Train up a child…

Ways to Help Children Memorize

There are many things that a child needs to memorize in order to be prepared mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually to deal with life. Some things are simply basic needs. For instance, every child needs to learn the multiplication tables, rules for English mechanics, Preamble to the Constitution, spelling, and several other things to be prepared mentally. Scripture verses need to be memorized to prepare spiritually. Health habits and nutrition facts need to be remembered for physical development, and rules of etiquette need to be memorized for social development.  Many may say, “Why memorize?  Information can be found on the Internet!”  These folks need to consider that decisions are made by what is in the head, not by what is on the Internet.

There are a few teaching techniques that can be used to help children remember. Even though there is no substitute for plain hard work, some things can be done to help.

• Writing things down is probably the best way to memorize. “Engage pen, engage mind” is a saying of a colleague of mine. A child’s mind tends to wander less when writing. Copying things over and over and then writing without looking at the item being copied, is one of the very best ways to learn. A friend of mine won a national teaching award when her Pueblo Indian class tested higher than the national average in English. She said, “Pat, I do one thing. Every morning in class, the children are required to copy something that is good for them to know. By doing so, they learn spelling, they learn about what they are copying, and they pick up habits of punctuation usage.”
• Making puzzles of scripture verses, short poems, or rules is helpful. Simply type the verse or rule on the computer in large print, print it out, cut it up, and have the children put it together. They have to think about the pieces as they put them together. Borders or art work can be added to make it more interesting.
• Printing the item and then covering up one or more words at a time, is a good way to help the child recall missing words. This becomes a game and works especially well with a group of children, although it will also work with only one child. Children keep reading and repeating the rule or verse over and over, each time remembering a different word or words that the teacher or parent has covered up.
• Arranging words in the right order is another way to memorize. Make one long strip with the verse or rule. Cut it apart word by word, and let the children put the words in the right order on the chalkboard tray or floor.
• Using different colors of pens, pencils, or paper helps.
• The use of acronyms, made up songs, or rhythm helps. For instance, H O M E can be used to remember the Great Lakes of Huron, Ontario, Michigan, and E Tapping on a desk the syllables of a word helps a child break the word down in parts. Knowing that each syllable must contain a vowel and learning to spell the word by syllables is easier than attacking the entire word at one time.
• Recent studies indicate that classical music played in the background while a child is studying may help with memorization.
• All learning is done better when broken in small chunks. Learning a little at a time is much easier than trying to learn a big passage.

We need to be creative as we help children. Ultimately, however, it is the child’s responsibility to learn. We are simply facilitators. This needs to be understood by all involved.