Mem

ory

Study Tips for SuccessPrimary & Recency

Use Mnemonics

Summarise

Chunking

The 20/5 Technique

Repetition - Revising

Stand Out

Create real life examples

tea monkey lamp circus cup coach

clown frown present boat wood cake

love water bag ocean teacher hammer

surf nail game chair ball table

Primacy and Recency

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WORD LIST

How many words can you recall?

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How many words did my class recall?

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1 30 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

242322212019181716151413121110987654321

Num

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f wor

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Number of People

Study for 20 mins and take a 5 min break

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Draw a brief diagram to show the 20/5 study model…

Reflect upon the importance of taking a 5 minute break - the brain needs to shift focus, be in a different space, get blood moving…

Complete the T chart below: These things would NOT be great for my brain when I have a 5 minute study break…

These things would be GREAT for my brain when I have a 5 minute study break…

These things would NOT be great for my brain when I have a 5 minute study break…

These things would be GREAT for my brain when I have a 5 minute study break…

A space for your own notes

Repetition

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How many words can you recall?

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WORD LIST

tea monkey lamp circus cup coach

clown frown present boat wood cake

love water bag ocean teacher hammer

surf nail game chair ball table

How many words did my class recall?

5

1 30 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

242322212019181716151413121110987654321

Num

ber o

f wor

ds re

calle

d

Number of People

Summarising

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Use your own words

and not those of the

original author (unless

using quotation

marks)

Combine these ideas together in your own words

Do not include your own opinion or add extra information

Highlight the main ideas in the text you want

to summarise

(do not include any minor details)

Correctly interpret the original

Keep reminding your reader that you are summarising the work of someone else by using the follow-ing phrases:

“The author goes on to say that ...””The text further states that ...”

Remember to cite your source using a recognised referencing format

Summarising

Example 1: Source:The amphibia, which is the animal class to which our frogs and toads belong, were the �rst animals to crawl from the sea and inhabit the earth.

Summary:The �rst animals to leave the sea and live on dry land were the amphibia.

Example 2:Source:Tea, whether of the China or Indian variety, is well known to be high on the list of those beverages which are most frequently drunk by the inhabitants of the British Isles.

Summary: The British drink a large amount of tea.

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Summarising

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Source: http://www.uefap.com/writing/report/volcisl.htm

As part of an essay, you need to include a section of about 100 words on the formation of volcanic islands. You �nd the following text:

Volcanic IslandsIslands have always fascinated the human mind. Perhaps it is the instinctive response of man, the land animal, welcoming a brief intrusion of earth in the vast, overwhelming expanse of sea. When sailing in a great ocean basin, a thousand miles from the nearest continent, with miles of water beneath the ship, one may come upon an island which has been formed by a volcanic eruption under the sea. One's imagination can follow its slopes down through darkening waters to its base on the sea floor. One wonders why and how it arose there in the midst of the ocean.The birth of a volcanic island is an event marked by prolonged and violent travail: the forces of the earth striving to create, and all the forces of the sea opposing. At the place where the formation of such an island begins, the sea floor is probably nowhere more than about fifty miles thick. In it are deep cracks and fissures, the results of unequal cooling and shrinkage in past ages. Along such lines of weakness the molten lava from the earth's interior presses up and finally bursts forth into the sea. But a submarine volcano is different from a terrestrial eruption, where the lava, molten rocks, and gases are hurled into the air from an open crater. Here on the bottom of the ocean the volcano has resisting it all the weight of the ocean water above it. Despite the immense pressure of, it may be, two or three miles of sea water, the new volcanic cone builds upwards towards the surface, in flow after flow of lava. Once within reach of the waves, its soft ash is violently attacked by the motion of the water which continually washes away its upper surface, so that for a long period the potential island may remain submerged. But eventually, in new eruptions, the cone is pushed up into the air, where the lava hardens and forms a rampart against the attacks of the waves.

1. Read the passage carefully twice from beginning to end.

2. Remember your purpose: to describe the formation of a volcanic island.

3. Select the relevant information by highlighting key words and phrases

4. Mark all the points which should come into your answer. Do this very carefully, and be sure not to miss anything.

5. In the box below, record the key details required to answer the question. This may be written in note form, mindmap or bullet points.

Use this space to summarise the key points about the formation of volcanic islands.

Summarising

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6. Using this list of points above, write your rough draft, referring to the original only when you want to make sure of some point. Remember a draft does not need to be perfect – it is a work in progress.

7. Correct your draft and write an accurate copy – be sure to check your work for accuracy of the information, make sure your sentence structure and punctuation is correct.

Use this space to write your �nal copy.

Use this space to draft your essay section about formation of volcanic islands.

Summarising

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Liz was achieving marks in the 90%+ range. One day a friend asked her how she always got these high marks. She replied “Each night, after school I write the summary points of each class on a card the size of a postcard. The next day when I am walking to school, I read the cards so I can remember everything from the day before” .

Use this space to summarise your learnings about how to study e�ectively

STUDY TIP EXTRA: Keep a notebook/�le for each subject. At the end of each day summarise what you have

learned in each subject. The next day take time to read through the notes from the previous day. The really good thing is by the end of the year you will have accumulated

a year’s worth of study notes in one place!

Chunking

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How do you recall a phone number? Do you break it up into small ‘chunks?’ Advertisers use chunking, and several other memory keys, to help you remember their phone numbers. Here are some Pizza Chain examples …

Action: Look for other examples of chunking in advertsing and share with your class

0800 30 40 50

Stands Out

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Rhymes, raps and stories help us remember better too

Study what you don’t know and then you’ll be �ne

But if you study what you do know then you’ll just be wasting time!

30 Days has SeptemberApril, June, and NovemberAll the rest have 31Except February aloneWhich has but 28 days clearAnd 29 in each leap year

Which notes are more interesting to read?

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Use the following words to make a short story to help you remember this list… remember the brain loves funny, weird and di�erent

• Tea

• Monkey

• Lamp

• Circus

• Cup

• Coach

Use the story process to recall the order of the Mineral Hardness Scale – from the softest mineral, Talc to the hardest – Diamond.

• Talc

• Gypsum

• Calcite

• Fluorite

• Opalite

• Feldspar

• Quartz

• Topaz

• Corundum

• Diamond

My sentence/short story:

My sentence/short story:

Stands Out

Make Up A Story

Examples of Mnemonics

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OR…

Run O� You Great Big Invisible Vampire.

LOL

BTW

TTYL

Writing Mnemonics

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Using the list below showing the order of life make a mnemonic to remember the following list in order. Remember the brain loves funny, weird and di�erent.

• Cell

• Tissue

• Organ

• System

• Organism

Practice Writing Mnemonics

Create Real Life Examples

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Item Recall attempt 2

Item Recall attempt 1

A space for your own notes