Narration…How Many Times?

When we begin written narrations, we begin with one per week, then when that is going well, we move up to two a week, then on up to (by high school) writing at least one every day.  Oral is harder to determine–my kids do narrate most of the things we do, BUT it is a little intimidating when this is expected at first.  Some kids are going to balk and not like to do that.    But you do want plenty of practice for them so they can improve.  So . . . the bottom line is–it depends. I’d personally try to do just as many a day as their good attitudes will bear.  But then stop before Extreme Frustration is reached.  If they are being a little reticent now, doing one or two a day until they are adjusted a little bit may help.  I always want to know what my kids think of a reading anyway, and even if I don’t always ask for a formal narration I do try sometime during the day to see what they thought in an informal way.  I’d pick for those things you DO decide to narrate, a reading that is high-interest for them or one that has good “narration” properties, and then for some of the other things you can try different narration methods or more informal asking and telling.  (F.E. at lunch, “What did you think of what XXX historical figure did?” or “which of these artist’s pictures do you like best? or “what kind of cartoon would use the prelude to Aida as a soundtrack?”  (Had a long dicussion on that last week, lol)