5 Ways NOT to Use a Living Book
Вставка
- Опубліковано 26 лип 2024
- Living books must be used correctly to be most effective. Sonya explains how to avoid five common mistakes.
// MENTIONED
Five Steps to Successful Narration free e-book
simplycharlottemason.com/stor...
Your Questions Answered: Narration book
simplycharlottemason.com/stor...
// FOR MORE
Choosing Living Books
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Where to Find Living Books
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Living Ideas
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Narration
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Delayed Gratification
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
// FOLLOW
Instagram: / simplycharlottemason
Facebook News: / simplycm
SCM Facebook Group: / 1445273695729787
Pinterest: / simplycm
Twitter: / simplycm
SCM Forum: simplycharlottemason.com/scmf...
Subscribe
Listen to the audio version of the podcast
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Read the blog post version of the podcast
simplycharlottemason.com/blog...
Upcoming Events
simplycharlottemason.com/even...
Contact
Simply Charlotte Mason
930 New Hope Road #11-892
Lawrenceville, GA 30045
simplycharlottemason.com/cont...
I think the problem is that most of us went to school, where "binge learning/memorizing" for the test and spending a long time on material and then promptly forgetting it after the test is over was the norm. We also live in this world where we are told that more is automatically better. More material at once, more hours spend on it etc. etc. etc. As a language learner I see so many people bragging about how many hours they spend on x or y, especially during the lockdown. Then when homeschooling, you have many people, sometimes even traditional "school at home" homeschoolers tell you that your kids aren't studying enough if they aren't doing at least 6 hours of work every day. I had to learn the hard way (thankfully in my own personal studies, not homeschooling) that slow and steady really wins the race.
I thoroughly enjoy listening to your vlogs. Thank you for the wealth of knowledge you share on educating with the Charlotte Mason Method!
Sometimes I need a reminder and this was a great one! I have been completely forgetting the pre-reading reviews.
Thank you for this. I have been struggling with narration with one of my children. Now, i know what I've been doing wrong
All very good points, just seems like good skills to follow for good learning.
Thank you for yet another succinct, helpful video.
You're very welcome!
So glad I saw this I didn't know about previews luckily I'm on week 7 of our first year or doing charlotte mason so hopefully I didn't mess them up too bad .
Thank you for this! One question I've always had is what to do if my children can't narrate what we just read. In general, they pay good attention, but some days are harder than others. Neither one is doing their reading independently yet (my oldest will start with some of it next term), and I know we're supposed to require their best attention. But what about those hard days when their focus is on everything and everywhere else but our history lesson?
There are some ideas for many situations where a child can't narrate in this article: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/setting-success-narration-q-part-5/
Charlotte Mason also encouraged us, if the child is having trouble paying attention, to put the lesson away, do something as different as possible, then return to the lesson later that same day.
#3 was deep
This was very helpful! Thank you! I was just wondering, how long should a passage be before I require narration from a 7 year old who isn’t used to doing narration? He doesn’t want to do narration and just wants me to read. Also do you have any tips to get him to do it without a fuss? I’m afraid he won’t want me to read to him as much if he knows he has to narrate.
Start with a paragraph or two then, as he gains confidence, gradually increase the length to a page then two pages . . . up to a chapter.
Narration is hard work if you’re not used to doing it. So give him some grace and try to set him up for success. Be sure you’re doing the pre-reading review. Give him a couple of key words to listen for and then use in his narration. That will give him some “training wheels,” as it were. Our free e-book, “5 Steps to Successful Narration,” will give you details on those practices.
You might also have a short talk with him to let him know why you’re requiring the narrations. Narration is a tool that he will be able to use his entire life to learn anything he wants to learn, but it takes practice.
And if you want to, start small by requiring him to narrate from only one book each day. As he gains fluency, you can increase that number. Make sure he knows ahead of time which book(s) he will be required to narrate. And try to keep at least one really good read-aloud going that he is not required to narrate, one that you two just enjoy together.
Is it still important to summarise in some way at the end as a separate exercise, alongside regular narrations?
It depends on why you feel the need to summarize. If something important was left out of the narration, or if the child completely missed an obvious point, you might end with a discussion about that bit. But be careful of coming in behind a child’s narration and seeming to give the “right answer.” We want to emphasize what the child does know, rather than what he doesn’t know. His thoughts, his narration is the key. Charlotte Mason mentioned in School Education, p. 180, a few other ways to do narration that include giving the points of a description, the sequence of a series of incidents, the links in a chain of argument, enumerating the statements in a giving paragraph or chapter, analyzing a chapter and dividing it into paragraphs with headings, tabulating and classifying series, tracing cause and effect or action and consequence, discerning character, pulling life lessons out of a book. So you could ask for those types of narrations as the child grows older and proficient in his narrations.
What about if you have an 8th grader? Do you read everything to them? Do you start with oral narration or should I have him do written? Not sure where to start with my older kiddos.
For students who have never done written narration before, we find it works best to start with oral narration first. That helps them get used to the telling back process before they add the extra burden of writing those thoughts. Check out this article for lots of practical tips: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/beginning-older-children-narration-q-part-13/
Had the same question for my teen, I have never required this from her, but I will start to at least orally (and in small segments) for a while till she can get comfortable with it. Then I guess we’ll see when it can go to writing in a composition book. For my 9yr old, I purchased a draw and write composition book for this- but I won’t use it til he can do it orally first... 🤷♀️
Thank you for sharing!! Could you please go in more detail of what a CM exam week would look like for multiple ages/grades? Thanks!!
Sure thing. Here's a link to a series of articles in our Learning Library that discuss CM exams, both the short-term review and the end-of-term exam: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/series/cm-style-assessment/
Thank you! Just beginning our homeschooling journey here with my 6, 5, & 4 year olds. Your words make this feel like something we can handle...and also ENJOY! Do you have a video or series you would suggest I use to get me on the Charlotte Mason path?
