How to Do Narration

Sonya Shafer demonstrates how to do narration, a foundational Charlotte Mason method. In this video, you'll have a chance to practice narration yourself.
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Stories of the Nations, Volume 2
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Narration Notecards
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Your Questions Answered: Narration
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Chapters
0:00 Introduction
0:33 What You Will Need
1:15 How To
12:30 Level Up or Down

[@joeledgar9399]

This was wonderful! Thank you. I agree with the above comment of listening to you read aloud. You know what would be amazing? For you to read Charlotte Mason's books for Audible!

[@Books.N.Roses26]

Wow I was so drawn into the story. Thankfully I have this one on my bookshelf so I can finish it. Beautifully written and engaging.

[@rebaseymour1810]

Narration is my favorite part of the Charlotte Mason Method. It’s truly teaches our children valuable life skills! Excellent video. I loved listening to you read aloud, you’ve got a natural talent. I really would like to see your books in audio format too and you the reader.

[@homeschooledaroundtheworld4660]

Reba Seymour You will love “Ancient Egypt and her Neighbors.” Sonya did an outstanding job in her audio CD’s. My children loved it.

[@ViraSonia]

Wonderful "how-to"! Thanks Sonya!

[@anilorak13ska]

I wish history used Maria Sklodowska-Curie's full name. It would help with remembering that she was Polish ;)

[@sarahsmiley7994]

I've learned so much here!! Thanks Sonia!

[@RatRandomness]

This is so helpful! Thanks for sharing your videos so us new CM parents can learn and have success in our homeschool. :)

[@nicolegonzalez3781]

I love your voice 😍 so gentle

[@-SengSok]

Thank you

[@pk92kkdi]

Thank you so much 🙂

[@maritzasylvia]

So great tx! I made a few mistakes.. & know why. Tx 🥰

[@peterkalyabe7553]

Thank you.

[@alaskanmom2659]

I was listening and loved that story! What book was that you were reading? I’d love to purchase for my daughter.

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

The book is Stories of the Nations, Volume 2. It's available here: simplycharlottemason.com/store/stories-nations-volume-2/

[@vkusiak9628]

Can you share a resource list? This reading is amazing. I’m a little biased because I was born in Warsaw, and my mother attended the same university but I love the narrative nature of:-)

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Thank you for reaching out with your question and for your kind words and feedback! The excerpt shared is from "Stories of the Nations, Volume 2" and the chapter is titled "Marie Curie." You can find this resource here: simplycharlottemason.com/store/stories-nations-volume-2/ This is one of the living books used with SCM's history studies and as you have shared and experienced here living books are enjoyable to listen to and learn from! Here is another post on identifying living books if you are trying to find more books written in this style. What a Living Book Sounds Like: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/what-a-living-book-sounds-like/ 5 Ways to Find Living Books: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/5-ways-to-find-living-books/

[@rrichards1210]

This is a wonderful explanation and demostration of narration. Question - what (and when) do you do if they narrate a fact wrong? Eg: they say Marie Curie was from Russia, or her father died (rather than her mother). When and how do you correct, and are there some things you wouldn't bother to correct?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Good question! Sonya addressed this question in our Narration Q&A article series. Here's where that question came up: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/correct-im-wrong-narration-q-part-7/

[@domqun3651]

Thx

[@ashishjhojhu2984]

Mam you are amazing I love you so much you're explain trick

[@ninilovenana]

My children tend to interrupt me to ask question about what something means or what some thing is or where someplace is. While I don’t mind it is it also ok to trail off and explain these things to them. We rabbit trail and then come back to the story afterwards.

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

It might be less disruptive to the reading if you try to have a list of words that might be unknown and define those ahead of time. The reason we'd recommend that is to reinforce a good habit of paying full attention to the reading.

[@anilorak13ska]

Can the narration be delayed by a few hours so that my daughter can tell her dad what she learned when he gets home from work? Because it seems she finds it dumb to retell to me the same story that I just read to her. Whereas it may make a lot more sense to tell the story to someone who actually wasn't around to hear it, so she actually has a real-life motivation to recall the information?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Depending on the age of your child, you may want to raise the bar if she is bored with simply telling back. You can ask for much more than "tell me about ______." Look at the free samples of our Narration Notecards for some examples of other types of narration questions that will challenge your daughter to do more than tell back.

[@lapetitefleur7844]

Can living book be obligatory ? If I have a curriculum to follow in my country, should I say: you must read this living book, or let my children choose what they want to read even if they never choose biology books for example ? Can living books be enough for subjects such as physics, biology, or should I complete with a correspondence courses ?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

This is a great question. We have recommended book lists for each of our guides that we walk you and your child through to make progress through the book itself as well as exposing your child to living ideas in the books. These books would be considered "scheduled" for your child's lessons. This link will show you our recommendations for more of a "living textbook" style for sciences as you mentioned above too: simplycharlottemason.com/planning/curriculum-guide/individual-graded-subjects/ and here are some additional living science books by grade and topic: simplycharlottemason.com/planning/curriculum-guide/individual-graded-subjects/living-science-books/ As far as what the requirements are in your location, you will want to reference www.hslda.ord for specific guidance. Thank you again for reaching out here and let me know if you have additional questions.

