ASI: A Method for Planning Lessons

The lessons at ASI were all planned using Charlotte Mason's own techniques.  In Home Education, she describes her method of lesson planning:

"In every case the reading should be consecutive from a well-chosen book.  Before the reading for the day begins, the teacher should talk a little (and get the children to talk) about the last lesson, with a few words about what is to be read, in order that the children may be animated by expectation; but she should beware of explanation and, especially, of forestalling the narrative.  Then, she may read two or three pages, enough to include an episode; after that, let her call upon the children to narrate--in turns, if there be several of them.  They not only narrate with spirit and accuracy, but succeed in catching the style of their author.  It is not wise to tease them with corrections; they may begin with an endless chain of "ands," but they soon leave this off, and their narrations become good enough in style and composition to be put in a  "print book"!

This sort of narration lesson should not occupy more than a quarter of an hour.  The book should always be deeply interesting, and when the narration is over, there should be a little talk in which moral points are brought out, pictures shown to illustrate the lesson, or diagrams drawn on the blackboard.  As soon as children are able to read with ease and fluency, they read their own lesson, either aloud or silently, with a view to narration...

Let us consider each of the key points of Charlotte Mason's thoughts as delineated in this selection.

A well-chosen book

It is the task of the teacher to select the text.  Although we did not specifically discuss this idea, we were exposed to the selection of books that Ambleside has chosen and has deemed "well-chosen".  What I particularly noted was that it is not necessary for a book to be a historical novel in order to be a "living book". Several of the books fell into the category of textbook, but were written in a more engaging and interesting style than the standard fare.  So, for example, the history book was one written by Dorothy Mills, a non-fiction work that is a textbook but reads like an engaging documentary.  Similarly, the science text was a volume that had different authors write on their respective areas of expertise.  

When choosing a text, whether fiction or non-fiction, one might ask themselves, "Is this true or true-to-life?  That is, is the information contained in it correct? Does it illustrate the consequences of moral choices and action in a way that reflects accurately the ultimate consequences of our choices?  Is good eventually rewarded or shown to be noble and worthy?  Is evil shown to lead to misery and unhappiness?  Is it good or noble? Will it help the student learn why and how to choose the good and noble? Is it beautiful?  Beautifully written? Does it cause the student to appreciate beauty or wonder at the works of our great Creator?

Having chosen the books, then the instructor must plan how the students will engage with them.


Thinking about focusing on habits

First of all, each lesson will focus on one habit or area of character growth.  Paying attention, listening respectfully, taking turns are all general habits that need constant work to develop.  You might also want to focus on more specific habits--using the author's own words in narrations, getting letters to sit on the line, observing punctuation marks.  Tell the student what you are focusing on at the start of the lesson:  "Today, let's be careful to write our letters so that they sit on the line."  At the end of the lesson, return to this point:  "Look over your writing to see if your letters are sitting on the line."


Once you know what habits you will focus on, you can begin to plan.  Their--sheesh!  THERE--- are five main parts to every lesson.  

1.  The First Little Talk

"...the teacher should talk a little (and get the children to talk) about the last lesson, with a few words about what is to be read, in order that the children may be animated by expectation; but she should beware of explanation and, especially, of forestalling the narrative."

     The first little talk is a very short introduction to the day's material. Begin with a brief review of the previous day's material.  Then, you may introduce the current day's work by identifying locations on a map or briefly explaining new vocabulary words and unfamiliar ideas. During this time, the teacher can also provide a structure to help the student(s) mentally organize the material they are about to read, if that would be helpful.  For example, if a science text will be discussing four main parts of a tree, you could write on a board the title "Main Parts of a Tree" and follow it with four bullet points.  Tell the student(s) that he will be reading about the four parts of a tree and should pay particular attention to what they are. Later, during the final discussion, you can fill in the bullet points.  

