Narration Notecards for Stories of America, Volume 1

Product Description

Save time with these book-specific narration prompts for first grade through high school—at your fingertips! Now you can

• Be ready with customized, interesting narration prompts for each chapter your student reads.
• Confidently raise the bar on the types of narrations you ask from your older student.
• Encourage correct spelling in your student’s written narrations without any “looking back.”

Using Narration Notecards

These handy, customized cards are easy to use.

1. Read aloud a chapter from Stories of America, Volume 1 or assign it as independent reading.
2. Grab the narration notecard for that chapter and select a narration idea from the list or let your student choose one. You will find a Beginner, an Intermediate, and an Advanced prompt on each card.
3. Give your student the notecard to look at while narrating orally or in writing. The word bank of people, places, dates, and vocabulary will help with spelling and details.

Available in Two Formats

Narration Notecards are available in printed or electronic download format.

The printed notecards are printed on both sides and cut to 3″ x 5″. One side features the narration prompts and the other side gives the key people, places, dates, and vocabulary words. You also receive the full-color title card, cut a bit taller so you can use it as a divider between your Narration Notecard sets.

The electronic download gives you a PDF with two cards, both fronts and backs, on each 8.5″ x 11″ page. Print the PDF on regular copy paper or card stock and cut the sheets in half length-wise. (One chapter on the top half, the other chapter on the bottom half.) Fold each chapter’s card to place the narration prompts on one side and the key people, places, dates, and vocabulary words on the other side.

Choose the format that works best for you: the cut-to-size notecards already printed on both sides or the two-cards-per-sheet electronic download that you can print for yourself, cut in half, and fold into index cards.

More Narration Notecards Ideas

Here are more things you can do with Narration Notecards.

• Choose a few of the key words from the notecard to highlight before you read. Write those words in a visible location and instruct your student to listen/read attentively for them. Define the chosen words if necessary.
• Use a map to look up any of the places listed.
• Use the dates to prompt Book of Centuries entries.
• Add other words that your student would like to see spelled.
• For an extra challenge, and only every once in a while, you might see if your older student can include every word on the card in his narration.
• Reuse the notecards whenever you revisit those books as your children grow. You can store your Narration Notecards in an index card box and use the handy title cards as dividers between the sets.

Tips for Choosing a Narration Prompt

The narration ideas are listed from easiest to hardest on each card. Select one of the prompts for your student: 1. Beginner, 2. Intermediate, 3. Advanced.

1. Beginner prompts are designed for beginner narrators of all ages. Beginners in grades 1–3 should tell their narrations, not write them. Older beginners should start by telling and can gradually move to writing as they become comfortable.
2. Intermediate prompts are designed for students in grades 4–12 who have had some experience narrating. Narrations should be a variety of written as well as oral. Students at this level can be assigned either the Beginner or Intermediate prompts as desired throughout the year.
3. Advanced prompts are designed for fluent narrators in approximately grades 7–12 who are ready for more. Use Advanced prompts to raise the bar on their narrations as they move into high school, but feel free to assign any prompt on the card as desired. Many narrations will be written; continue to ask for some oral.

Now it’s simple to take narration to the next level—with Narration Notecards!