Five Ways to Keep Track of Homeschool History Narrations

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Homeschool history narrations are very beneficial for reading comprehension in all of the grades. Homeschoolers’ need to keep reading comprehension at the top of their curriculum goals because it is a vital part of reading. In our homeschool narrations are a part of our morning read aloud time. Each day we start with morning time. Our morning time consists of Scripture memory, one chapter out of our current read aloud book, narration and Bible curriculum. Morning time for us takes 30-45 minutes each day, and it is one of my non-negotiables in the schedule.

Narrations let me know two things; first if they were listening to what I read during read aloud time. Second it lets me know their recall and memory of what we read. Of course, they do much better than I do, which has led me to believe I need to work on my recall and comprehension. Becoming an auditory learner is possible, and retelling a story helps to become better at this part of learning. Here are five ways to keep track of oral history narrations for a future portfolio:

Keep a Narration Log

Logging in the narration is a great way to keep track of them. Adding daily narrations to a log keeps it all in one place and easy to locate. Add the date, history topic, the book used, and a few brief notes about the narration. This can all be easily done daily after morning time in a log. Add a notes section to a spreadsheet and the log can be used in excel, google sheets or any other digital form preferred.

Use a Simple Rubric for Homeschool History Narrations

This isn’t meant to be a grading system, but more of a way to set goals. When we first started with narrations I don’t think they lasted up to 10 seconds. As we have improved over the years’ our daily narrations are up to 2 minutes each now. My next goal this coming year is to add more vivid details and description.

A simple rubric will help with recall of facts, organizing events and will improve speaking confidence. The rubric can be from 1-5 with 5 being the most improved or vice versa. Adding the rubric at the end of the year to the portfolio for each homeschooler will not only show them how they have improved but will be an easy way for colleges’ or trade schools to view their portfolio.

Record Video or Audio Narrations

Occasionally step out of the written narrations and try to record them. They are really fun to revisit as they get older. Also, they like to see where they were, versus where they are now. It is a fun experience for a homeschool mom to view her homeschoolers growth with oral narrations.

Audio files are good for an electronic portfolio. Honestly we haven’t tried these a lot, but may add them this year. I imagine they are pretty easy with voice memo apps on the phone, tablet or a computer. There are so many ways to incorporate technology now that there may be another way that I don’t know about. Try out different ways to do oral narrations so that homeschoolers’ aren’t having to always write them out. Journaling apps are also a good idea, and will allow for homeschool moms to track progress.

Write Short Homeschool History Narration Summaries

Now I know that I said to give them a break from writing, but writing isn’t horrible. They need the penmanship. Boys’ especially need to write everyday. Start out with a sentence or two at any age and see where they end up by the end of the year. Handwriting shouldn’t be lost like our dial telephones from the 80’s.

Each month add to a narration and dig into in more thoroughly. Another good idea may be to set aside goal for a larger book, and as they add to the narrations and work through the chapters they increase the amount of words in the narration. By the end of the book the narration will be very detailed and interesting.

Admittedly we are more eclectic homeschoolers but lean more towards Charlotte Mason. I enjoy the Charlotte Mason style of teaching with narration focus and it works well for my all boy home.