For a lesson on Joshua, Chapter 2, I had the students turn to a historical map of the Middle East.  We located Jericho, Abel-Shittim, and the Plains of Moab.  Our map was a topographical map, so we also noted that Jericho lies at the base of a very hilly area.  Our vocabulary words included harlot (which I simply defined as a wicked woman, and left it at that!), lodged, and flax. I briefly explained that flax was a kind of grain, similar to wheat, that was used to make linen cloth.  I also explained that homes in the ancient Near East had flat roofs.  The entire introduction took about 5 minutes, including getting out the maps, finding the page we needed, and putting them away.

The hardest part of this first point is keeping it short.  You are not trying to instruct the child in everything you know about the topic.  You just want to shed a bit of light on anything in the text that might be confusing or unfamiliar, and you want to orient the student(s) and connect the new material with what has gone before it.  It is REALLY EASY to let this take over the time you have for engagement with the text.  I am having to be very vigilant so that doesn't happen. 

2.  Reading the text

"Then, she may read two or three pages, enough to include an episode;...  As soon as children are able to read with ease and fluency, they read their own lesson, either aloud or silently, with a view to narration..."

Or observe the picture, listen to the musical piece, study the leaf,  etc.  The next step is to find out what the author/artist/Creator is communicating through the "text".  We want to encourage attention to the actual content of the text.   If narration is new to you, only read a short selection before narrating.  Half a page at most, or even a paragraph or a section of a paragraph (if the material is very dense, such as might happen in a history or science book) would allow a student unfamiliar to narration to be successful.  If you are reading a story or historical novel, try to separate the readings at natural points if you can, such as the end of one incident or the end of one major part of an incident.  You want the breaks to make a bit of sense.

Note that older students should be reading the text aloud or silently to themselves.  It is good to use both techniques.  The oral reading periods are excellent opportunities to assess reading, to coach the student in clear reading and in observing punctuation marks, and to encourage dramatic reading when fictional works are being studied.

We are doing a lot of oral reading right now.  The children take turns reading a section, then we narrate that section.  Occasionally, I read a section to demonstrate good reading skills.  As one child reads aloud, the others follow along in their own books.

Two techniques to help readers who are having difficulty:

--echo reading:  teacher reads, student echos
--choral reading:  everyone reads aloud together, or teacher and student read aloud together


3.  Narrating the text

"...after that, let her call upon the children to narrate--in turns, if there be several of them.  They not only narrate with spirit and accuracy, but succeed in catching the style of their author.  It is not wise to tease them with corrections; they may begin with an endless chain of "ands," but they soon leave this off, and their narrations become good enough in style and composition to be put in a  "print book"!"

Narration is the retelling of the material or ideas that the author presented.  In narration, we are learning to listen to others and respect them.  We are not trying to correct the author or debate with the author.  We are not expressing our own opinions about whatever the author is communicating.  We are just trying to hear and repeat what the author is, in fact, trying to say.  It helps me to think of St. Thomas Aquinas and how he always stated his opponent's point of view before he gave a response to it.  So it is with narration.  We want the student to tell as much as possible about what the author actually said. 

After the text is read, narration can begin with a question or statement.  The question should be open, not a yes or no question.  However, with younger narrators, you may ask a question about part of the text to help them focus their minds.  So, rather than a general, "Tell me what you remember," you might want to try a more specific prompt, such as, "Tell me what you remember about the attack of the Huns on the Visigoths." or "What caused the Huns to attack the Goths?"   To get a reluctant narrator started, it can be helpful to read the opening sentence of the section you just read.  Also, you can choose a sentence in the middle of the selection, and ask them to tell you about that.  

Multiple children can all narrate the same text.  Each one might give a full narration, or they might just add a few points to someone else's narration.  Either is fine.  I have told my children that it is OK for them to give a complete narration, even if their sibling already did so, because each person has a different idea about what they have read and how to tell about it.  This seems to make perfect sense to them.  It is interesting to hear how each individual approaches the task of narrating the same material.

