How To Improve A Child's Memory

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Parents of pupils often turn to the doctors of the children's polyclinic of the Literary Fund with the question: is it possible to develop a child's memory and what needs to be done for this?

First of all, remember: memory lends itself to training and development

First, you should identify the strengths and weaknesses of memory. Some people better remember the material that they see with their own eyes (visual type of memory), others better assimilate what they have heard (auditory type of memory), others learn the material well if they make notes (motor type of memory), the fourth - separate types of memory are combined and form visual-auditory, visual-motor and other options. These are the most common types of memory.

Usually, each person of many types of memory has one or two more developed, the rest are weaker.

To master the material well, it is necessary first of all to develop the skills of correct and systematic work. Before starting classes, you need to review everything that was done the previous time. This will allow you to focus attention and restore in memory the already existing knowledge on the subject. In addition, this will help to better remember both the old and the new, deepen the understanding of both, since it establishes connections between the new and the old, which is not only a mandatory, but also the main condition for a deep study of the material. The more detailed the studied is associated with the previously known, the more firmly it is retained in memory and the faster it is recalled when required.

A fairly common reason for poor memorization is the incorrect assimilation of homework material. Many schoolchildren re-read the text many times until it seems that they already know everything, and the next day, answering the lesson, they are annoyed that they remember the material very poorly. The result is a low score.

It is better to alternate the perception of what you have read with recall - you have read it for the first time, you have not yet remembered everything, but close the book and try to retell what you have read as best you can. When nothing else comes to mind, look back at the book. After reading, try again to retell the text more fully, and so on until you begin to retell what you read well.

To remember the material for a long time, it is necessary first of all to find in it the so-called support points (basic definitions, leading formulations that will be the first to come to mind. Some parts of the text with an emotional connotation can also serve as support points - a successful comparison, an original thought, an interesting image.

A more solid memorization is also helped by the child's independent drawing up of all kinds of diagrams, tables, drawings, plans

Of the simplest methods of training memory, the following can be recommended. You need to take some work of art and systematically memorize individual small parts of it. This should be done meaningfully, thoughtfully, not mechanically repeating the material, but constantly striving to see the inner connection of one passage with another. For this purpose, it is recommended to choose, for example, some work by A. S. Pushkin and begin to study it according to this method, that is, in parts, with systematic repetition. After 1-2 months, as a rule, there is an unconditional improvement in memory. The most important technique for improving memorization is unloading memory through the use of so-called external memory - notebooks, diaries, weeklies, cards, tables, diagrams.

Another method is the minimization method, i.e., abbreviations. In one case, the reduction can be achieved by editing, in the other, a literary technique can be applied, that is, the recording of textual material according to the first letters of the statement that must be remembered.

The examples given make it easier to memorize in the main. Meanwhile, great difficulties in children often arise with recollection. To train this property of memory, you can use a technique - memory reverse sweep. The events of the past day are recalled in full detail, only in reverse order.

General rules to facilitate memorization

• Material that does not need to be disassembled by meaning, but you just need to learn by heart (words of a foreign language, chronological dates, lists of exceptions in Russian), it is better to memorize if possible in the evening, before going to bed.
• Material on any subject cannot be simply re-read over and over again, retelling or listening to someone else's retelling. After each reading or listening, you should try to remember everything you can. Then read (listen) again and recall again, and so on until complete playback.
• The educational material should be divided into two parts, the most important and not the most important. If a textbook has emphasis on it, it kind of tells what is important and what is not so important.
• To assimilate the material, you need to read it, for example, 6 times, but you should not do it in a row; it is better to read first 2 times, after a while - 2 more times, then 2 more times, i.e. no need to strive to learn everything at once, in one sitting. It is more expedient to distribute repetitions, if not for several days, then at least for 2 days.
• In all subjects, except mathematics, physics, chemistry, it is very important to read large portions of material fluently.
• It is very important to be able to divide the educational material depending on the degree to which the student is familiar with it. The best way to self-control in this case is to come up with your own example or problem for this material.
• It is never too late to develop memory, abilities, learn how to properly organize your work, strengthen your health and thereby increase your opportunities for fruitful work.