Posted on 11/11/2015
Have you ever wondered why a child who can’t seem to remember anything about the Spanish Inquisition can repeat every word of a TV show theme song or tell you all the details of last night’s soccer game — or the upcoming tournament schedule? In addition to some of the general memory training information we discussed in Part 1, these tricks are sure to help you prepare your child for the next quiz, test, or trivia game — and have more time for fun and games instead of extra hours of ineffective studying!
Mnemonic Devices
The way our memories work, they are designed to connect new information to already-stored information. Our short-term memories can only process so much new information at once. Combining those things we know about our brains, the use of mnemonic devices can help us remember large amounts of information.
For instance, do you remember playing the game “I’m Going on Vacation”? Each person takes a turn saying something that they’re going to bring, and the next person has to remember all previous items and then add something to the list. It would be almost impossible to remember, except that the players utilize the mnemonic device of the alphabet. Since everyone already knows that the first item starts with “A,” the second item with “B,” etc., the list is far easier to remember as it expands through the alphabet. Then add that the players can look at the person and remember them saying the word, and you have a multi-sensory experience going on.
Since most lists your child will need to memorize won’t consist of 26 items neatly arranged in alphabetical order, like you can almost do with the United States Amendments, you can help by creating sentences or word pictures that help remind your child of the facts. For example, when memorizing the five kingdoms of living things, the sentence “A Party For Pirates & Monsters” can work as a reminder of the first letters of each Kingdom: Animalia, Plantae, Fungi, Protista, & Monera.”
Music & Movement
Music and movement are both powerful memory tools, especially for auditory and kinesthetic learners. (After all, how many of us still go through the alphabet song in our heads when we have to alphabetize something?) All you have to do is think of a familiar tune that fits with whatever you’re memorizing — like this song for the prepositions (view this YouTube video)! A simple search on YouTube for "preposition song motions" will give you several videos with movements for a couple versions of the song. Sign language letters (view this YouTube video) can give you an additional tool in your memory tool box to give just one more option when it comes to motions.
Excitement
At the end of the day, the reason a child who can remember TV theme songs and soccer details is because those things are important to him and have elicited excitement and the hormones that go with it. Dopamine can be released in the body anytime there’s pleasure — think of eating a good meal, playing outside, or simply being silly. So maybe it’s time to teach our kids to stop sitting still and to start moving around and have fun while they’re studying!
Continue with Part 3.
Read the Entire Series:
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