Skills Guide Content
Goal: Improve working memory and recall
Flashcards are one of the fastest and most effective ways move a concept or fact into our memory. Flashcards build familiarity with a concept until it becomes an easy-to-recall fact.
Flashcards can be:
- reviewed easily
- shared amongst classmates
- created with just paper and pen
- generated with online apps like Quizlet
Once the flashcards are created, shuffle them up and quiz your student.
Activity from Planner
You are probably familiar with flashcards from sight words or math facts in your younger years, but flashcards are useful beyond elementary school. All that is needed to make a flashcard is to have a word, phrase, question, image, or concept on one side and, on the other side, write out the answer.
Go Digital
Try a free app, like Quizlet to make flashcards right on your phone!
Extended Activity
Flashcards are a genius method of mastering information. You are probably familiar with flashcards from sight words or math facts in your younger years, but flashcards aren’t only useful in elementary school. All that is needed to make a flashcard is to have a word, phrase, question, image, or concept on one side and, on the other side, write out the answer. They are helpful for learning and studying tasks that require memorization.
Using flashcards will strengthen your short-term memory recall. Your learning will be based on spaced repetition, and your confidence will grow. If you make your own flashcards, you get additional learning benefits. Creating them helps lock in the information and counts as more studying. Adding a picture or image increases memory retention by up to 50% more!
You don’t have to be an artist to take advantage of that trick; here is a list of easy ideas to add images to your flashcards:
- For authors and people, find a picture online to print or draw a simple portrait or stick figure
- For places, print out or sketch a simple map
- For numbers and data, create a chart or graph
- For dates and sequences of events, make a timeline
- For a process or system, create a flowchart
Pick a subject you must study, and make some flashcards! You can use index cards, Post-it notes, or cut-up pieces of paper.
- On the front of the card, write a key term or question.
- On the back of the card, answer that question or write the definition for the term (don’t forget to include your image.)
- Try to guess the answer/definition on the front before checking the answer on the back.
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