Teach your child strategies for boosting memory skills

Your child will do a lot of memorizing during middle school. Share these ideas for boosting her memory skills:

Help her determine what must be memorized word-for-word. Usually items to be remembered can be put into a list. Have her give the list a name such as “The First Thirteen Colonies.”
Make it fun. If she needs to remember the first 10 U.S. presidents, in order, for an upcoming quiz, help her use rhymes or word-association games.
For example, have her make up a sentence using the first letter of each president’s name for the first letter of each word in a sentence. For Washington, Adams, Jefferson, it might be: Washington ate jam.
Use pockets of time. Have her review at odd times. For example, help her make vocabulary flash cards. Then have her study them while you’re driving her to soccer practice or waiting at the dentist’s office.
Let her see it. Some kids are visual learners. Try having her draw a picture of what she’s studying. For example, have her draw portraits for the presidents. When she’s taking the test, she can recall her portraits.

Source: “Remembering,” Division of Student Affairs, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/remember.html.