Mnemonics
My students are currentlly memorizing the endings to the first three declensions. The sine qua non for memorization, as they have figured out over the past two weeks, is repetition. Writing the paradigms out (or reciting them aloud), ad nauseum, until they stick can be boring and frustrating, but it can hardly help being effective.
"But I've tried those methods, and neither of them worked for me!" If you find the the usual methods of constant repetition insufficient, then you need the extra support of mnemonic devices - anything you associate with the material you're trying to memorize in order to make it easier. An example will help:
Some of my students were having a hard time remembering the names of the six cases in order: Nominative, Genitive, Dative, Accusative, Ablative, Vocative. One student, however, figured out a way to remember their order: he took the first letter of each case and made a sentence out of words that start with the same letters: "Never Go Down An Active Volcano." Now, when he needs to remember the order of the cases, he thinks of that otherwise-silly sentence, and he can remember - for example - that the third case is the one that starts with "D," i.e. Dative. [Note that this particular mnemonic will not help you remember whether Accusative or Ablative comes first, since both start with A.] As a rule, the sillier and stranger the mnemonic device, the better.
Among the various types of mnemonics, the most popular is music. For example, many people learn to memorize the alphabet by singing it to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." (I bet that tune will be stuck in your head now.) Setting the Latin declensions to music is a very popular way to memorize them.
For example, see this YouTube video:
Or, if you prefer more contemporary music, watch this "First Declension Rap Video":
Extra Credit Assignment
The Assignment: Make a mnemonic song to remember any of the declension endings we have learned in class so far. (Watch the two YouTube videos mentioned above to get some idea of what I expect from you.) Your song will be shown to both Latin I classes.
The Rules:
1. You may make up your own music, or you may set the words to an already-existing song. (If you borrow some already-existing music, you must give credit to the original artist.)
2. Your song must cover at least one full declension (it may cover more than one, if you like).
3. Your song must be appropriate for class. (If you're not sure whether or not something is appropriate, odds are, it's not.)
For Example: If you wanted to set the First Declension Endings to Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" (and at least one student has already expressed interest in doing so), you should mention her name and the name of her song somwhere in your video; you should not re-enact her original music video.
How to Submit your Assignment: There are three options for submitting this assignment.
1. (Preferred) Make a YouTube video of your song. Comment on this post with the link to your video.
2. If you are uncomfortable posting a video of yourself online, that's no problem. Make a video of your song, save it to a flash-drive, and bring it in. I will then play your song in class directly from the flash-drive.
3. If you are unable to make a video, then you will be asked to perform your song in front of your classmates. I do not recommend this option.
Value of the Assignment:
This extra-credit assignment will count as TWO QUIZ GRADES of 100% each. (I recognize that this is higher than I originally said in class.) This is a great opportunity not only to boost your quiz average but also to help your classmates remember some important material forever. I encourage every one of you to give it a try.
The Rules:
1. You may make up your own music, or you may set the words to an already-existing song. (If you borrow some already-existing music, you must give credit to the original artist.)
2. Your song must cover at least one full declension (it may cover more than one, if you like).
3. Your song must be appropriate for class. (If you're not sure whether or not something is appropriate, odds are, it's not.)
For Example: If you wanted to set the First Declension Endings to Miley Cyrus's "Wrecking Ball" (and at least one student has already expressed interest in doing so), you should mention her name and the name of her song somwhere in your video; you should not re-enact her original music video.
How to Submit your Assignment: There are three options for submitting this assignment.
1. (Preferred) Make a YouTube video of your song. Comment on this post with the link to your video.
2. If you are uncomfortable posting a video of yourself online, that's no problem. Make a video of your song, save it to a flash-drive, and bring it in. I will then play your song in class directly from the flash-drive.
3. If you are unable to make a video, then you will be asked to perform your song in front of your classmates. I do not recommend this option.
Value of the Assignment:
This extra-credit assignment will count as TWO QUIZ GRADES of 100% each. (I recognize that this is higher than I originally said in class.) This is a great opportunity not only to boost your quiz average but also to help your classmates remember some important material forever. I encourage every one of you to give it a try.
