This post is written by my good friend and fellow homeschooling mamma, Havalah Turner. Havalah and I had a wonderful conversation about writing on my podcast. You can listen to it HERE. She has put her heart, soul, and experience into this article. I know it will bless your life as much as it has mine!

WHY

“Writing is thinking on paper”
–William Zinsser

Writing can be a daunting subject for both kids and adults. Why does it intimidate so many of us? And why is it so important, even if we don’t all aspire to be professional writers? The answer is simple: we write every day. Whether it’s texting, sending emails, keeping a journal, or posting on social media, writing is a constant part of our lives. We often don’t realize how much we write, even though some forms require more thought and articulation than others. Words have power, and learning to use them effectively can boost confidence—for both us and our kids. By helping our children build confidence in their writing, we equip them with a skill that will support them in every aspect of their lives.

HOW

Children are natural writers

“Writing is thought, writing is expression, writing is about having something to say”
–Barry Lane

Children begin “writing” long before they can read or use a pencil. They do this naturally through narration. As soon as they start talking, they will unfold to you what they observe about the world around them. Whether playing alone or with others, they often describe the imaginary stories or games they create, may even come up with dialogue to help move the story along.

When they accomplish or notice something, they eagerly share it with you, narrating what just happened. In these moments, they are assimilating information from their surroundings and expressing what they understand. This process comes naturally to kids—and even to adults. But how can we apply this innate storytelling ability to their learning?

Narration

“Narrating is not the work of a parrot, but of absorbing into oneself the beautiful thought from the book, making it one’s own and then giving it forth again with just that little touch that comes from one’s own mind”
–Charlotte Mason

The act of retelling something seen, heard, or read in one’s own words is the art of narration. Narration is simply the verbal or written account of a story or information. Some people are naturally better at it, while others need practice. But all of us do it to some degree.

Before writing existed, humanity passed down information and stories through narration. When you read or hear something interesting, you likely want to share it with someone. In doing so, you’re assimilating that information, mentally organizing it, and preparing to retell it.

When a child can retell a story or information in their own words, it shows they’ve fully absorbed what they’ve heard or read. Once they can share it in this way, the knowledge has become a part of them—they understand it.

Julie Bogart calls narration a sense of “ownership”:

“Narration reveals to me that my kids “own” the material. Do they have the ability to retell not simply on exam day, not two minutes after they read the page and the write what they read into a notebook, but can they, do they retell the information throughout the weeks and months and years to come.”[1]

But how does narration help with their actual writing? In The Writing Revolution, they recommend oral narration first because it allows students to practice their ideas before committing them to writing. If they feel confident in their ideas through verbalization, then it will be easier for them to commit it to paper when they are ready to do the physical act of writing. 

How to do Narration:

1.      Start with reading a small amount and ask the child to recall back. Depending on the age or skill of the child, start with reading a paragraph and work your way to longer sections. 

2.      Only do one reading. As you do this, teach them the virtue of attention. If they know you are going to read it only once, then they will learn to pay attention better. 

3.    Encourage the child to use their own words. It is natural for a child to respond with exactly what was just said, but encourage them to say it in their own words. This will help them process what they heard and help them find understanding.

4.     Allow children to use various forms of narration. They can act it out, make a video, a clay or paper mache model, write a poem, or draw. For more ideas visit simplycharlottemason.com

5.     Narration should be fun! Think of how much you enjoy talking to a friend or family member to tell them something that just happened to you. We can help our kids find that same joy of sharing something they just learned.  In our house, at dinner their Dad always asks them what they learned or read about that day. Sometimes having someone else ask can make it more interesting to share.

>>>Try this:

Some simple prompts to get your child narrating:

• What did I read? Or what did you read?
• Tell me the story back in your words.
• Tell me all you remember.
• Tell something new you just learned
• Describe your favorite part
• Tell me what you understood
• Make a list four/five things you learned
• What happened in order?
• Draw a picture of what we read.

Using Mentor Texts

“Before they are ten, children who have been in the habit of using books will write good, vigorous English with ease and freedom; that is, if they have not been hampered by instructions. It is well for them not even to learn rules for the placing of full stops and capitals until they notice how these things occur in their books. Our business is to provide children with material in their lessons, and leave the handling of such material to themselves. If we would believe it, composition is as natural as jumping and running to children who have been allowed due use of books. They should narrate in the first place, and they will compose, later readily enough; but they should not be taught ‘composition.’” –Charlotte Mason

Babies learn about what is good and bad in the world based on what their parents show them. Similarly, following the examples of others is important for writing. Copy work or dictation can be incredibly useful when done intentionally.

