putting it in her own words and not needing to say every single detail, but it seems to fall on deaf ears.
So this week she was reading Good Queen Bess on her own and asked me if she could just read it to me because its hard to remember every detail. I again explained narration is not memorizing the entire story and quoting it back (which is very hard to do with Good Queen Bess as it has so many details), but she got upset and says she likes to tell me everything. She doesn’t want to read Good Queen Bess because she cannot narrate it perfectly! Today we had a smiliar problem when she was reading A Wonder Clock, again on her own. She usually loves the stories. My ds8 would complain about how long they are 🙂 but she loves them. However, days when she is going to narrate The Wonder Clock I have to steel myself because her narration can last 20 minutes. She insists on telling back every detail of the story. She often follows me around as I make lunch or fold laundry, talking a mile a minute. When my husband was home the one day he said it would be faster for me just to read it myself. I agree! But that isn’t the point of narration. Sigh.
Today she was crying because she said her brain hurt trying to remember all the details in A Wonder Clock. I had to calm her down, and then after much coercion I convinced her just to read the story and enjoy it, then she was only allowed to narrate a few sentences to me about her favorite part. Well, she then settled down and read the chapter. She said she had two favorite parts so I acquiesced. The second one started to turn into a marathon narration session so I cut her off and reminded her I only wanted a few sentences.
My ds8 required teeth pulling to narrate much, and still only needs a few minutes to tell me about an entire chapter. He usually pulls out one particular part to talk about a little more in depth.
Any ideas? I looked at the narration idea page, and see how that could help, but she is only 6 and can’t really do many of those things yet.
Should I restrict her narrations to a few sentences to teach her to summarize? HOW do you teach her to summarize? Or maybe just focus on one part? I feel like I’m working my son up to more narration, so it seems wrong to try to reduce hers.
Thanks,
Tara
I don’t have an answer and don’t have time to explain what I do, but I have a 10yo who is basically the same way.
I will let others chime in, as I have to run, and read the replies later.
Some of the narration ideas that encourage shorter highlights might work. For example,
- Tell five things you learned from what you read.
- Tell what you think may happen next.
- Describe any golden deeds from the story.
- Make up five questions covering the material you read.
- Draw a picture of your favorite scene.
You want to encourage her to perform the act of knowing by continuing to narrate mentally, but you can add variety in the amount and kind of retellings you want shared with you.
Other random thoughts:
I wonder if she is concentrating so hard on remembering that she is overlooking the power of seeing in her mind’s eye a picture of what is happening. You might try a shorter section and coach her to imagine it then describe what she is seeing in her imagination (shaped by the text).
Learn to knit so you feel productive while you’re sitting and listening to a long narration.
Focus on knowledge (forming personal relations) not information. “Perhaps the chief function of a teacher is to distinguish information from knowledge in the acquisitions of his pupils. Because knowledge is power, the child who has got knowledge will certainly show power in dealing with it. He will recast, condense, illustrate, or narrate with vividness and with freedom in the arrangement of his words. The child who has got only information will write and speak in the stereotyped phrases of his text-book, or will mangle in his notes the words of his teacher” (Vol. 3, p. 225).
Keep in mind that she is a beginning narrator and just needs a little shaping. Don’t feel awkward about shaping your different children according to their bents. Just as some need shaping to speak quieter and some need shaping to speak up, some will need shaping to give more in their narrations and some will need shaping to emphasize quality over quantity.
I hope this helps a little. I know others have dealt with this issue. Hopefully they will chime in too.
We are using Writing With Ease from Peace Hill Press because of this exact detail probem. We are into week 8 now and I am all ready seeing my children starting to “get it”. It slowly trains them in narration and summary. Gently, simply, through oral narration, copywork, later dictation and finally written narration in the later levels. My son is in level 1 and my daughter level 3. This is how I am trying to help my children with this and it seems to be working for us.
Thanks Sonya, that helped me focus a little on what to try.
Cedargirl, I looked at Writing With Ease before. It seems similiar to what we already do but it is planned for you. I use EFTTC but haven’t started it with my dd6 yet, planning to next year.
Thanks,
Tara
That is wonderful that your daughter enjoys narration so much, but I understand your concern. I don’t have anything to add to the great advice you’ve already been given, but I wanted to comment on a couple things. We are reading “Good Quess Bess” right now and my kids (12 and 7) are having a really hard time with it-even with reading short sections and having them take turns narrating. I guess it’s hard keeping all those names and places straight. My 12 yr old used to give extreemly long narrations and he’s doing much better at summarizing his year. I’m going to have to look at writing with ease and EFTTC. I liked the comment about taking up knitting! lol
Definitely can’t add anything to the other ladies’ great advice, but just wanted to say: I HAVE ONE OF THOSE KIDS!!
He is so right-brained, it is not even funny – and his narrations used to be word-for-word accounts of chapter books. As in: “So Tom said, “…..”, and Jim replied, “…”. It was a little scary!
The good news is that from age 6 to age 10, he has greatly improved in his ability to see what we read and tell it back with his own point of view. He still quotes exact lines and phrases, but he mixes it with his own words and thoughts.
I would say that as the narrations continue and you ‘hone’ this skill in the ways Sonya suggested, it will develop and improve. It is definitely a learned skill and we shouldn’t expect our kids to give great narrations at 6yo. Learning to create the picture of the story in the childrens’ minds and re-tell it is the point, right?
For my son, perfectionism and sometimes frustrating (for others) attention to detail is going to be a lifelong struggle for balance. Some of us are just geared that way. On the one hand, it means he is a very hard worker and a great ‘acheiver’. On the other hand, it means he has trouble giving grace to others and tolerating new situations or changes in his environment.
Thank God for our perfectionistic, detail-oriented children – God has a good purpose for how He made them! We just need to teach them flexibility and how to use this gift.
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