Charlotte Mason Narration Prompts

Narration is one of the foundational elements of a Charlotte Mason education. Look at what Miss Mason herself says about narration:

Let him read to a child of any age from six to ten an account of an incident, graphically and tersely told, and the child will relate what he has heard point by point, though not word for word, and will add delightful original touches; what is more, he will relate the passage months later because he has visualized the scene and appropirated that bit of knowledge. (Vol 6, page 29) 

Notice that she describes a child between the ages of six and ten, and we are encouraged to read aloud to the child, “an account of an incident, graphically and tersely told.” This tells us that we use books written in a literary, or story-like, form. 

Then, the child will “relate what he has heard point by point, though not word for word.” This tells us that narration involves a child telling back the points in the story, but not necessarily in the exact wording of the book. He will also “add delightful original touches.” This is where we see the principle of “every child is born a person” at work: two children listening to the same story will likely have different takes on the same scene. 

Doesn’t that sound like an enjoyable learning experience? Who can wait to see what “delightful original touches” our kids may add to their own retelling of the story?

But… do you know what normally happens, especially when you’re just starting out with the CM method? Picture this with me:

There you are, enthusiastically reading aloud the chapter for today’s lesson. You make sure you infuse just the right emotions into the words, sometimes even going so far as to change voices between characters. But it’s all worth it, and you’re totally losing yourself in the story. Wow. This is amazing, you think, thoroughly enjoying the scene.

Then you pause, close the book with a satisfied sigh, and turn to your child. “OK, tell me what you heard.”

Blank stare.

Doesn’t that just make you want to pull your hair out by the roots? I know, because I’ve felt exactly like that!

While we won’t be focusing on troubleshooting in this post, I want to share how narration prompts can help give your child the boost he needs to get started.

What are Narration Prompts?

Narration prompts are simply a jumpstart for getting your child to tell you what he heard or read in a school lesson. They can come in any of the following forms:

The open-ended question

The most common way we normally ask our children to narrate is by asking, “OK, can you tell me what happened?” or “What did you hear/read from the story?”

Many children can be eager to answer those questions, but some may struggle for one or more reasons. I believe that one often-overlooked reason is that for some children (not all), the question can feel too broad, and they may be stuck as to how to start.

For these situations, we recommend phrasing the question with a bit more direction. For example, you might say:

• What happened when Mary entered the hidden door?
• Can you tell me what happened when Bob Fulton was on the way to school?
• How did Laura adjust to her new school?

The important thing is that in a CM homeschool, we refrain from asking closed-ended questions, which puts pressure both on the child and the parent! Remember, our goal for getting the children to narrate is not to test what they don’t know, but rather to hear what they do know.

The sentence opener

With my second son, I’ve found this kind of narration prompt works best. Before I “discovered” this tool, he would normally just talk about the last scene I’ve read. (Of course, that’s already progress from narrating only the last sentence, and way before that, just the last few words!) I would then ask if that was all he remembered, and what about this and that in the first part of my reading–usually to no avail! He just couldn’t seem to “order” his narrations.

(I’m ashamed to admit this, but sometimes, I would get frustrated and yell at him for only remembering so little after I read myself hoarse for the last ten minutes! Haha not a CM atmosphere, I know, sorry!)

But ever since I tried using the sentence opener narration prompts, I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much detail he remembers! This is essentially just saying one sentence or phrase just to get the ball rolling. For example, at the end of our reading, I might say one of the following:

• Myles was not happy with the way the bachelors bossed them around.
• Mary saw the robin and started following it.

Then I would stop and let him take over. The key is to give a general sentence, so as not to dictate which scene he’s supposed to talk about. Sometimes, after my son narrates, but I know there are still scenes that we’ve read about, I might throw in another short line or so, and off he goes again!

The drawing/comic narration prompt

This is one of my favorite prompts, especially when my kids were younger. This can involve asking them to draw:

• a favorite scene from the lesson read;
• 4 boxes of comic-book style drawings; or
• 6 boxes of comic-book style drawings.

One advantage of having the child “draw” his narrations is that it can feel like less “pressure.” He can talk about his drawing, before and/or after it’s done.

The creative output prompt

Sometimes we can mix things up a little to make narration more “fun.” The creative output can include any of the following:

• role playing
• giving a news report
• telling about the story in a vlog
• puppet show

Of course, we recommend doing these types of narration more as a special treat, because it requires much more effort and can easily wear children out if done too often.

Using Narration Prompts in a Charlotte Mason Homeschool

Whether or not you use some of these narration ideas depends on your family dynamics. Take initiative to observe and see which will work with your child. The goal is to develop his oral narration skills, and remember, it takes time to get the hang of this important but not-always-automatic tool for learning.

So if your child is still struggling with narration after a few months or sometimes even a couple of years, don’t despair. The Charlotte Mason method is for the long haul, so continue to learn about the philosophy and trust the process. We look forward to celebrating little victories with you along the way!