Teaching Strategies for Students with Weak Memory Skills

Having weak memory skills is a common problem affecting children with learning disabilities or other health impairments, such as ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Once other possible contributing factors, like a hearing problem or another medical condition, have been ruled out as the cause of the memory weakness there are strategies and accommodations that teachers and parents of homeschoolers can use to help increase memory skills and cope with the problem. Short-term memory can be improved by engaging the student in tasks that involve recalling recent events or instructions, like having the student relay a message to someone in the office or the classroom, recalling the sequences of events from reading material or a field trip, being a classroom helper, or repeating verbal directions. Self-contained teachers or parents can have the student remember a specific number of things that he or she did during the school day, increasing the number of recalled events as the student's skill increases. Another activity to improve weak memory skills is to practice dictating short sentences for the student to repeat, as mentioned earlier the teacher should increase the length of the sentences over time. The student could also practice memory exercises with another student in the classroom, relaying directions or practicing sentence dictation with a peer.

Many students with memory problems benefit from being taught how to memorize information in smaller pieces, or chunks. A social security number is a good example of this. Instead of trying to remember a nine digit number all at once, like 123456789, it is easier to remember it in chunks: 123-45-6789. Teaching the student how to recall facts by using mnemonics or visual aids is also helpful. Practicing sorting items into categories is also helpful for memorization skills. Give the child a list or group of either words or pictures that are related and ask him or her to tell you to what category those items would belong.

Teaching the student how to follow directions is also a crucial step in helping the student overcome or deal with memory deficits, as many students fail to follow instructions correctly or forget important parts of learning activities. Make sure the student knows that when it is time for directions that he or she is not doing anything else and is listening solely to the teacher. The student should listen for key directions, highlighting anything important on the worksheet or on a piece of paper, and then after the directions are given to ask for clarification on anything he or she didn't understand. Many children benefit from receiving positive reinforcement when they have done a job well. When the student demonstrates progress with memory skills, he or she will most likely appreciate verbal praise or some sort of tangible reward.