Yes! Check out this video series that will walk you through getting started in five stages: ua-cam.com/play/PLhkD5hzLjrk3tqby9SMnlStC4rmiRC4rs.html
@@SimplyCharlotteMason Great! Thanks:)
Thank you for this video, it has been really helpful. May I ask, in doing narration for a portion of the book, should I read the portion to my child or should she read the passage on her own? She is an avid reader and however, the latter choice requires me to pre-read her books and often I don't have the time to do that before lessons due to other commitments. Many thanks.
If your child is in first, second, or third grade, you would read the book aloud to her. If she is in fourth grade or older and is a fluent reader, you can assign the book to her to read independently. You’re right, you will be better able to evaluate her narration and engage in a meaningful discussion if you have read the book also. I would encourage you to use summer break (and other breaks during the year) as an opportunity to read ahead. The blog post, An Added Bonus, will give you some practical tips on how to make that happen. simplycharlottemason.com/blog/added-bonus-narration-q-part-18/
And remember that you can always do a combination: reading some books together and assigning some books as independent reads.
@@SimplyCharlotteMason Thank you 😊
@@niva6511 I would also suggest making sure you are REQUIRING narration ONLY from assigned books. My mom at one point tried to make me do written chapter summaries on “pleasure” books not just the required ones. I talk about what I just read all the time but the attempt to make pleasure books school caused me to put them down and return to them later. You may already know/do this but wanted to share my experience
@@ciannacoleman5125 What a way to ruin pleasure reading :(. Reminds me of the public school reading log where every reading session they do, including pleasure books, has to be logged with time, page numbers and all. That stuff made many a child hate reading. If I had a child who wants to read outside of school, I'd rejoice and make sure we have a pile of great books ready at all times, rather than make them do more work for being a reader. I'd rather see my kid binge read (pleasure books) than binge watch or binge video game.
@@mchobbit2951 Lol yeah, thankfully mom wised up to the problem pretty quickly. To this day I love reading and sometimes need the book pried form my hands so I can do something else lol
I thought you had a video on living math books (supplemental, not looking for a new curriculum). I know there are books like the Sir Conference series, but I'm looking for more. Do you have a list? Thanks!
Perhaps this is what you are thinking of.
simplycharlottemason.com/store/mathematics-book-and-dvd-bundle/
When reading something like the Little Bear books, how often would you ask the child to narrate please? After every page, or a couple of pages or at the end of the chapter?
We recommend that no narration be required for fiction so that you and your child can focus on enjoying the story together. For a beginning narrator, you might read only a small section and then have the child narrate that. As the child gets more comfortable narrating, nudge out the length of the reading.
Starters books like Little Bear is great for reading practice but it's not a good book for narration. I would just let her read and enjoy it
What do you recommend for me to add or be more consistent on with my child with memory disability? She really struggles with narration and retaining what we read.
It’s difficult to make a recommendation without the details of your child’s unique needs. You know your child best. If you want a good place for discussion and support, we recommend posting in the SCM Facebook group where other moms may be able to provide some ideas. facebook.com/groups/1445273695729787/
Are there any living books available in other languages like Russian ?
Yes! Our video "5 Ways to Find Living Books" will teach you how to spot a good living book regardless of the language.
If am I doing homeschool with two or more kids... How can I ask them to narration?
This is a great question and one we get often because many of the families using our resources have more than one child and the founders of SCM each also homeschooled their 4 children. Here is a helpful blog where Sonya discusses this topic: simplycharlottemason.com/blog/your-questions-answered-narration-with-multiple-children/ Let me know if you have additional questions.
Can you please define exactly what you mean by "narration"? It sounds like you mean giving a summary, or restating the story in your own words.
Narration is a vital tool used with Charlotte Mason's method of education. It is a retelling that helps children (or adults who use this tool) cement into his mind what was read. Below, you will find links to learn more about narration.
simplycharlottemason.com/blog/lets-talk-narration-qa-part-1/
simplycharlottemason.com/blog/how-to-do-narration/
simplycharlottemason.com/blog/series/narration-qa/
What do we do if they pay attention but don’t always understand what they read or what was read to them? We are fairly new to CM and some of the books are tougher reading than others. My son is 14 and sometimes struggles with understanding the concept or information with the harder books.
Melissa Blackbird have you homeschooled for a long time? We just started this year and I’m struggling with teaching him history? ~Amanda
Staying Kingdom Minded this is our first full year. History is a hard one for us too.
I’m going to use the method given in response to a similar question asked by StephG - for more difficult content, we’ll start with one paragraph at a time. I’ll also need to pre-read and give my daughter some keywords to look out for.
Thanks II I’ve
Hi, Thank you for reaching out with your question! This post has a few tips for how to modify things.
simplycharlottemason.com/blog/literature-vocabulary-and-comprehension-language-arts-part-3/
Some ideas include: reading shorter amounts at a time, writing down key words to help them recall names, places, etc., and modeling narration of the material yourself. It is ok if they do not remember every small detail, it is their own retelling of what they connected with. If you are reading some of the family books in a history guide for example, those are more difficult and there will be more details as they are meant to be read for the whole family grades 1-12. If you find your student struggling with the grade level recommended books, you can always take a step back and read the books recommended for a lower grade level for at time. It is important that we are meeting our children where they are and challenging them but not to the point of frustration.
Switching to a Charlotte Mason education can be a process and a big change depending on what you and your student are used to. Here is the first post in a multi-post series that you may find helpful to ease into this change:
simplycharlottemason.com/blog/transition-to-cm-basics/