just sharing......

This was Caleb's history narration today. I thought it was well done, so I'm sharing it here. It makes him feel extra good to be "published".

Buffalo Bill Narration by Caleb

The Book Summary

Allie read Johnny Tremain as part of our Revolutionary War study. I had her do a written narration after each reading with the intent of having her condense her writings into a short book summary. You see, Allie has the gift of writing. She can write stories that go on and on, full of lively characters and vibrant details. However, when it comes to summarizing, she has trouble. She just doesn't like to leave anything out. We have been working on this skill and she has come a long way. I limited her summary of Johnny Tremain to one page and this is what she turned in to me. CLICK HERE :O)

A very useful narration handbook

My friend Christy suggested the greatest little resource to me today and I just have to share it with all of you. This little gem is at lulu.com and is titled "My Little Handbook of Written Narrations" by Angela Wilson. It is written to students in grades 4-8 and is a step-by-step guide to writing narrations. It is 36 pages in length and includes, in addition to the 5 steps, graphic organizers, samples of narrations, a grammar guide, proofreading marks and what they mean, and finally a lesson plan and grading rubric for the teacher (if you keep grades). It is well worth the $4.50 download price. My daughter was very happy to add this handbook to her language notebook!

A narration break through for us :O)

Okay, so I am fairly new to the Charlotte Mason method and I'll admit that I was struggling with oral narrations with my 7 (almost 8 year old) son. He talks a blue streak most of the time, so I knew he couldn't just be speechless when it came to narrations. After reading Sheila Carroll's article on successful narration (LBC) I decided to try using a tape recorder. WOW!!! He loved this and gave a really nice narration on the Boston Tea Party. When he was done we played it back at least three times because he thought it was so "cool", and then I typed it up for him to put in his notebook. He even asked if he could draw a picture to go with it. Finally, he said, "Mom that was fun, can we do it like that again?" I am so happy to have found a way that works for him! I thought I would share his retelling.

Caleb’s Narration of the Boston Tea Party
3-24-2009 age 7y 10m

In 1774 a group of American colonists disguised as Indians went on three English ships and dumped all the tea into the Boston Harbor. Two of the men that were very important were Patrick Henry and George Washington and Paul Revere was there. They were mad because King George III was making very high taxes on the tea, and they didn’t want to pay the taxes. They had been getting Dutch tea, but the English ships were blocking the Dutch ships carrying tea from coming into the Boston Harbor.

[Caleb wanted to finish by reading part of Patrick Henry’s speech from "The Story of the World" volume 3]

“If we wish to be free…we must fight! I repeat it sir, we must fight! Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-but there is no peace…Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!”

Not bad ;O)