Narration and Charlotte Mason
Narration is the way Charlotte Mason used living books and made them part of her school room lessons. Instead of using textbooks, or memorisation of facts, she coupled narration and living books. This gave her a teaching tool that far surpassed a workbook or textbook.
When you use narration and Charlotte Mason’s method for your homeschool you’ll find that it is a little scary. This is because you feel like you’re not covering all of the subjects that they might cover in a textbook. You also haven’t got all the activities that can be associated with covering a set syllabus. However, if you can just put those fears aside you will actually find narration is a powerful method that demonstrates real learning and requires your child to think about what they are hearing and reading.
Narration is a skill that you develop over time. When we use it with our little six years old it might not seem like much, but as the skill develops you can really see that children learn a great deal from their read alouds when they add in narration.
Narration is the simple telling back of what has been read. Narrations can be oral or written. Narration helps the child think through the passage they are narrating and then they record what they got from it. It is a memory, comprehension and concentration skill.
Tell Me What You Already Know – Oral Narration
The principle of oral narrations is that a child will tell back what they have read (or you have read to them). They will put in the facts that they thought were important.
Why Can’t I Just Give Them A Worksheet?
A six year old can tell you a whole lot more during an oral narration than they can if they had to write it and ask you to spell every word.
How To Do Narrations?
“The teacher does not talk much and is careful never to interrupt a child who is called upon to ‘tell.’ The first efforts may be stumbling but presently the children get into their ‘stride’ and ‘tell’ a passage at length with surprising fluency. The teacher probably allows other children to correct any faults in the telling when it is over. The teacher’s own really difficult part is to keep up sympathetic interest by look and occasional word, by remarks upon a passage that has been narrated, by occasionally showing pictures, and so on. But she will bear in mind that the child of six has begun the serious business of his education, that it does not matter much whether he understands this word or that, but that it matters a great deal that he should learn to deal directly with books.” Narration and Charlotte Mason’s Advice:
Recent research continues to support the value of narration. According to the Dr Michal Ichet from Ariel University in Israel said children will retain up to 15% more of the content that they have read to them if it is repeated.
My Tips for Oral Narration
I must confess, I don’t do narration as strictly as Charlotte Mason required. I’ve added in a few Michelle Morrow modifications over the years — and they brought success in our home.
Oral narration doesn’t have to feel rigid to be effective.
Choose Your Books Carefully
You do not need to narrate everything you read.
Choose the books you will use for narration. Be selective.
This keeps it manageable and meaningful rather than exhausting.
Start Small
Read aloud a small passage — even just a paragraph — and then have your child tell back what you just read in their own words.
Do this immediately after reading.
As your child develops the skill, you can increase the amount of material read before they narrate.
What I was looking for was comprehension.
Not perfection. Not performance. Just understanding.
When It Feels Hard
Getting a decent narration was sometimes like getting blood from a stone.
With a little prompting, though, I could usually get my child talking about what they remembered.
And yes — sometimes they remembered nothing. That happened more often than I’d like to admit.
When that happened, we simply went back through the passage again. It’s a bit boring for them (and you), but usually the second reading brought better focus.
On the other hand, I also had children who remembered so many details that it took longer to hear the narration than it did for me to read the passage!
Both extremes are normal.
Hands Busy, Mind Listening
I often let my children:
Play Lego
Do hair
Draw
while I was reading aloud.
But I expected them to concentrate.
If they weren’t listening, then they couldn’t fiddle.
This worked well for us. Busy hands often helped attentive ears.
It Doesn’t Always Have to Be Formal
Sometimes we simply had conversations about what we were reading.
I didn’t always make it a “narration lesson.”
Those natural discussions often revealed just as much understanding — sometimes more.
Drawing Is Powerful
I would sometimes get them to draw a picture illustrating what we had read.
This is especially helpful for visual learners or younger children. Drawing helps them process and retell the story without the pressure of finding the right words.
Oral Narration in Grade 1 — Common Questions
One of our My Homeschool members recently asked some thoughtful questions about oral narration with her six-year-old. If you are in the early stages of narration, you may find these helpful too.
