Top Ten Tips to Help Children with Oral Narrations
So, you’ve read about Charlotte Mason’s philosophy of education, and you are inspired! Good! A Charlotte Mason education IS inspiring! You know oral narrations are a big part of a Charlotte Mason education, and from what you’ve read, you are excited to begin. However, as you ask your children to orally narrate for the first time, you realize you’d like a little guidance. You know you are supposed to ask them to tell back in their own words what you have just read to them or what they have just read themselves. But short of that, you’re not quite sure how to proceed. Well, never fear! This post includes ten easy tips to help children find success with Charlotte Mason’s oral narrations!
#1: Choose the right kind of books.
Be sure to choose living books! Living books are alive with ideas and have a story aspect to them. They provide the best material for children to orally narrate upon. Textbooks are the opposite of living books; they have little to no storyline and are hard to narrate upon. So, one of the best ways to help children with oral narrations is to simply be sure you choose excellent living books! Heart of Dakota uses excellent living books already, so by choosing HOD, you’re automatically choosing the right kind of books!
#2: Give a short narration yourself.
You’ve been doing some reading about oral narrations, so you have a pretty good handle on what they are. Your children, however, probably don’t have a clue! After reading a small portion of a living book, model a short oral narration yourself. This isn’t the time to go on and on, nor is it the time to share one sentence. Shoot for the middle – give a short 3 to 5 sentence oral narration (or 7 to 10 sentences if children are older). Be casual and enjoy yourself! The goal here is for children to understand an oral narration is simply telling back what is remembered. HOD’s younger guides include easy-to-follow plans for parents to model narrations.
#3: Set the intention.
Prior to reading the living book, set the intention by telling children they will be expected to orally narrate. If a certain kind of oral narration is expected, make sure to tell them what kind as well. Younger children give general oral narrations. You can simply say, “Today you will be telling back in your own words what you remember after our reading. This is called an oral narration.” However, older children may be asked to give summary, key word, topic, detailed, opinion, etc., oral narrations. You can simply say, “Today you will be giving a summary oral narration after reading your history, and it should be 5 sentences long.” You have now set the intention! HOD’s guides always clearly set the intention already!
#4: Recall what happened last time if you’re in the middle of a book.
If children will be narrating on a book either you or they have read a portion of earlier, it is helpful for them to take a moment to recall what happened during the last reading session. Children should briefly remind themselves of what was read last time before they begin narrating. Young children may need help with this; their recall memory is very short! If they cannot recall anything, help them by sharing a few brief sentences yourself. This is not like modeling a narration. Rather, it is to very briefly jog their memory about the big thing(s) that happened and especially where the story left off.
#5: Don’t interrupt the flow of the reading.
Keep the story-like flow of the living book the author intended by making sure that once the reading begins, it continues unhampered. Whether a parent is reading aloud or a student is reading independently, the reading should not be interrupted. It may be tempting to stop and explain things or to assign a second reading of the material. However, both of these responses interrupt the flow of the reading and weaken the power of attention. They detract from the story-like quality of the author’s style of writing a living book, so keep the flow going by not interrupting it.
#6: Narrate on fewer pages right after the reading.
Younger children or older children newer to narrating should narrate on small amounts of the living book. There is less to recall! Start with just a few pages of the living book, and pause for an oral narration. As children grow and mature, they can narrate on more pages. (Heart of Dakota’s younger guides begin with narrations on shorter readings; as guides progress, the number of pages narrations are given upon increase incrementally.) Younger children or older children newer to narrating should also give their oral narrations right after the reading, or as soon as possible. “Holding a narration” longer in your head by giving the narration longer after the reading is an older level narration skill. Older children can be expected to ‘hold their narrations’ longer. In a pinch, older children can orally narrate into a recording device if the day is passing and you’ve not had time to hear their narrations!
#7: Move toward having children do their own reading by the age of 9.
Charlotte Mason believed by the age of 9 or shortly after, children should read the books they will narrate upon themselves. Children should read the selected passage once, silently in their head. Reading out loud is a separate skill that requires thinking about tone, fluency, pacing, pronunciation, etc. These are important skills to practice, but not alongside practicing the skill of orally narrating. Move toward having children do their own reading by about the age of 9, as this will help improve their oral narrations since they can think about what they’re reading and comprehend it better, rather thank think about how their sounding reading it out loud.
#8: Don’t interrupt the flow of the oral narration.
Keep the story-like flow of the oral narration the child intends by making sure once the narration begins, it continues unhampered. Whether a parent is modeling an oral narration or a student is giving an oral narration, neither should be interrupted. Children sometimes mispronounce things, say things in an improper sequence, elaborate on topics we wouldn’t, and omit facts we’d include. But, it is not the parent’s narration. Likewise, when a parent is modeling a narration, a child should not interrupt and point out things. It is not the child’s narration. The person giving the narration must do the work of choosing what to say. Interrupting only causes lack of focus, discouragement, and omission of personal style. Listeners should quietly be attentive and pleasantly encouraging!
#9: Allow and encourage personal style.
Oral narration allows children to share their own version of the passage with accuracy, individual personality, spirt, and originality. In Charlotte Mason-style narration, children borrow words from the author to retell the story. There is no “one right” answer or certain points that “should be” in the narration. Older students may have guidelines for particular kinds of oral narrations (i.e. persuasive, opinion, etc. oral narrations). However, no two students should have the exact same narration. According to Charlotte Mason, “A narration should be original as it comes from the child – that is, his own mind should have acted on the matter it has received.”
#10: Be positive and expect children to be positive.
Narrating is a skill that takes years and years of practice to hone and develop to its fullest potential. After children narrate, start by sharing what you enjoyed about the narration. Try to have more positives than negatives. Starting with what the child did well and ending with a few suggested improvements keeps narrating a positive work in progress. There is a time for correction; it just should be after the narration, and it should not be a long list of negatives. Kiddos do improve with encouragement and time, so take heart, narrations will get better! Likewise, expect children to be positive about narrating. Complaining and poor attitudes have no place in homeschooling, and narrating is by far one of the best forms of assessment for children to thrive in learning! So, be positive, and expect children to be positive. Habits are quick-to-form, so go forth with joy!
Use these Top 10 Tips to Help Children with Oral Narrations, but above all, be gracious and patient with children! Narration is a way of life, and it takes years to grow to its full potential. Enjoy the journey, and take time to pray along the way! The Lord makes all things beautiful in His time – even narrations. For further help, use Heart of Dakota’s guides! They all include oral narration helps, tips, plans, and clear guidance. Such a blessing!
In Christ,
Julie