Narration might be written, oral, bullet points, drawn, told to a partner, or silently to oneself. I know some like the idea of narrating into a recording device, but I think narration is an exchange of ideas that requires persons for its effectiveness (even if the person "listening" is just ourselves or if it is someone who will later read our work).  It seems to me that there is too much "distance" between the narrator and the listener with recording devices.  Another post for another day....

4.  Second Little Talk (idea)

"The book should always be deeply interesting, and when the narration is over, there should be a little talk in which moral points are brought out, pictures shown to illustrate the lesson, or diagrams drawn on the blackboard. "

At Ambleside, the second talk focuses on an "inspiring idea".  This is the time during the lesson that children have a chance to think and discuss the deeper ideas present in the material, or to organize the material in helpful ways.  Usually, this talk will begin with a good discussion-starter question.  The question should be one that really draws the students to ponder, as often as possible.  So, when reading and narrating a Bible story, one can ask, "What does this tell us about God?  About people?" In history, one might query, "What factors brought the Middle Ages to a close?" or "What do you learn from this passage about the character of {whomever}?"
In The Door in the Wall,  an episode relates how Brother Luke, a monk, comes to care for the main character, Robin, a crippled boy.  The second talk question I used for that reading was, "What do you learn about compassion from the way Brother Luke treated Robin?"  It is amazing to listen to the  profound thoughts the children express.
 

5.  A word on lesson length

Although Charlotte Mason recommends only quarter hour lessons in Home Education, it is well to remember that that volume dealt with younger children (under 9).  As children mature, they are able to attend for longer periods of time.  In the Ambleside schedules, the fifth grade students have some subjects that last 30 or 45 minutes.  So, I have scheduled 35 minutes for Literature, Science, History, and Math.  Truthfully, I find 15 minutes to be way too short for some of these subjects as the children mature.  Other subjects remain short and sweet--Poetry, Latin, Composer and Picture Study, Memory Work, Copywork, Dictation, etc.  

 

Masterly Inactivity

Not exactly "masterly"

One concept of Charlotte Mason's that I never felt I really understood until the Summer Institute is the idea of "masterly inactivity".  Having gone over the ideas of her teaching philosophy, I now have a better understanding of masterly inactivity. At least, I think I do!

What it isn't:
--failing to preparing lessons
--being lax in directing student learning
--waiting for your children to "grow out" of bad behaviors
--sitting elsewhere while children do their work

What it is:
--preparing and directing learning times
--not imposing my ideas on the student, not "downloading"
   information
--not using approval or criticism as means of coercion
--allowing silence and time for thought
--being your child's ally in developing good habits
--allowing the child to develop a relationship with the text

So, let's consider each point separately.

1.  Preparing and directing learning times

Charlotte Mason had  a distinct method for structuring lessons . I plan on doing a whole post on that, but for now I want to note that every lesson is prepared in advance in order to facilitate learning and allow the student to more fruitfully interact with the text (whatever kind of text).  The teacher retains full authority in choosing the material and structuring the lesson.


2.  Not imposing my ideas on the student

Here is a challenge!  ASI emphasized the idea that the teacher does not express his/her own opinions and thoughts on the material of the text.  It matters not whether the teacher likes or doesn't like the material, the students' ability to develop their OWN relationship with the text is affected if the teacher's opinion is stated.  The teacher is to guide the student in engaging the text directly and get out of the way of that process.  So, in narration, the teacher does not ask leading questions to produce a certain answer, but rather asks open questions or gives direct commands. 

 For example, after reading a paragraph in one of the Little House books which describes Laura's home, an acceptable directive from the instructor might be: "Describe the cabin Laura lived in.  Use the author's words."  Or, that could be phrased as a question: "What did Laura's home look like?  Use Laura's own words to describe it."  An example of NOT using masterly inactivity in this case would be: "I love this description of Laura's cabin." This is imposing your own opinion.  "Do you think it would be nice to live there?"  This is a "closed" question, answerable only with a yes or no.  Also, it  might be leading the student to think they ought to want to live there.  "What is your favorite part of this description?" Now you are encouraging the child to analyze based on their own opinion and not to directly engage what the author is actually saying.  This falls over into the child-directed teaching philosophy described in an earlier post.


