1. Improve your memory! You must: Make connections, use mnemonic devices and learn how to become a good listener

2. Improve your memory!  Reading comprehension involves hearing the author’s words in your head—listening to the author’s voice.  Listening well requires you to focus and quiet the noise in your head  Play the “You Said” game. (You will partner up, read a page to your partner, then he or she must summarize what you said. Swap jobs and repeat.)

3. Improve your memory! Sometimes we skim over pages like we're in a trance just to get through the assigned reading. Change that by visualizing what is going on in the story in your head. Pretend it is a play or movie. Assign each character a “look” and “voice” to hear and see in your mind Exercise: Look over a page or two again, and see ways that you could make the text come more alive

4. Improve your memory! People learn and remember in different ways. You probably have an idea of what works best for you. Visual, auditory, kinesthetic (learn by doing), etc. If you learn something in more than one way, it will “stick” better

5. Brain Rules “Repeat to remember, remember to repeat.” Numerous studies show that you must repeat something several times to remember it. For example, phone numbers or names http://www.brainrules.net/short-term-memory http://www.brainrules.net/long-term-memory?scene= http://www.brainrules.net/long-term-memory?scene http://www.brainrules.net/attention?scene= http://www.brainrules.net/attention?scene Everything you've been taught about homework and improving comprehension could be wrong!

6. Brain Rules It's all in the encoding Forming an emotional connection to something will make it easy to remember When there is no emotional connection, we can rely on memory helpers called Mnemonic Devices

7. Mnemonic Devices You may know some common ones Ex. HOMES for the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior) Ex. Every Good Boy Does Fine and FACE in music notation http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/mnemonics.ht m http://www.bucks.edu/~specpop/mnemonics.ht m http://www.learningassistance.com/2006/januar y/mnemonics.html

8. Mnemonic Devices Organization: Categorize the things you learn. Just like things are easier to find in an organized bookshelf, they are easier to find in your memory if you have organized your notes Organize by connections you can personally make. Each brain is different, so each brain will learn differently.

9. Mnemonic Devices You may exercise your body to keep it fit. Why should the brain be any different? “Use it or lose it.” Write things down and make mental pictures as you do. Think about what you're writing as you write it. Maybe speaking what you need to remember out loud will help you

10. Mnemonic Devices Maybe picture books aren't so elementary after all: studies show that making notecards with pictures included help students remember more Color code your notes and use bullets or numbers to organize even more Link what you learn to something. Make your notes and memorization PERSONAL

11. Mnemonic Devices Make rhymes or songs Just remember... make sure you can sing the song in your head or people will wonder what is going on when you sing a song in the middle of a test! Ex. In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue

12. Mnemonic Devices Method of Loci: think of things in an order A common example is describing your house by going from room to room and using associations To remember a novel, you may remember the specific setting and what happened in different places

13. Mnemonic Devices Keyword Method: Helps with vocabulary words. An online example mentions how to remember the Spanish word duck, “pato” The author says you could imagine a duck with a pot or “pat” on its head—humor will help you remember A vocabulary word example is “skulk”, which means to sneak or hide. I think of a skunk hiding behind a tree, what about you?

14. Association Exercise Remember the following words: Bear Door Smile Man Broom Soccer ball Wreath

15. Association Exercise It may seem hard to remember the words at first, but link or group them together to remember in a unique or creative way. Example: The bear walked up to the door with a wreath on it, greeted by a man with a smile. In his hand he held a broom that he used to hit the soccer ball to make the bear go away.

16. Association Exercise Also, when reading, make sure you are in a quiet and well-lit room If you can't concentrate at home or in school, try finding a quiet spot in the library or bookstore

17. Association Exercise Interesting Fact: It is estimated that we only retain 5- 10% of information through lecture and reading, 20% with audio visual material added, 30% with a demonstration, 50% in a group discussion setting, 75% by actually doing something hands-on, and 90% when you are teaching others. Play “teacher” when studying. You may think you do better studying by yourself, but statistics do show a great increase in memory retention when you discuss with someone else!