There is a reason it is called "Drill and Kill". Alright, I admit; I'm not sure why it's called that, but it conjures up feelings of dread. Perhaps it is called Drill and Kill because you drill so much that it kills all joy of learning. Or maybe it is akin to beating a dead horse. At any rate, it is not a pleasant connotation. When is "drill and kill", also known as "rote memorization", a good idea? How can this be implemented in learning so as to get the best results, without the agony of it?
What sorts of things make good memorization topics?
- Math facts: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
- 50 United States of America *
- ...also 50 United States AND their capitols *
- The presidents of the United States *
- Geographic locations (oceans, countries, rivers, mountains)
- Dates of wars
- Key Bible verses **
- Months of the year, and how many days are in each month
- Pledge of Allegiance *
- National Songs *
- Newton's Laws of Gravity
- The first half of the Periodic Table of Elements
- Habitats (desert, tundra, rain forest, grasslands, etc.)
- Five Animal Kingdoms
This is only an example of some commonly memorized facts. * If you are not from the United States, you will have your own country's leaders, wars, and songs to remember, as well as Geographic locations. ** If you are of another faith or philosophy, then you will have a different set of writings for memorization.
Is there ever a time when you should memorize first, understand later? There may be some subjects where memorization should come first, and understanding later. There is always the child that memorizes the Pledge of Allegiance and says "invisible" instead of "indivisible". It is natural for the mind to supplant what it doesn't know and understand with those things that it does know. In most cases, it is helpful to have an understanding of the concept behind the memorization beforehand. When memorizing 2 + 2, a child may gain more in his mathwork if he understands the abstract concept of 2 + 2 first (i.e., if we have 2 apples here, and 2 apples there, and we add them together, we have 4 apples). The Pledge of Allegiance is a good example of learning by rote first, and understanding later. A child doesn't need to understand "indivisible" before repeating the allegiance in a public setting. The point is that someday, he will learn what "indivisible" means, and the a-ha moment that follows ("Ohhhh, so that's what the allegiance means! And here I always thought it was "invisible"!) One more scenario - learning rote alongside concepts may help cement the concepts better. While memorizing a list of U.S. Presidents, it may be helpful to learn their stories, too! George Washington may have more meaning to a child if she also learns that George Washington was a general in the American Revolution, and that afterwards, the country needed to come up with a government that was not based upon having a king. It might also be a good time to memorize the branches of government and understand what their role is in running the country.
Is there a way to lessen the boredom of drill, while still getting those facts memorized? Doing the same thing every day gets very, very dull. Flipping flashcards, although effective for some children, can get tedious. Using games, even silly ones, can make drill more fun. Using a Jeopardy! format and allowing kids to shout out the answers or jot it on a dry erase board might make it less tedious. If a child does well with rewards, giving a small token for each remembered item can be a bonus (m&ms, pennies, stickers, computer game/tv time). Reciting while tossing a ball or bean bag gets both mind and body moving. Setting memorization topics to music makes it easier and more paleatable. Schoolhouse Rock and Animaniacs have great tunes for memorizing songs.
Review, Review, Review We've all experienced the loss of math fact knowledge at the end of a busy summer, and the three months of catch-up that follows. If the end goal is to retain that knowledge, you'll need to come up with some method of review. Review should happen more often at first (daily), but over time, the same information might only need to be reviewed once or twice a month. The longer something is practiced, the longer it will stay in the brain - and the quicker and easier that information will be to retrieve when needed!
In review:
- Memorization can be a useful tool in Learning
- There is no shortage of things to be memorized! Whatever will make learning easier, or the things that you need to retrieve in your brain on a regular basis - these are the items to work on memorizing
- Sometimes it is better to memorize first, understand later. Optimally, you'd want your students to understand first and memorize second; however, it isn't always practical. Understanding can always come later. A third idea is to give some background knowledge along with the items being memorized, to help with understanding what you are learning and to hold the student's interest
- Memorizing doesn't have to be 100% horrible. Games, activities, rewards, and songs can make it easier to handle.
- Practice those things that you wish to retain. The longer you go without practicing, the faster the information will slip from your brain.
