Reading Strategy ~ *Working Memory*

Teachers know that a child can only really work with a few pieces of information at a time, and that their attention span is also limited. So, with that in mind, one strategy to use is to limit the key words you introduce to only a few and concentrate on those.

We all do this I'm sure :).

I just have never tried to do it in the way that it was presented to my fellow teachers and I.

For an average seven year old they have a working memory of about 3 "new words" at a time. So for instance, while working with adding suffixes, use only about three words. Have the kids add the -ed and then, for guided practice, have them pick one of the base words and write it on a sticky note, then on another sticky note write the word with the suffix. Here comes the fun part! The students will go around the room pairing up and having their partner read the sticky note on their hands. This allows them to get up, read, listen and hear these key words.

I have yet to use it but I will sure give it a try and see how it works.

I wish I had pictures but here is a visual I made.