CHAPTER THREE: REMEMBERING WHAT YOU READ
Memories are the
key not to the past, but to the future.
C. Boom
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Chapter Outline (for transparency) . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter Summary (for transparency) . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Chapter Opener . . .
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Supplemental Exercises
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Supplemental Vocabulary Quiz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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OUTLINE
Chapter 3:
REMEMBERING WHAT YOU READ
I.
Chapter
Objectives and Vocabulary
II.
Memory Survey
·
What is Memory?
·
Sensory Memory
·
Attention
·
Intention
·
Short-Term Memory
·
Chunking
·
Rehearsal
·
Long-Term Memory
·
Organizing Information
·
Master Difficult Vocabulary
·
Create a Memory Matrix
·
Connect New Information with What You Already Know
·
Note Comparisons
·
Go Beyond Textbook Information
·
Review
·
Teach It!
III.
Common Reasons
Students Forget What They Read
·
Attention
·
Don't Understand the Information
·
Poor Organization of Newly Learned Information
IV.
Strategies for
Recalling Information - Mnemonics
V.
Test Taking and
Memory
VI.
Practice Reading
Passages
VII.
Summary
VIII.
Post Test
SUMMARY
Chapter 3:
REMEMBERING WHAT YOU READ
Memory
is
the process of storing and retrieving information. There are three primary stages in the memory
process: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Knowing about these
stages and purposely applying memory strategies during each stage will help you
to remember what you read.
Sensory Memory
·
Pay close attention and use all of your senses.
Short-Term
Memory
·
Organize information in meaningful ways. Use the memory
technique, chunking. Chunking
reduces the number of isolated items that you have to remember.
Long-Term Memory
Use the following strategies to store
information in your long-term memory:
·
Organize newly learned information.
·
Master difficult vocabulary.
·
Create a memory matrix.
·
Connect new information with information you already know.
·
Note similarities
·
Research new information.
·
Review what you have learned on a regular basis.
·
Teach new information.
·
Use mnemonics to help you remember material.
·
Master difficult vocabulary.
The single most important aspect of memory: understanding what you
are trying to remember.
CHAPTER OPENER: KEYS TO MEMORY
Goal
To teach students that to remember new information
effectively, material has to be organized and related to something they already
know. (This exercise demonstrates the concept of chunking that is discussed in detail in the chapter.)
dIRECTIONS
Copy the THREE pages following these directions onto
transparencies, or a disk (pages 45-47). Introduce the exercise by explaining that Chapter Three addresses memory and demonstrates how
memory, learning, and reading are linked.
Show them the first overhead. It's important that you give them no
more than 30 seconds to view it and provide no learning prompts. After 30
seconds, ask them to recall all the letters they are able to remember. (There
are a total of 40.)
Next, show them the second overhead. Again, only allow them 30
seconds to view it and ask them to recall as many letters as they can. Chances
are, they will remember more because the letters are now organized into words.
Most students will remember at least two words. Total the number of letters in
the words they remember, but still do not discuss the exercise. (There are a total
of 40.)
Finally, show them the third overhead for 30 seconds and ask them
to recall the letters they see. Most students will remember 100% of the letters
because they are organized into words, and the words are organized into a
meaningful sentence. (There are a total of 57 letters.)
Now, ask your students why they believe they couldn't remember the
letters in overheads #1 and #2 as easily. Their responses might include the
following:
·
Not enough rep time
·
No reason to remember it
·
Not relevant
·
Not concentrating
·
Frustration with exercise
·
Not intending to learn - "so what attitude" (This
is a very important issue that will be addressed in the chapter. Students need
to know that their desire or intent to learn significantly impacts their
ability to remember what they read. Thinking, learning and remembering go
hand-in-hand.)
Now ask them to discuss why they could remember more letters in
overhead #3. Their responses might include the following:
·
The letters were organized into words.
·
The words were organized into a sentence.
·
There were fewer separate items to remember.
·
They could remember the words more easily than the
individual letters.
After a few minutes of discussion, you can introduce the idea of
organizing information - creating systems - to help with memory. The first
overhead showed a number of isolated letters. They weren't related so it was
hard to memorize them individually. The letters in the second overhead were
"organized" into meaningful chunks, words, which made it easier to
remember more of them, even though the group of words didn't make sense.
Finally, the letters in the third overhead were organized into words, and the
words were organized into a meaningful sentence. By remembering the words in
the sentence, students could easily remember all of the letters.