As they read good books, select passages for copy work that are exceptionally well-written. Point out the sentence structure or writing techniques that make those passages stand out. Great writers learn from other writers, so our kids should learn to write in the same way.

As your kids grow older, encourage them to find and select their favorite book quotes for inspiration.

 Examine the writing of authors your child admires. What is it about their style that draws you in? Ask questions to help your child identify what makes a certain passage so powerful to them. What emotion does it evoke, and why? How does the author use words and punctuation to create the desired effect? Encourage your child to experiment with words and punctuation in their own writing to achieve their desired effect.

Encourage them to save quotes, poems, or passages from books that they find inspiring. This practice will help them discover their own style of writing.

As kids read good books, use those books to teach grammar. Select passages and highlight the grammar and literary devices the author uses. Then, challenge your child to replicate those techniques in their own way. Ruth Culham said: “I am always on the hunt for mentor texts, and because I’m a reader and a writer, I find great stuff. I look at the world of print and nonprint through the eyes of a writing thief because I search for models of good writing that can inspire students to look at writing from a fresh perspective.”

>>> Try this:

Find quality sentences from family read alouds: As you read to your kids, look for passages that connect to literary or grammar techniques you are teaching them or want them to learn. 

Write sentence on chalkboard and perform these steps

1. Notice: ask the kids what they notice? 
2. Imitate: guide your kids to imitate the sentence.
3. Model then invite: do  it for them, then do it together, and then invite them to try it by themselves.

Examples of kids using mentoring texts 

As you point out beautiful writing examples, they will start finding it themselves and possibly use it in their own writing. For example, we have read many Dr Seuss books over the years and last year, my son was inspired to write his own Dr. Seuss style poem. After reading her beginner readers, my 7 year old decided she wanted to make her own beginner reader with her current word study words. As for my eleven year old, he loves reading non-fiction books about animals. For his writing project this past spring, he wrote about birds in the style of a bird guidebook.

Modeling 

Another important step for mentoring writing, is for you to model writing for your children. If you want them to learn how to write a letter, write one with them. Whatever you ask of them, demonstrate it yourself. It’s up to us to guide our kids by introducing good literature from an early age and by leading through example with our own writing. 

Writing Across Curriculum 

“Writing is a lot easier if you have something to say”
–Sholem Asch

The next stage of narration is written narration. Just like verbal narration, when kids write down what they learned, they are more likely to remember it. Students that write frequently about what they have learned are more likely to recall the information in the future.[4] This is often called writing to learn. In the Writing Revolution, they teach that writing should go hand in hand with each subject

“Writing isn’t merely a skill; it’s also a powerful teaching tool. When students write, they—and their teachers—figure out what they don’t understand and what further information they need…when students write about the content they’re studying, they learn to synthesize information and produce their own interpretations” 

Writing and narration is such a great way to make sure your kids are understanding all the subjects, history, geography, science, and even math. A great method to help teach your kids how to write across the curriculum is the Writing Revolution. The Writing Revolution, also known as the Hochman Method, is a method that teaches writing through a systematic approach by working on writing skills start at sentence level, moving to paragraphs and eventually full compositions. A key part is that the students are taught these skills by embedding it into their learning of all subjects. Here is a simple example. I want my kids to learn about the conjunctions, because, but and so and we are learning about the American Revolutionary war so I will give them these sentence stems:

• The revolutionary war started because…
• The revolutionary war started but..
• The revolutionary war start so…

They might respond like this:

• The revolutionary war started because King George put a big tax on the Americans tea
• The revolutionary war started but there were still Americans on the British side
• The revolutionary war started so people had to choose whose side they were on

This is one of the activities TWR recommends for integrating writing into daily learning. Just as mentor texts help teach writing principles, incorporating writing across subjects makes instruction more effective and balanced. While the book primarily focuses on opinion and informative writing rather than narrative and creative styles, many of its principles can still enhance creative writing. 

Create a question culture

“A question is the engine of writing”
–Barry Lane

Barry Lane, a teacher and writing author, describes two types of schools: an answer school and  a question school. The main difference between the two is their approach to learning. In a question school, teachers and students engaged in learning with students asking meaningful questions spontaneously. In contrast, in the answer school, the students were in rows and “they were trained to see school as a place to give answers, not a place to ask questions.”[2] He noted that in a question culture, “all questions are not created equal.” Some questions are more interesting and more important than others. But how do we foster a question culture in our homes?