He has already come so far and recently surprised his mum with how much he could tell back — which is always encouraging.
Here are her questions.
What if my child mixes up the order of events?
At this age, it is completely normal for children to recall events out of order. Many children remember what was read most recently and begin with the ending rather than the beginning.
In Grade 1, the goal is recall and comprehension — not polished structure. Chronological order will strengthen naturally over time.
If needed, you might gently say,
“That was the ending — what happened at the beginning?”
Keep it light. There is no need to turn narration into a correction exercise.
What if some details are incorrect? Should I correct them?
Sometimes children include details that are slightly off. They are not making things up deliberately — they are remembering imperfectly.
If the misunderstanding changes the meaning of the story, a gentle clarification is helpful:
“Actually, it was the brother who did that.”
Keep your tone calm and factual. The aim is understanding, not catching mistakes. If the detail is minor, it can often be left alone.
Narration should not feel like a test.
Should I prompt my child? What about letting them look at the pictures?
In the beginning, light prompting is completely fine.
You might ask:
“What happened after that?”
“Who was in the story?”
“What do you remember?”
You are jogging memory, not feeding answers.
Allowing a child to glance back at pictures is also acceptable in the early stages. Over time, you can gradually reduce this support.
Think of it as scaffolding — you remove it slowly as confidence grows.
What should I be listening for in a Grade 1 narration?
At six years old, you are simply listening for understanding.
Did they grasp the main idea?
Do they remember key events or characters?
Are they forming connected sentences?
We are not looking for perfect grammar, precise sequencing, or full summaries at this stage.
We are looking for growth.
If you are seeing progress — even small progress — you are doing it right.
Narration grows slowly at first. Then one day you realise your child is thinking more clearly, remembering more deeply, and speaking more confidently.
That is the goal.
When to Transition to Written Narration
I recommend using oral narration until children are about 10 years old.
Of course, you can continue oral narration after that — but around this age you can begin introducing written narrations as well.
Oral narration gives children something to write about.
It is excellent preparation for written narration because the thinking work has already been done out loud.
Written Narrations
Written narrations and Charlotte Mason’s method begin when a child is around 10. It is the same as oral narrations except they write what they remember. Here is an Australian history narration my daughter did when she was 11.
Narration is an English writing lesson with quality subject content. The child has something to write about – an excellent kill two birds with one stone tool. Charlotte Mason believed that living books used for narration exposed children to excellent writing models and authors which they could learn from. Children are not stressed about trying to be creative because they already have the subject to write about so they can focus on the mechanics of writing well.
Some people believe you should do a narration from memory and one reading. However I’ve met many Charlotte Mason home educators who don’t do it that way. I allow my child to use their reading books to write their narration if they need to check on something. One of my friends helps them find keywords before they write their narration.
Tips for Written Narration
Don’t Try to Narrate Too Many Books
One of the biggest mistakes I see families make with narration is trying to narrate everything.
I usually only require narration from one or two books at a time. That’s it.
I choose books that are story-like so they narrate well. For example, I might require a narration from a chapter or even just a page from a book. I use narration in:
History
Science
Geography
And I also count narrations as part of our English lesson.
You don’t need to add a separate writing program if you’re already doing thoughtful narrations. They are doing real writing.
Coaching Matters
I do coach my children if they are having difficulty. Narration is not a “sink or swim” exercise.
Sometimes I make a few suggestions for how to make their writing more interesting. I correct most mistakes when I see them. Over the years, I’ve also used additional writing resources that teach specific writing techniques to strengthen their work.
Narration grows with gentle guidance.
Set a Clear Length
One very practical thing I do is set the length of the narration required.
I might say:
“I want at least five sentences.”
This helps in two ways.
First, it helps the child who is prone to:
“The king died. The end!”
Second, it helps the child who remembers everything and feels they must retell the entire chapter word for word.
I once had a child who could remember almost everything that was read. It was impressive — but their narrations became as long as the original text. That level of detail actually discouraged them because they believed every narration had to be that long.
