Narration-difficulty recalling- Highschool age

Hi I have been home-educating for over 24 years-using Konos and Charlotte Mason methods. In the past 7 years I have been educating other people’s children- mainly highschool age. I am finding that my present students have extreme difficulty recalling anything in Plutarch (Pericles) even if I break it down to two paragraphs. I have not had these problems with my own children. These students have come from both state and private school environments- not home-schooled. We have had some wonderfully rich days, but this inability to recall is hampering our progress. Should I avail myself of a plutarch for kids version? Should I read aloud to them and get them to narrate- by re-tell or write, or read aloud?

Would appreciate some ideas please, Karen