DD Written narrations Preparing

[mrsrandolph]

I am having trouble with my 10 year old daughter and her written narrations in Preparing.

She is very bright. She is a great thinker and a great reader..a whiz at math. However, she is LAZY!

She has had to do very little writing, and she detests it. Probably my fault.

When it is time for the written history narration in Preparing, she can answer the questions about what we have read to give a jump start to thinking about what her narration should include. Then there is the starter sentence. I give her the starter sentence and send her to another room to write her written narration while I take an oral narration from her 9 year old brother who has some learning needs.

She will come back with like one sentence. When I ask her about it, she comes up with all kinds of excuses..."I couldn't remember what we read"..."I didn't know what to write"...blah blah blah.

I honestly think she is capable. I think she is just being lazy. Suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[chillin'inandover]

Writing is a difficult task because it involves so many skills. It also requires motivation. The hardest part is getting the first word onto paper! My ds really struggled with written narration, as in 15 minutes to complete 1 sentence. He is now completing the entire 5-8 sentences in CTC in 20 minutes. I have him do the history reading and answer the questions first thing after Bible quiet time. I complete the rest of the school day for 6 yo dd in LHFHG and said dd in CTC. After all this is completed then I sit with him (well stand I am not a sitter ) He does not do well in his room. The time away from the task allows him to mull over what he read, what he remembers, and what his answers are. They are creative and informative. This did not happen right away and it was a major struggle but now he is soaring. I am glad that I persisted, this is a key skill to have. This allows both of us to be focused on this difficult task and refreshed from a break and knowing that this unit of school is done after this.

Not sure if this is listed in written narration directions but this task could be broken into bite size chunks of independence. DC tells you sentence, you write it on white board, then it is copied. DC could also tell you answer to question and you write it down then dc writes sentence from that. What has also heped is ds now reading independently in CTC and therefore retaining more that way. I have written the questions on a separate sheet of paper and ds writes the answers on this sheet and then does written narration. The directions in appendix state the progression of skills and that you master #1 indent each paragraph before going on to #2 make sure the first sentence is on the right topic. I know in my mind I wanted a polished written narration right away but then what I got was a blank stare and frustration. I started to just talk about how ds was going to start as the first word is a challenge. I'd tell him to look at his answer and how that could be worded into a sentence.

Now the only trouble my ds has is fitting it into his CTC notebook. Since he is not so motivated to write most of the time he is satisfied with only filling in the space and other times I add paper to his book. I hope that you find soutions to this issue. Tammy

[FiveLittlePeaches]

We do the box as written, and answer the questions. Then I have the kids write their paper out as follows:


Starter sentence...


Who (is the story about)



What (happens)



How (does the story end)


Just having their paper structured like that helps them think through the reading and organize their thoughts. Then I go over what each one wrote. They edit as needed and rewrite a final copy in a paragraph for their notebook. But you're probably doing that...so one more thought.

I also have a child that has been tremendously frustrated with narrations over the years. I recently discovered that if I allow my "visual learner" to sketch during the readings, it helps with her recall of events. It isn't anything major, just little stickman figures, maybe a squiggle for a river...something along those lines. I don't know how to describe it, but for her it seems to take the pressure off. I haven't heard her complain once since we started this.

Maybe you could find some creative fix as well. Good luck.

[mrsrandolph]

Great ideas. Thanks!