[@dees.8713]

We have only homeschooled our 7th grader 2 years and are wanting to transition to a CM approach. Coming from public school, this is foreign to our child. How many times a week do you have them narrate per subject? Every reading? Any tips on shifting to narration at an older age?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Hi Dee! We have an entire series on narration that I would love to encourage you to slowly read through. It covers all sorts of narration questions and answers. Sonya discusses starting with older children here: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/beginning-older-children-narration-q-part-13/

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

The entire series can be found here: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/series/narration-qa/

[@ambreenmahmoodkhan6570]

I am an Asian mum and apart from me everyone at home speaks Urdu. I always communicate with my four years old son in English. What shall I do to encourage him to listen to me while I read for him?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Hi Ambreen. Charlotte did not expect children to narrate until formal education began in first grade. Prior to that, children would listen to some excellent literature as well as be told stories. It's not uncommon for a little one to lack the interest in books when this young and that is ok! Many littles, boys in particular, would prefer to play and create at four. If you are not reading to him in his native tongue, that may cause some hesitancy for him. It takes great effort to attempt to listen to a reading that is not in a native or primary language and process it.

[@nedafatahi]

At what age should we ask for narration after our read aloud?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Hi Neda. Oral narrations begin in first grade. We do not request children narrate literature but instead resources that include content you want remembered such as the Bible, history, and science.

[@denisewolfe9915]

Do you have any suggestions for what to do when your child resists narration? My son freely and gladly narrates TV shows he's seen or stories we've read, without being asked, when it's something he finds funny or interesting, but strongly resists telling back after a history reading, for example. I think he finds it pointless since I just read the same story and already know it. He likes drawing and I've considered letting him draw comics that relate the story. He's 7 and in first grade. Thank you! Also...can you give examples of what a typical narration would sound like at different ages? I wonder if my expectations are sometimes too high. Thanks!

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Allowing a child to draw and then describe his narration is an excellent tool for narrating. It can also be helpful if you provide a pointed yet open ended narration prompt. Our free bookmark can help with those prompts simplycharlottemason.com/store/narration-bookmarks/ We discuss a question similar to yours here: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/long-short-narration-q-part-6/

[@kriskatkool10]

How do you do narration in a group setting, such as, in a classroom with 30 students?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Great question! You can go around the room and allow certain ones to narrate while the others listen, alternating who you ask at different times; let one student begin, going through a few before completing a narration; illustrated or written ones are a great way for the whole class to participate at once, or you could allow them to break up into groups in order to act out certain portions.

[@Clothmom1]

I didn’t know any of that about Marie Currie.

[@ninilovenana]

So written narration is introduced in grade 4?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Yes, if they child is ready for it. Here's an article about how to make the transition: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/written-narration-next-step-composition-narration-q-part-14/

[@anaf.848]

Is narration only for nonfiction texts?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Narration can be used for both nonfiction and fiction. Charlotte Mason required narration for both. We sometimes don't require narration for fiction, especially if it's a leisure read.

[@kellyalbertson962]

What do you do with a child who flippantly says, "I don't remember anything" when reviewing or narrating?

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Hi Kelly, This is a great question and Sonya did an excellent q&a narration series that address this very question! You'll want to go read more on these answers here to help you troubleshoot this type of response as you'll want to determine if there is an actual attention issue at hand or if it is more intimidation at not know exactly what to say in response: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/setting-success-narration-q-part-5/ Here is the answer to your specific question from the series: "If you’ve ruled out the not-paying-attention possibility, it may be that the child was lost during the reading. Think about what it’s like when you come in in the middle of a conversation and don’t know what is being discussed. Sometimes we can leave our students floundering, lost at sea, when we just pick up in the middle of a book and take off reading. Before you launch into reading the passage for the day, take a moment or two to recall what happened in that book last time. You don’t have to require a detailed complete narration again, but help your student remember enough about last time’s reading to remind him of the framework and know where today’s chapter fits in that framework." Let me know if you have other questions as you're looking through that q&a. :)

[@kellyalbertson962]

@@SimplyCharlotteMason Thank you for a speedy reply! I did watch a couple response videos after writing this, and before seeing your response. I like the idea of a few keywords to listen to. I notice it changed the way *I* listened to the Marie Curie passage.

[@mrs.kolander2761]

Have you done a dictation lesson?

[@mdmosharefhossain1964]

I am Bangladesh 🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩🇧🇩

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Yes, here is a post on dictation. simplycharlottemason.com/blog/how-to-do-dictation/

[@heididaniel1539]

Im 50 and I could listen to read all day

[@SimplyCharlotteMason]

Reading is a wonderful life long habit!