Itâs amazing what you can learn from the past.
In the late 1890s, a British teacher introduced a simple idea that would change the way millions of educators teach today - over a 100 years later.
Her name was Charlotte Mason, and hundreds of scientific papers and best-selling books support one of her most salient ideas - though they rarely give her credit.
The idea? Narration (or as modern scientists call it retrieval practice).
Narration is having a child retell what theyâve learned in their own words. Simple right? But science show that this strategy is surprisingly effective.
One study found that this simple technique helped an 8th-grade class raise their final grades from 79% (C) to 92% (A). The graph below shows how narration (called "Retrieval Practice" here) makes learning stickyânot just right after reading, but all semester long.
Why does this work?
When you read, you use your working (short-term) memory. You store only what is necessary to understand. Immediately after, you retain most (but not all) of what you read. But you forget it quickly - very quickly. After 24 hours, you remember only 30%, after a week only 10%.
BUT, if you ask your brain to âretrieveâ or ârecallâ what you just learned, you tell it what you learned is worth remembering. The best part? The brain decides itâs not just important that day, but for a while! When we use retrieval practice or recall, kids retain nearly 80% of the knowledge weeks or even months later!
All this is great, but these studies were done in classrooms with quizzes. I promised you I could make history stick WITHOUT tests!
We can get the same results as retrieval practice, but in a far more beautiful and elegant way by looking to Charlotte Masonâs wisdom.
Charlotte Masonâs approach didnât involve testing. Instead, it encouraged children to tell their own version of what they learnedâin their own words.
Charlotteâs narration doesnât just strengthen memory, it deepens understanding and empowers kids to become clear, confident communicators.
I started using narration in my learning club and it has been remarkable. Our 6-10 year olds went from barely remembering what happened, to squealing in delight during our trivia games.
Because when kids own what theyâve learned, they remember for life.
At this point, the question you should be asking isâŚ..
Where do I start?
Hereâs the thing. History isn't just about remembering dates. Itâs the story of humanity. It provides a rich, fertile landscape from which we can teach our children about what it means to be human.
If we push too hard, that beautiful story will collapse into frustration.
Narration should be a joyful and celebrated expression of the past!
In todayâs post, youâll discover
Evidence-based strategies to boost your childâs memory (Spoiler: itâs not just about retelling a story)
5 joyful, creative ways to weave narration into your history lessonsâno tests, no tears, just playful learning your kids will ask to do again.
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