Memory work sticks best when it is practiced a little every day and reviewed over time. These are the methods we have used with our own children, from early elementary through high school. Use the ones that fit your family.
Three Simple Rules
- Review every day. Short daily practice beats one long session a week.
- Answer before you look. Have students say the answer from memory first, then check. Pulling the answer out of memory is what makes it stick.
- Space it out. Review new material often at first, then less often as it becomes easy. Older lessons keep coming back so they are not forgotten. This is called spaced repetition.
Younger Students
Young children love movement, music, and play. Mix and match these:
- Sing it. Songs are one of the easiest ways to remember a list of facts. Curriculum Boost songs are being created for each lesson and grade band.
- Use silly voices. Say the answer like a robot, a whisper, an opera singer, or a grumpy bear. The repetition stays fun.
- Add hand motions. A simple motion for each key word gives children another way to remember.
- Play games. Toss a ball and answer when you catch it, race the timer, or let the student quiz the parent.
- Write it out. Copying the answer by hand gives one more pass through the material.
Older Students
Older students do best with flashcard-style review, the way programs like Anki work:
- Question on the front, short answer on the back. Keep answers to keywords and short descriptions.
- Say it, then flip it. Answer out loud or in writing before checking.
- Sort by difficulty. Cards you missed come back tomorrow. Cards you knew come back in a few days, then a week, then longer.
- Write from memory. Write the full answer without looking, then compare.
- Teach it back. Explaining an answer to someone else shows what is truly understood. Our Discussion Springboards help with this.
A Sample Review Rhythm
This is one example. Adjust it to your schedule.
- New lesson: learn the questions and answers together, and listen to the song.
- Every day that week: review the new lesson.
- A few times a week: review the last several lessons.
- Once a week: review a handful of older lessons from earlier in the cycle, rotating through them.
Why These Methods Work
Research on learning consistently finds that practicing recall and spacing review over time are two of the most effective ways to remember. Christians have used the same idea for centuries through catechisms. Read more on our Philosophy page.