Reading The Odyssey

So this is just a quick snapshot, literally. We've been reading the Fitzgerald translation of The Odyssey, using my annotation method of focusing on what you understand in a text in order to provide an entry point for comprehension.

This is a few pages of annotations from a student who has consistently told me that she doesn't understand anything. However, by continually asking her to read a little, stop, and summarize what she does know, this student has been able to complete readings far above those that she felt comfortable with previously. I don't claim to know how this works, but I can suggest that lowering the amount of info a student has to hold in their short term memory seems to make acquisition of new content easier.

The passage was from Book XXIII, where Penelope is testing Odysseus by talking about his bed.