On Day 7 of IEW’s Twelve Days of Christmas Giving, the sweet sounds of verse fill the air as the focus turns to poetry. The Christmas season is a perfect time to enjoy poetry with your students and perhaps begin the habit of memorizing poems regularly. Be sure you are registered for the event to receive the email with links to the gifts and the free shipping code.
Why is it important for students to memorize language? Andrew Pudewa continually stresses the importance of memorizing poetry and important speeches in “building a large database in the brain of reliably correct and sophisticated language patterns.” In “Furnishing the Mind” (Episode 406), Andrew describes how the idea of furnishing the mind with beautiful and good things relates specifically to cultivating the skills of language arts. It was not that long ago that memorization was a foundational skill in American schoolhouses. Sharing this insight in his introduction to Linguistic Development through Poetry Memorization, Andrew penned the following:
Neurologically, memorization develops the brain in a way nothing else can. Neurons make connections through frequency, intensity, and duration of stimulation. When children memorize (and maintain the ability to recite) interesting poems, all three of these variables are involved in a powerful way, strengthening the network of neural connections that build the foundation of raw intelligence.
Your students probably will not know that, but they will likely find that memorizing poetry is a lot of fun! To support you in this endeavor, IEW has developed an app to organize and maximize your memory potential so that you can Learn by Heart™. On the podcast “Announcing Memory Mentor” (Episode 419), Andrew Pudewa and Julie Walker discuss details of this project that will help you furnish the mind with poetry, songs, math facts, and more. Andrew also shares his experiences with memorization and some of the reasons behind his passion for it. To learn more about Memory Mentor™, visit here.
As part of the Day 7 gifts, we are extending an invitation to participate in testing the beta version of Memory Mentor. Once you receive access to the app, you will also receive the first level of the poetry memorization course. All of the poems were carefully selected to appeal to students. Many are humorous, and all are syntactically correct. The meter and rhyme facilitate memorization, and as poem after poem is added to a student’s repertoire, so too is a resplendent supply of vocabulary, which remains accessible to the student, available to be drawn upon in both conversation and writing.
Additionally, we are delighted to share a video presentation of By Heart: The Goodness of Memory. Andrew Pudewa contemplates the import of memory for humans, the history and biology of memory, and memory’s impacts on the human experience. It’s a great way to enjoy a cold winter day!
P.S. Don’t forget to use the code for free standard domestic shipping on any online order from December 26–January 6.
