Daughter struggling with narration

[cozyfamily]

I'm not sure what to think. DD is almost 10 and is struggling with narration. I narrowed her requirement down to one small paragraph and she still struggled. I narrowed it down to one sentence and she still struggled. Up until today I've had to give her lots of prompts, ask questions, etc. to keep her going. I decided to let her try a full narration on her own today and she ended up in tears. I resorted to the Q & A format and she was able to answer the questions. I don't want her to get a mental block every time I say the word "narration" - any suggestions on how to do this so that she's able to see some small successes?

[lmercon]

Maybe the word, "narration" is freaking her out a little bit. Over the next few days, I'd back off from any narrations. Just read to learn and enjoy without the stress of narration. Then I'd start adding it back in but not call it "narration." You might say, "Okay, let's see how much you can remember from our reading today!" Have her read or you read a short passage and ask her to tell you everything she remembers. You can also make a game of it, where you give a narration but leave out some key elements. She has to play detective and add in any missing pieces to the story or passage. You can do the "take turns" activity too. You start off the narration. Then tap her on her shoulder, and she takes it from there. You can go back and forth like that through the whole narration. As she gets comfortable with the process and learns to read and listen with real comprehension, she will get better at it. It is a skill that takes a while to perfect. Depending on how she was schooled in the past, this may be very new to her. Keep working at it, and don't give up!
hth,
Laura

[Tansy]

is it verbal narration ? or written? Are you reading to her? Or is she doing the reading? My eldest is exactly as you describe, except even with questions she messes up. We have since found out she has auditory processing issues. (think of it as dyslexia of the ears) Meaning the information is in her brain she just has a huge difficulty finding it in her brain and getting it out. Can she sequence tell you beginning middle and end? Or is it all mixed up.

Doe she like to draw? My dd used to go into la-la land when I read to her. I found touching her while I read to her helped. really short paragraphs also helped. Reading a part then having her draw it (was not successful for me but might be for her) then telling you narration from her pictures. but don't call it narration... cause if it stresses her out it will make everything worse. in fact call it art...

if she can't draw then one thing that i did for a bit and did work was read the story before hand, cut out or draw pictures of the main parts. While reading the story I would stop and ask which picture goes with our story. (then re read the paragraph so she could find it) then we would make the sequence. And together tell the story with the pictures I say one part she says next part. not having to do it all helped her a lot.

And maybe get her ears checked by an Ears nose throat Dr. the pediatrician peering in her ears can't check as fully as a tympanogram. Just to make sure she can hear you. My dd ears were full of gunk on top of all her other issues.

[my3sons]

I'm not sure what to think. DD is almost 10 and is struggling with narration. I narrowed her requirement down to one small paragraph and she still struggled. I narrowed it down to one sentence and she still struggled. Up until today I've had to give her lots of prompts, ask questions, etc. to keep her going. I decided to let her try a full narration on her own today and she ended up in tears. I resorted to the Q & A format and she was able to answer the questions. I don't want her to get a mental block every time I say the word "narration" - any suggestions on how to do this so that she's able to see some small successes?

I'm wondering if you could please answer a few questions, just so I'm not giving advice that doesn't fit ...
What HOD guide is she working in?
Is she struggling with oral or written narrations?
Which box(es) of HOD plans is she having difficulty narrating on?
Has she had experience narrating before this?

For some quick advice since you're probably teaching every day as you wait on answers here - I also think for now you should accept her narration as it is, and give her one point to work on for next time. Then, just briskly move on to the next part of the plans. I know that's hard to do, but it's important to follow this guideline as otherwise dc begin to think we're looking for very certain type of narration and they'll never get it right- when really, many different narrations are acceptable, and each narration should have a child's own twist on it. I'll check back here later - be encouraged, narration takes a long time to learn - it's a difficult skill that is worth the time learning though.

Thanks!
In Christ,
Julie

[kvmck]

Hi,
I wanted to share my experience and frustration with my daughter over narration. Her old brother can always remember and can narrate a lot of details and she (until very recently) could not/would not "on the spot" narrate. I was sharing my frustration one evening in a homeschool group I go to and they asked me some questions that led me to realize that she was narrating, just in a different way. She would often "dance" the story later in the day or act it out with her dolls and stuffed animals. I began to tell her "you do remember, you're narrating the story with your animals" and I gave her more freedom to narrate in that way sometimes. This year she has started to be able to narrate a sentence or two the way she is "supposed to" do it

Kristen

[Carrie]

cozyfamily,

I'll paste a previous reply of mine that may be of help to you! Here's a couple of links that may encourage and help: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4683

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4265&p=31406

It is often true that kiddos narrate better when they have read the material themselves. This is especially true if your child is a visual learner. CM advocated having a child of 9 read her own material, if she is able. So that is something to consider. If you still desired to read the material aloud, you could have your child sit next to you to see the words and follow along as you read.

I agree that CM advocated only reading a passage once. So, I wouldn't ever reread. It would be better to pause after several paragraphs and ask your child for a narration, then go on and do a longer portion of reading and narrate it yourself, then back to a shorter chunk at which point the child narrates, and so on. Make it a team approach in this way and compliment to encourage as much as possible. If your daughter isn't sure where to begin in her narration, read her the opening sentence from the passage as a starter to get her going.

When your daughter gives a one-sentence narration, I'd likely say something along the lines of... "That is a great start. Now, tell me a bit about... (and then say the main missing topic)." I'd only ask about one other portion at that point, and then compliment her response. If she still can't come up with anything, read her an opening sentence from that part of the reading (that she missed narrating upon) to start her off. Then, move on with the reading no matter how short the narration. She will improve over time.

Make sure to note the different kinds of narrators I mentioned in the second thread linked above to know you're not alone!

Blessings,
Carrie