It’s better to start small and increase expectations gradually.
Confidence grows with success.
Not Everything Needs to be a Paragraph
Not every narration has to be a formal paragraph.
Sometimes I let them write in points.
“Write 10 facts” was often an easy and structured way for them to record what they learned.
This works particularly well for science and geography.
Use Notebooking as Support
I also use notebooking and notebooking pages as prompts for narration.
A well-designed page can gently guide a child’s thinking without overwhelming them. Sometimes a heading or a small visual cue is enough to help them organise their ideas.
Have Child Read Allow Their Narration
After my child has written their narration, I ask them to read it aloud to me.
This is powerful.
They often hear mistakes themselves and make corrections without me saying a word. It builds self-editing skills naturally.
It also gives me an opportunity to offer input and encouragement.
Choosing Books For Narrations
You want to choose book that have a good narrative style – a story that they can follow. Fact books and ones that have lots of little segments that are related but not necessarily part of the story are not good for narrations.
That is why real book or living books are perfect for this. I use: the bible, fiction, history biographies and science readers for most of our narrations.
I think new homeschoolers are often astounded at how much history I put into my children’s home school curriculum. Mistakenly they assume I must be skimping on other important subjects in order to teach history because the primary school only 6-10% of your time needs to be spent on history. This equates to 1 to 2.5 hours per week. However since I use a literature based homeschooling history curriculum I can also use much of this suggested curriculum for teaching English as well.
“Why teach history like this? Isn’t history only a minor part of the curriculum?” they wonder.
Although what they don’t realise is that I’m really using historical content for teaching much of my English curriculum, some geography and occasionally science. Over the years I have found this has many benefits.
Example Narration: Margaret Catchpole by Nance Donkin by Miss 11
Margaret Catchpole arrived as a convict in Port Jackson on a transport ship called The Nile. The Governor came down to meet the ship and when he saw Margaret, he asked the Captain about and her. He said she was a good person, neat and clean, and an excellent cook. The Governor decided to assign her as a cook for Mr Palmer and his wife.
Margret enjoyed her new job although she was finding it hard to forget her dark past. Margaret tells the story of how she became a convict, to her mistress Mrs Palmer…
When she was young she had loved horses, she could ride without a saddle, she was the youngest of six children. When she thirty five she was bored. She wanted to go to London so she stole a horse. Margaret didn’t finish the story.
She earns her ticket of leave and moves out to the country. She has a little house near the Hawkesbury River. She loves country life and she is happy and content. She took many long walks, she can see the distant mountains and wonders what is over the other side; there were some Irish convicts that believed that over the other side was a straight road to China, Margaret laughed over this tale, she knew that when you are in prison you make up many dreams and fantasies. She becomes a well respected nurse and travels around the countryside caring for the sick.
A flood devastates the land, Margaret helps nurse the sick people and she also swims in the water to save people. She catches a bad cold, She feels better when she receives news from home.
Mrs Palmer asked her if she would like to come and live them again she refuses.
Margaret goes to the city. The price of cotton and leather is rising because of corrupt traders that triple the prices. Margaret sends letters to her friends in England to send her some sewing supplies so she can set up a shop. She hears word that a package has arrived for her in Sydney harbour. She walks for two days, picks up the crate and takes a carriage back home, the package is full of good things. She sets up a shop in the front room of her house. Every penny she can spare she saves for a trip back to England.
Governor Macquarie came to visit and he saw that most of the farmers were living near the river where it sometimes flooded. So he started five new towns on high land; they were called Windsor, Richmond Hills, Pitt Town, Castlereagh and Wilberforce. Some of the farmers moved there but most of them didn’t. The Governor was quiet annoyed at this, he also observed that some of the farmers where not taking very good care of themselves or their farms. The complaint was published in the local newspaper and read out in church. Most of the villages took note of this and started to improve their farms.
The town continued to thrive but Margaret’s health started to fail. She continued to help people when they were sick and eventually caught influenza herself. She died on the 13th of May 1819 at the age of 58. She was buried the next day in the Richmond Church graveyard.
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