Not all of us have super literate kids who can write pages upon pages of exquisitely written narration after listening to read alouds or quietly reading her literature and history assignments.
Narration is a great assessment tool.
We use narration regularly to check for comprehension and understanding.
We seldom do any formal testing until high school. I love to interact with my children and we can’t do that when they’re sitting at a desk filling in little circles. We hope to instill a love of learning for a lifetime.
What to do for narration with those kids who might be more oral or artistic:
Mix up the options for narration so it doesn’t get boring!
1. Draw or Paint a Picture.
A great way for a child who doesn’t write well yet or who prefers art to express herself. As the child grows, she can freehand write about what she read.
2. Coloring Pages.
Great to print for younger kids who need some guidance. Add words, phrases, or sentences as copywork later as they grow.
3. Act a Scene.
Have your child prepare a skit, complete with costumes and set. A great group activity for co-op or families.
4. Puppets or Paper Dolls.
Who doesn’t love a puppet show? Your child can make simple little paper finger puppets, use stuffed animals or dolls she already has, or make fun sock puppets with all those mismatched socks and some crafty items. Print images from online or have your child draw and color her own and attach wooden chopsticks for creative play. A great co-op or dad performance. We also like themed Toobs.
5. Building.
Use Legos, blocks, or some other fun manipulative to discuss setting and plot.
6. Notebooking.
These are way beyond worksheets. Adapt them to suit your child’s needs. We love Notebooking Pages where we can print a huge variety or make our own.
7. Lapbooks.
These are like fun scrapbook projects about your subject. Lots of printable kits online. Homeschool Share has lots for free!
8. Flashcards or a Card Game.
Use index cards to create a memory game with words or pictures or concepts. Or print graphics to glue on and laminate.
9. Timeline Work.
Create or find pictures and words for kids to cut and paste to a poster. Great for history or literary chronological order work.
10. Sensory Bins.
For very (and not quite) little kids, provide fun multi-sensory activities and teach narration through asking questions and listening to your tot’s creative play. We did a great bin for The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Tips for little kids with listening and behaving during read alouds.
For older kids, I still like traditional narration. With Technology. And having a literature reader notebook.
