Apr 5, 2010

Memory Techniques to Help Your LD Child


Does your LD child have problems remembering certain facts in science, math, history or English class? Have you tried using mnemonics (pronounced ni-mon-iks) to help him recall facts?

These memorization techniques have been invaluable in my son's schooling. A few of his favorites include:




  • ROY G BIV
    Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
    (This helps students remember the order of the colors in a rainbow)

  • Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
    Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication, Division, Addition, Subtraction.
    (This allows students to remember the Order of Operations in math)

  • My Very Earnest Mother Just Served Us Nine Pickles
    Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
    (This is an easy way to remember the order of the planets from the sun out)

  • Thirty days hath September, ...
    (I even use this mnemonic to help me remember the number of days each month)
    Thirty days hath September,
    April, June, and November;
    All the rest have thirty-one
    Excepting February alone:
    Which hath but twenty-eight, in fine,
    Till leap year gives it twenty-nine.

  • HOMES
    Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior
    (An easy way to remember the five Great Lakes)

  • In 1492 Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

For additional mnemonics and other memory techniques you can utilize to help your child, visit these websites:


Does your child need to remember something that you can't find a mnemonic for? Visit the following site, which offers a free mnemonic generator:

7 comments:

  1. This is great! A lot of folks with ADHD (including myself) rely on mnemonics and lists to get through routine tasks. I can't recommend it enough!

    I find this little girl's mnemonic cute:
    http://insideadhd.org/FamilySpotlight.aspx?id=710

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  2. I taught preschool for years and sang a song almost identical to the mnemonic that you posted. It works but is a little embarrasing when you have to break out in a preschool song to figure out how many days are in August. Thanks for the post and the site link. I need all the help I can get as a parent!

    ~Sarah
    http://tumbling-sanity@blogspot.com

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  3. Mnemonics are a great idea when facilitating learning. I remember when I was in school and I used Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally to remember the order of operations. I was terrible at math, but that really helped me remember. I also used to play this game, where you sit in a circle and you throw the ball around. The person with the ball will say 2 x 2 and then throws it to someone, the person who catches it then has to say the answer. That actually helped me a lot as well!

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  4. I remember using this one to help remember how to spell Mississippi:

    M-I-SALT-SALT-I-SALT-SALT-I-PEPPER-PEPPER-I!

    When chanted in the right tempo it's quite easy to remember and articulate.

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  5. So happy to have found you! My daughter (6) was diagnosed as ADHD-hyperactive last Fall and we are trying to avoid medication through activity and other sensory options. If you can please refer me other helpful blogs, I'd be most appreciative. Thanks!

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  6. I believe I have Nonverbal Learning Disorder or NLD as well as ADD. I have deficits in fine motor skills, visual-spatial skills, executive functioning, visual motor coordination, organization, attention, visual memory, visual processing, visual motor integration.

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  7. Great post. I also use a pneumonic to teach word problems - FAST Draw:
    Find what you are looking for
    Ask what the parts are
    Set up the numbers
    Tie down the operation.
    If you still have no idea...Draw a picture of what the problem is asking you.
    For more tips...
    http://bonnieterry.com/blog
    Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I love comments and feedback!