Explain that many students study their course material as if what
they are reading consists of isolated and unrelated pieces of information
(overhead #1). Stress how important it is for them to become engaged, and
actively involved, with new information, and to learn how to organize it so
they can remember it more efficiently. The focus of Chapter 3 is to show that
most people actually have good memories. The chapter explains the barriers to
remembering information and provides many strategies for overcoming those
barriers and remembering information more effectively.
chapter
three: overhead # 1
B C D A G F B W G L M D W X Z T
P A D E C N V Q Y O R U E N T Z S
M X D T P H E
chapter
three: overhead # 2
QUEEN HICCUP SNOW COURSE
TEETH RED MANUAL LOTUS
chapter
three: overhead # 3
THE QUEEN COVERED HER
MOUTH SO THAT NO ONE COULD
SEE HER MISSING TEETH.
supplemental exercises
There
are two supplemental exercises for this chapter. Information about each is
provided on this page and the related material follows on separate pages that
you can print out for use with your students.
Exercise 3-1:
Remember by Making Associations
Purpose
The purpose of this exercise is to introduce the concept of
memory, and to demonstrate that using strategies, such as creating
associations, can help to increase your memory.
Directions
1. Ask students to get out a piece of paper,
and a pencil. Tell them not to write anything down
until you ask them to do so.
2. Tell them you
will be reading out the following list of words and want them to remember as
many as they can:
·
Hamburger
·
Feather
·
Gate
·
Closet
·
Tree
·
Marshmallow
·
Religion
·
Fish
·
Men
·
Beaks
3. Now ask students
to see how many words they can remember, in the order you read them, in one minute. Have students share their
lists. Some will have used strategies they have developed to help them. Don't
have them share their strategies at this point.
4. Ask them to turn
their papers over, write the numbers 1 through 10, and then put their pencils
down and listen as you read the list again.
5. Tell students to
close their eyes and try to see the pictures you will create with for each
word. As you read the list again, provide an association for each word. Use
associations that are strange or silly or rhyme. (Yes, even silly…that’s the
point. The stranger the connections are, the more likely students will be able
to remember the list of words.) Below are possible descriptions you could use
but feel free to create your own sentences.
·
One - BUN -
hamburger, one enormous hamburger on the largest bun I’ve ever seen.
Hamburger.
·
Two - SHOES with
a feather. Two fun shoes dancing
with feathers. Big shoes with blue feathers. Feather.
·
Three - KEYS for
a gate. Three keys to open the
gate…don’t be late. Gate.
·
Four - DOOR as a
closet. At four the door to your
closet opens. Closet.
·
Five - HIVE in
the tree. Five hives in the tree.
Bzzzzzzzzzz Cut the tree. Tree.
·
Six - STICKS for
marshmallows. Pick up six sticks to
roast marshmallows by the campfire. Marshmallows.
·
Seven - HEAVEN
for a religion. I see seven nuns
flying to heaven; it’s my religion. Religion.
·
Eight - BAIT for
fish. Eight pieces of bait to catch
fish. Big wiggly bait for big slippery fish. Fish.
·
Nine - FINE men.
My goodness! Nine fine men are here! Fine men are always welcome. Men.
·
Ten - HENS beaks.
Ten hens are loose and poking with their beaks. Red hens’ beaks. Beaks.
6. Have students open their eyes and try to recall as many of the
words as they can, in order.
7. When students have finished writing, ask them if it was easier
to remember the list the second
time? Most students find
using the associations provided, and visualizing them, does improve
their ability to
remember the words.
Connecting information to familiar items helps to facilitate the
memory. Also, connecting words that rhyme helps to "trigger" memory.
This exercise is a helpful tool for proving the point that doing something with
information is sometimes necessary in order to remember it effectively.
Learning about and using strategies can be useful. If any students used
different memory strategies, invite them to share their strategies with the
class.
Exercise 3-2:
Using Rhyme to Remember
Purpose
To reinforce the mnemonic technique of using rhyme.
Directions
In groups of four, using one chapter you have studied
from this textbook, create a song, jingle, or poem. Your composition should
include they key points from the chapter. Get creative and have fun with it.
You can choose to video your song, and use it as an example of learning
outcomes if you are creating an electronic portfolio; you may perform live for
the class; or you may submit it in paper format and have others in the class
perform it.
(You can explain to students) that rhyming is a very effective way
to remember information. For example, “In 1942, Columbus sailed the oceans
blue....” “Listen my children and you shall hear about the midnight ride of
Paul Revere….” Songs, stories, and poetry are ways that have been used for
centuries to remember and share history. Allow students to provide examples,
for example, hip hop music, etc.)
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