NaRRaTION- RECALLING INFORMATION IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Hello Families! 

Can you believe it’s already time for a new school year? We’ve been working hard to create cohesiveness within Wisdom’s mission, vision, curriculum, and approach. With this comes an opportunity to acquaint all of you with the foundation of our approach to learning, which is rooted in Charlotte Mason. What exactly does that mean? I’m so glad you asked! 

The Charlotte Mason approach puts an emphasis on fostering a love of learning through living books, nature study, and habitat training. It also engages a child’s mind with inspiring content, rather than rote memorization or textbooks. It’s really whole-child focused (enriching all parts of development, not just the mind). 

The bedrock of Charlotte Mason focuses on narration (recalling information in your own words), copywork, and spending time outdoors, learning from nature. Daily lessons are kept short and engaging, in order to maintain attention. This type of learning environment reaps the rewards of rich ideas, and it fosters a love of learning for a lifetime. 

Now that I’ve laid a little groundwork for you, I would love to go deeper with one of the components, Narration! In this approach, a child is able to retell something in their own words, after reading or listening. Let’s see it step-by-step. 

First, you need a living book. This is a text that gets the attention of a learner, and makes the material come alive! I love the picture book, Caps for Sale. Next, introduce the book! Don’t give too much away, just introduce the general idea. If there are any tricky words, you can write them down on a dry erase board, before you begin. 

Practicing in the classroom!

Moving on, read either a portion or the entirety of the book. Once you finish, ask your child to communicate what was spoken, in their own words. Give plenty of time, and try not to interrupt. If you have several children listening, each can share one or two things. 

Finally, you have the option to integrate some discussion. This is an opportunity to connect with the heart of your child, and really develop that beautiful character. You don’t have to do this every time, but if the book creates the perfect moment and content to do so, go for it! It gives you a peek inside their thought processes and internal growth. 

That’s it! Isn’t it such an organic way to teach and learn? Even more, I bet you’re already providing elements of this in your home, you just didn’t have specific language for it! Thank you for taking the time to dive into this with me. If you have any questions throughout the year, please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us. It’s going to be a great year! 

Dr. Harris

High School Tutor