3. Not using approval or criticism as a means of coercion

When the child gives a narration or expresses an thought, do not either approve of it, as in, "Good job!" or other such comments, or disapprove of it, as in, "That's wrong," kind of statements.  In the first case, using approval produces a student who is learning in order to gain your love and not in order to engage the text.  Secondly, for a student this encourages pride and instills the idea that performance is more important than actually learning.  Therefore, Ambleside uses no grades at all.  As we all did our practice teaching, we found this to be the hardest habit to overcome.  We all had a kind of reflexive "praise" habit... good job! very good! well done! etc., came flying out of our mouths pretty easily!  The teacher really does not need to comment on the students' narrations.  The toughest idea for me to accept was that "Thank you" also is not a wise way to respond to a narration, as it conveys the notion that the student is doing something for the teacher, when he is really doing something for himself...that is, faithfully narrating.  So, silence or a pleasant nod can be used.  Also, you can say, "Would you like to add anything else?", even after a thorough narration.  

Withholding criticism is a little easier for me, but I struggled with the idea of withholding direct correction.  However, as we will discuss later, the correction can come directly from referring back to the text: "What does the text say about that?"  Also, if you have more than one narrator, the other narrator(s) might give correction.  Sometimes someone would say, "Well, I don't agree with that," or, " I didn't get that out of the text," and then we'd go back to the text and check and clarify.

4. Being your child's ally in developing good habits

Masterly inactivity does not mean ignoring poor habits and behaviors.  As I understand it, in this case it means setting a standard of behavior and then holding the child to this standard in a firm fashion.  I don't say "firm yet loving", because you are being loving when you help your child develop good habits.  Charlotte Mason portrays the mother as being the ally of the child.  For example, a child is doing sloppy work as a result of laziness and a desire to just "get it done" in a hurry.   The mother sets a specific standard: "Johnny, I see your letters are not sitting on the line.  When you write the next line, pay careful attention to making your letters sit on the line.  If I see you writing too fast, I will help you remember to be careful by reminding you to slow down."  In this example, the mother has allied herself with the child as his/her aide in accomplishing the goal.  It is not mother vs. child, but mother with child working toward developing a good habit.  It is masterly in its wisdom  and in the parent setting the standard and holding the child to it.  It is "inactivity" in the broader sense that the parent is not doing FOR the child that which the child is capable of doing for himself,  but rather the child is responsible for working to develop his own good habit with the aide and support of the parent.

  5.  Allowing silence and time for thought

One thing that really struck me was the peaceful and calm aura during the narration/class times.  I think that was produced by two factors.  The first was the absence of praise or criticism, which relieved any performance pressure.  The second was quite a bit of silent time for thought and reflection.  The instructors allowed time for the students to think and did not pressure them into response.  They did call upon students directly.  If the student didn't come up with any response after a period of silence, the instructor had a few techniques to sort of "prime the pump", including reading a sentence from the text as a sort of starter.  The point I want to emphasize here, however, is the value of silence and patience.  Allowing those times of silence really creates calm if the teacher is remaining calm himself.

5. Allowing the child to develop a relationship with the text

Masterly inactivity produces the "space" for  children to develop their own relationship with the text.  They are not influenced by the teacher's opinions, or concerned about her approval or disapproval.  They have time to think and reflect.  In the event of confusion, they are directed back to the text itself.  The teacher does not position herself between the text and the student as the interpreter of the text.  The next post on narration will develop these ideas a bit more and give a few more specifics on narration techniques used at ASI.

I do want to apologize for not having enough time right now to find and copy a lot of direct quotes from Charlotte Mason herself.  Maybe if you know of pertinent quotes, you could include them in the comments.  I do want to get these posts up and I'm trying to get ready to start up our own school year on Monday, so my time is very constrained right now.  As the year goes on and I am reading CM, I may add on some quotes to each of these posts.