My son, in 10th grade, was tested as dx w/ mild lds (dysgraphia, for one) in the third grade. Since then he has done much better than anyone predicted and is currently thriving in a private school for gifted kids. Difficulties, however, still occasionally rear their head, the most recent being an English teacher who insists students memorize long speeches from Hamlet, John Donne poems, etc. No matter how much my son attempts to do this, by reading/writing/speaking the passage over repeatedly, or listening to it for hours, he still has very marginal success, at best.
Any ideas/techniques that might help? He is becoming increasingly frustrated and upset.
Thank you!
Re: Memorizing Shakespeare
Another thing you might want to have him do, besides what Angela has suggested, is have him walk around or “act” with it. When I was in college I had to memorize a lot of long poetry and it was very difficult for me. I found sometimes that moving and walking around a room seemed to help. Also, concentrating on chunks at a time. And even having “fun” with the poem (saying it in different voices…etc…).
You also might try incorportating some type of mneumonics (like silly picture cues on a flash card that you and your son can come up with and then draw out). I use a lot of visuals and mneumonics (I think that’s how it’s spelled?) with my son. He has some memory issues and visual picures make a HUGE difference for him.
If he still has difficulty regardless of what you do, talk with the teacher and find out if there is a way he can start out with shorter poems and passages and then work up to longer ones. That would help him feel more confident and successful. Good luck!
Re: Memorizing Shakespeare
mnemonics.
pneu would be air or your lungs and all that; according to the web dictionary, “[Greek mnçmonikos, from mnçmôn, mnçmon-, mindful.]
It’s the only word in my international dictionary that starts with mn :-)
I used this method to help my students learn the preamble to constitution and it might give you an idea of how your could adapt it for your son’s literature passages. Use index cards or the like as flash cards. Put a phrase or managable chunk on each numbered card. Study those reading the whole passage. Then flip the card over and just put the first word or two of the passage. The few words become a prompt for what follows and he can peek at the back when he needs to. Eventually you can just go to numbers or even pieces of felt to prompt the next line. Perhaps a teacher would even allow the cards as a way to prompt himself, like a cue card. Hope this is understandable. Not my invention, but I think an adaptation of Visualizing and Verbalizing by Lindamood-Bell.