Yesterday I shared a technique that I use and advocate for helping ADD Students remember what they’ve read when reading textbooks. Unfortunately, the technique cannot be used with novels because they are structured differently than textbooks.
There are, however, several ways to help your ADD Student retain and understand more of what they have read when reading a novel for class.
As I mentioned yesterday, this problem of not remembering what you’ve just read is a short term memory problem, not a reading problem. Yesterday’s technique involved the use of repetition to aid in memory recall.
While reading and re-reading the same page over and over can be an effective way of remembering, it’s a slow and boring process. Instead, I suggest you use resources other than just the book to help your ADD Student understand and relate to what they are reading. The real intent in reading and teaching literary works is to understand the author’s message.
There are a number of things that you can use to supplement reading. Here’s a list:
Movies and books on tape. Both movies and audio books add an additional sensory experience to reading. In learning, the more senses you can involve in the process, the more likely you are to remember it. Movies especially can aid in understanding the theme and the characters in the book. If your child is reading a classic, be sure to look for more than one version of the movie. And don’t forget that many of Shakespeare’s works have been translated into modern day movies, including Romeo and Juliet, The Taming of the Shrew and Othello.
Websites. I would be surprised if your child were reading a book in school that does not have some information about it online. There are numerous sites dedicated to Jane Austen, for instance, that can offer all sorts of insight into the author’s works. Modern day authors may even have their own website. And don’t forget to check the book itself or the publisher’s website for more information.
Sparknotes. Sparknotes is an incredible resource for any student. The site was originally started by a group of Harvard students and has expanded greatly since then. The site has a wealth of information, including study guides for the most commonly assigned books, study guides for other subjects, flash cards, quizzes and more. This site deserves to be bookmarked!
Encourage your ADD Student to explore these resources as a means of increasing their understanding of any subject matter, including novels.