Memory TechniquesAcronyms, acrostics, charting, visual emphasis, visualization, association, word linking, story linking, rehearsal

Acrostics and Acronyms

Make a sentence› Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally(Parenthesis, Exponents, Multiply, Divide,

Addition, Subtraction)

PEMDAS

ROY G. BIV

Charting

Works well when you need to learn and compare characteristics.

Blooded Breathing

Reproduction

fish cold gills external

amphibians cold gills, lungs external

reptiles cold lungs external

birds warm lungs external

mammals warm lungs internal

Visual Emphasis

Highlight, circle, box, or color portions of information to emphasize the key parts or parts that are difficult for you to learn.

EX: Green plants combine WATER and CARBON DIOXIDE and ENERGY from sunlight TO MAKE FOOD.

Visualization of Textbook Pages

Close your eyes and form a picture of the textbook page in your mind.

Visualize the heading, bold face print, italics and general format of information to remind you of the sequence of ideas

Visualizing Vocabulary

Look at the word you are trying memorize

Is there a part that looks or sounds familiar to you?

What can you see when you think about this word?

Use that association to draw (or imagine) a silly picture

Then make your picture do something that directly relates to the meaning of the word

EX: Inclination (a liking or leaning toward) “inclined nation”

Using Association

When you need to memorize separate facts, find a way to associate them in a phrase, a sentence, a rhyme or a story

Hartford, Connecticut

Word Linking

Use word associations that link one idea to the next.

Inert elements on the Periodic Table: Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon, Radon

Big balloon(Helium) holding a wildly colored sign (Neon) next to the state of Oregon (Argon), next to Superman holding kryptonite (Krypton) while fueling at Exxon (Xenon), then the pump gets zapped by a huge red ray gun (Radon)

Story Linking

If the information you need to learn is just too long, don’t try to learn it all at once. Break up the information to be learned into smaller chunks and then link them together in a story.

To memorize the 1st ten presidents… When Washington cut down the cherry tree, he also cut his Adams apple. Blood gushed all over his son Jeff (Jefferson). Jeff was Mad (Madison)at the Money (Monroe) fixing another Adams apple would cost…. Etc.

Memorizing By Rehearsal

Just as an actor rehearses her lines for a play until she knows them well enough to perform, a student rehearses information for a test until she knows it well enough to perform.

Rehearse information to be remembers using your strongest learning style!

Auditory Learners

You remember it better when you hear it:› Repeat the information to be memorized

out loud› Use a tape recorder to listen later for

reinforcement

Visual Learners

Remember better what you see› Read the information› Visual associations› Drawing pictures

Kinesthetic Learner

You remember better when you can do something› Jot down brief notes› Outlining, mind-mapping or 2 column

notes› Drawing pictures› Use objects that symbolize the information

Combination Learners

Remember better by combining 2 or more of the strategies

Rehearse by choosing the combination of strategies that works best for you.

The content of the information will determine your strategies.