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Narration
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I have two 7 yr.olds. When we do narration, it can take FOREVER! Due to the fact that I have to go in paragraphs. Is it a no no to break up a chapter into two days? Or do I just need not be so antsy and wait it out? How long should it take a chapter reading and narration at this age? Should I just have them narrate half of the chapter and then read the rest? I usually have them take turns, alternating paragraphs or so.
It does take time to learn how to narrate a story. My 7 yo son has been doing it all year and is just now starting to give me detailed narrations. We are reading Charlie and the Chocolate factory right now. We read about 1-2 chapters a day, but I waited until the story got interesting before I start asking for narrations (4 chapters of so) He needs time to become invested in a story and learn the key character names. Sometimes I trick a narration out of him. When we sat down to read tonight I asked him what happened last night since his dad read the story. He started telling me exactly what I “missed”. I do not require a narration everyday from our Lit. book. Perhaps 2 times a week. I do ask for another type of narration on the other days. Usually one from his history book, one from science, and one from another source (poem, short story usually). Also, I don’t do a written narration until the very end and I have my son draw a picture of his favorite scene in the book. The biggest problem I had was truly looking for books that came ALIVE to him, not reading from a dry list of books. Give yourself and your 7yos time to find books that capture the imagination then the narrations just come spewing forth.
Jill
It’s definitely not a no-no to split up a chapter. Go right ahead. This might be a great opportunity to practice short lessons. Set the timer (or just make a mental note of what time to quit), read in short passages, have them narrate as you go, and end after 15 or 20 minutes.
As time goes on, and they get more skilled at listening and narrating, you might extend your reading to two paragraphs before they narrate, then maybe three, then maybe a page or two. But if you call it quits after 15 or 20 minutes — before they have a chance to lose attention and motivation — you’ll be training them in the habit of paying attention for the whole lesson. Then next year you can extend that lesson time to 20 or 30 minutes, plus you’ll be covering more material at a faster pace because they will be able to listen to more paragraphs before stopping to narrate.
It’s a process, and as Jill pointed out, using a book that captures their imagination will definitely help the process! 🙂
Yes, I want to develop the attention. That’s the point. Each day is different. Some days one or the other is right on target and other days no. I like the idea at this point of having “permission” to split a chapter. Charlotte’s Web has been the best so far, a well as the Burgess Animal book. Animal books catch their attention the most right now.
My son gives very detailed, almost verbatim, memorized narrations. He gets frustrated if he can’t remember exactly. My daughter gives the more general, in her own words narrations.
They both narrate WONDERFULLY about books they read on thier own.
Rachel
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