“When students formulate questions, they’re developing higher-level cognitive functions while at the same time focusing on the main idea of the content that provides the basis of their question.”[3]

>> Try This:

• Model questions and then invite your kids to ask questions before learning a new subject
• Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How project: pick a subject and start answering all the W & H questions on note cards.
•  The Question Blitz: set a timer for 10-15 minutes (or shorter for younger kids) to come up with as many questions as they can about a chosen topic before the timer goes up
• Play “you can only ask questions or Jeopardy style” game: Pick a topic you’ve been studying and the kids need to tell their dad what they learned but only through a question.
• Use  a family notebook for questions only
• Use sticky notes for questions and post them on the wall

Write Every Day

“Our business is to provide children with material in their lessons, and leave the handling of such material to themselves…They should narrate in the first place, and they will compose, later, readily enough; but they should not be taught ‘composition.’” 
-Charlotte Mason

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot, and write a lot.”
–Stephen King

As your kids grow older, give them plenty of opportunities to write. You don’t need to create a strict writing routine or use a box curriculum—kids simply need chances to practice writing. Ms. Mason’s method allows children the freedom to experiment, create, and express themselves.

Writing can be a challenging subject for many kids, especially when it feels forced or uninspiring. Show your kids how fun writing can be, and make it enjoyable. Encourage them to share their writing with grandparents or friends when possible. You could even create a writing group where they can share their work with peers. Sharing their creations gives them a sense of ownership and motivates them to keep writing.

Another way to spark excitement about writing is by publishing a family magazine. I’ve created a family magazine these last two years, and it was a hit. I selected their best pieces and included any illustrations they had done. My kids loved seeing their work presented in a magazine-style format—it made their writing feel special and important.

Child led writing assignments

“When a piece of writing focuses on a writers genuine interest in a subject, great things happen”
-Barry Lane

However, when children make their own choices, they are more likely to enjoy the process and be more willing to write. You can still provide a rich selection of ideas and allow them to pick from them. As you work with them, they can feel a sense of autonomy while you guide them in their choices.

For example, I might want my kids to write about an ancestor. I can offer them some ideas to get started, but ultimately, they decide how to approach it. My son, who loves to bake, might choose to bake family recipes and write about the experience. My daughter, who enjoys sewing, might learn about her great-grandmother, who sewed her own wedding dress, and create a writing project about that.

The important thing is that they have a say in the matter rather than having it forced upon them. Writing should be enjoyable, not a required chore.

>>>Try this:

Simple ideas to get them writing every day:

• Make lists: Their favorite thing, what they’re grateful for, why they love (any holiday), etc.
• Make a little book: a short story, a pamphlet for their favorite park, a little informative book, etc. Cut blank paper in half then fold in half. For the cover, put a piece of colorful cardstock on the outside. Staple or sew down the middle. Alternatively, order a bunch of little books on Amazon
• Write in a journal
• Write a poem: Acrostic poems, pick a set of word ending and only use those at the end, haikus, copy a favorite poet (like Dr. Seuss is an easy one), etc.
•  Nature journaling
• Write a letter
•  Give them a jar of prompts (make them fun!)
• Prompts based on The Writing Revolution method
• Make a mini Homophone book (my son’s favorite, he has already made 3!)
• A simple book report with their own illustration
• Bake or cook a recipe from around the world then write about it!
• Who, What, Where, When and Why mini research project
• Explore different genres of writing

LINE UPON LINE

Scope and Sequence of Narration and Writing

Maybe make this into a chart? Change as you will, I just got this from Know and Tell the art of narration

Grades 1-3 build oral fluency through narration

Grades 4-6 – build writing fluency but continue oral narration

Grades 7-8 develop composition skills, achieve writing fluency, continue oral narration

Grades 10-12 – learn formal writing, refine composition skills, continue written narration, continue oral narration

RESOURCES

But How Do You Teach Writing by Barry Lane

The Writing Revolution

Games for Writing: Playful ways to help your child learn to write by Peggy Kaye

Writers Toolbox by Nancy Loewen: A living book on teaching kids the different genres of writing

Don’t Forget to Write for the Elementary Grades: geared towards school but has 50+ fun writing ideas to do with various ages of kids. 

The Writing Thief by Ruth Culham

[1] Bogart Julie, The Writing Jungle

[2] Lane Barry, But How Do You Teach Writing: A Simple Guide for All teachers pg 44-45

[3] Hochman JC, Wexler N. The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in all Subject and Grades. Jossey – Bass; 2017 pg. 36

[4] Hochman JC, Wexler N. The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in all Subject and Grades. Jossey – Bass; 2017. Pg 12

Charlotte Mason Language Arts Narration