Mnemonics are memory aids and have been used for centuries by people who have difficulty remembering certain facts and information. They have proved to be particularly useful for students with learning difficulties such as short and long-term memory deficits. A mnemonic may be a rhyme, memorable phrase, acronym or visualisation. The key to their effectiveness lies in connecting something familiar or easy to recall with facts and information that are more difficult to remember. Richard of York gave battle in vain and is a classic example of a mnemonic for children that is in common use; the first letter of each word corresponds to the colours of the alphabet: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.
Below, we look at 4 mnemonic strategies for students with learning disabilities, which are effective in classrooms across Australia as well as in online learning situations.
Memorable Phrases – Since we've already given an example of a memorable phrase mnemonic, we’ll start with this as our first category of useful mnemonics for kids. There are many of these in common use today, including, "Every good boy deserves fruit," (EGBDF) for the notes on the lines of a treble clef in written music, and, "Please excuse my dear Aunt Sally," (parenthesis, exponent, multiplication, division, addition and subtraction) for the order in which to complete operations in mathematical statements. As you can see, they can be used by students of all ages and abilities to retain important information.
Acronyms – Another very common type of mnemonic for children is the acronym mnemonic. Strictly speaking, acronyms and phrase mnemonics that are created from the first letters of the words the student is trying to remember are both classified as names of expression mnemonics but we've split them up here as some children find one variation more useful than the other. FACE is a good example of an acronym mnemonic used in classrooms around the country and refers to the musical notes in between the lines on a treble clef.
Image Mnemonics – One of the most useful mnemonic strategies for children with learning disabilities who find it particularly difficult to recall written information is to teach them to associate striking images with the information they are attempting to retain in their long-term memory. Some of these images may actually be prompts for acronym mnemonics too, providing the student with 2 ways of remembering the information. If, for example, a child is having difficulty remembering the different classes of depressants commonly taken (barbiturates, alcohol and tranquilisers) they can picture a tired, depressed-looking bat, which will lead them to the acronym BAT. Students who find these types of mnemonics for kids useful should be encouraged to make up their own images/associations as these will prove to be powerful memory aids.
Musical Mnemonics – A very effective type of mnemonic for children who love listening to music is the musical mnemonic. As with image mnemonics, the most powerful musical mnemonics are often those the students come up with themselves so it’s worth helping them to explore this avenue when working on memory deficit issues. The ABC song is an example of a popular musical mnemonic and has been used in countries across the globe for nearly 200 years now.
It is a good idea to try a variety of mnemonic strategies for children with learning difficulties as some may be more effective than others for individual students. If you subscribe to our online Maths and English tutoring programs for your own children, you can find out much more about how to use mnemonics from your course tutor.