Tag Archives: narration

Top 20 Narration Ideas

Those who homeschool using Classical or Charlotte Mason methods are familiar with daily narrations. A narration is a short summary of an assigned reading given orally by the student. Narrations serve two purposes. One, it helps the teacher determine the level of reading comprehension of the student. Two, it helps reading comprehension on the part of the student. The length of a narration is usually two to three thoughtful sentences. Narrations do not always have to be given in the same manner everyday. Adding some creativity to this daily exercise will enhance the student’s comprehension and keep him more engaged … Continue reading →

Charlotte Mason: Reluctant Narrators

Charlotte Mason advocated the use of oral or written narrations as a way of having a child report on his reading. There are several reasons that narration can be so helpful. Narrating a just-read passage helps a child to internalize and remember it, and aids reading comprehension. It’s also a great help to the homeschooling parent, who can find out immediately what and how much the child has absorbed. Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? Have your child read a short passage (anywhere from a paragraph to a chapter, depending on your child’s age and ability.) Then, have him tell you … Continue reading →

Read-alouds: The best and biggest benefit

In two previous posts, I extolled the benefits of reading aloud to my children. Clearly, we are book lovers, and we’ve seen many benefits of read-alouds from the time our children were very young, from instilling a love of language to increasing the kids’ confidence in their own ability to read aloud. But, as my girls have gotten older, I’ve seen another benefit of read-alouds, which adds a whole new dimension to our homeschooling and to our lives. Reading a great deal of literature to my children leads to the most amazing and delightful discussions. Rather than sending them off … Continue reading →