The Art of Narration
Jean Honore Fragonard, "Education is All"
Below is a brief selection from Dr. Smith's article found at Childlight USA that summarizes the steps to successful narration -- a much more labor intensive process for the teacher than many other writings have implied. Indeed, the importance of being a prepared teacher is often lost in the nostalgic glimpses into Mason's ideology so popular today.
Whole text at
Charlotte Mason Educational Review
Volume 2 Issue 2- Winter, 2007
"Is Sequencing and Ordering the Curriculum Important for Scaffolding Learning?" page 8
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
found at Childlight USA
Charlotte Mason Educational Review
Volume 2 Issue 2- Winter, 2007
"Is Sequencing and Ordering the Curriculum Important for Scaffolding Learning?" page 8
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
found at Childlight USA
Six Steps of the Narration Sequence
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
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I want to suggest a list of six components involved in the narration process that becomes successful scaffolding for children. I will label these components:
1. Teacher introduces the new text 2. Student recreation of old text 3. Reading of living book text 4. Narration of living book text 5. Grand conversation 6. Closing Let’s go through a lesson to show how this works. The lesson is about to begin. 1. Teacher introduces new text. Teachers who have a relationship with their students, know the words and concepts that their students will not understand. These teachers introduce new vocabulary or explain concepts because they have a sense of what needs to be explained about a text before it is read. By introducing the text to the students the teacher begins the scaffolding process before the new text is read in class. This prepares the mind to receive new information related to specifics in the reading selection such as vocabulary or a new concept. 2. Student recreation of old text. After introducing the new text the teacher or parent asks a child to describe the scene in the history or literature book that was last read and narrated. Everyone’s mind is brought back to the story and the students can see the characters, the scene, remember the plot of the story thus far—all in their minds’ eye. Prior knowledge is established by the students’ recreation of the last scene of the story. This is done by the student using the student’s own personal recreation of the story (their own original conception of the story). The students are brought back to the layer of bricks that was laid in the previous lesson. This prepares the mind for new learning that relates to the ‘story’ in general. 3. Reading of the living book text. In the new lesson the teacher or students then proceed to read the next selection. Having been reminded of what occurred earlier in the selection and having been prepared by reviewing new vocabulary and concepts, student are ready to receive the current reading selection. Because of the integration of subjects, students are making connections to other content areas as they read. The sequence and integration of the living book with other subjects promotes a natural frame for scaffolding and connecting. (The rooms are connected.) 4. Narration of living book text. Following the reading by the teacher or students then without any other thoughts, ideas or questions intervening, the children are asked to narrate. (Mason (1954) says, “ if it is desireable to ask questions in order to emphasize certain points, these should be asked after and not before, or during, the act of narration” (p. 17). Think about the use of language that is occurring through the thinking about what was read, sequencing it and then narrating it back (speech). But we are not finished. If we stop here, we often set up the situation of mechanical narrating that can become
monotonous and dry. 5. Grand conversation. At the end of the narration, there needs to be what I call a grand conversation. (I cannot remember where I have heard this term, grand conversation, but we used it at the school where I was principal years ago.) That is, following the narration children need to be able to share their reactions and ask questions — their reactions and questions. Following the conversation they have had with the author through reading and narrating,the children now need to be able to have a conversation with the teacher and their fellow students about what the author said in the text. Here, the teacher talks with the students and not at the students. 6. The closing. This is a term I will use to refer to a pertinent question,comment or idea that the teacher might need to ask or make that is vital to understanding the text, addressing a major issue which the children might have otherwise overlooked; that is, helping them close the gap between what they know and have the potential to know with the assistance of the teacher. Mason (1954) says that the teacher is allowed to “give sympathy and occasionally elucidate, sum up or enlarge, but the actual work is done by the scholars” (p. 6); however, the teacher is not allowed to become the talky-talky teacher and go on and on about a topic. This frequently overlooked closing is not a comprehension check (that is checked during narration) nor a summary or a wrap up. A question may need to be put forth by the teacher, a comment or a thought; or it may be only a closing sentence needed to be made to bring closure to the lesson. If during the grand conversation after the narrating, the teacher sees that the children have not grasped a major point, she then facilitates their learning process by providing adequate scaffolding through using a question, comment or idea. This assists the children with developing those solid layers of bricks, bridging the zone between what they can understand and what they might understand with help. Children may miss some layers of scaffolding if the teacher stops only at the third step of children narrating and does not provide for a grand conversation and a closing. |
My notes:
Obviously, the teacher must READ the text prior to the lesson. Do I always accomplish this? Sadly, no, but my goal is to do so, and I readily admit that my own lack of preparation limits the quality of our lessons at times. This is VERY important. Regular review of old material is beautifully built into the system, but without contrived drills or tension. No more 'fill in the blank' !
So -- scaffolding promotes a natural frame for learning. Connecting new material to old after orally restating the context of prior knowledge facilitates this building of bridges . I have to practice this one. lol
Oh yes......sometime we forget the grand conversation in our rush to check off the box on our reading list....
Again, the importance of being a prepared teacher cannot be over emphasized. I must thoroughly understand both the text and the student. Herein lies the 'art' in excellent teaching. My job is to
"help them close the gap between what they know and <what they> have the potential to know" and to help them bridge "the zone between what they can understand and what they might understand with help." |
Whole text at
Charlotte Mason Educational Review
Volume 2 Issue 2- Winter, 2007
"Is Sequencing and Ordering the Curriculum Important for Scaffolding Learning?" page 8
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
found at Childlight USA
Charlotte Mason Educational Review
Volume 2 Issue 2- Winter, 2007
"Is Sequencing and Ordering the Curriculum Important for Scaffolding Learning?" page 8
by Dr. J. Carroll Smith
found at Childlight USA
Other Narration Resources
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Narration Helps
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