Upper Level Workbook
LESSON 1
Introduction for Students
Do you often forget things you wish you could remember, such as where you put something, the directions you need to follow, or facts that you studied for a test? You know that itâs impossible to remember everything, no matter how hard you try. Forgetting facts and all sorts of information happens to everyone. No matter how easily we first learn new facts, we begin forgetting them immediately after we stop trying to learn and remember them. As minutes, hours, and days go by, we forget more and more. After a day or two, forgetting begins to slow down. The graphs âHow Quickly People Learnâ and âHow Quickly People Forgetâ illustrate approximately how quickly most people learn and then forget a list of new words.
Fortunately, we can learn methods and strategies that will help us remember more and forget less. The purpose of this workbook is to help you learn methods and strategies for improving your memory. These strategies will help you learn and memorize information more efficiently and effectively when you study. That is, these strategies will allow you to make better use of the memory abilities you have. When you remember more, your learning will improve and you will do better in school. To learn these strategies well, you will need to practice them with your memory âtrainerâ and use them when you study and in other situations where you need to remember information.
Learning and remembering is a big part of what our brains do. Now that doctors and scientists can scan peopleâs brains, we know a lot more about how memory works. We know where memories are kept, and we know where and how the brain creates memories that can last a long time. One part of the brainâletâs call it the memory centerâcreates and stores memories; other parts of the brain store memories but donât create them; and one part of the brain neither stores nor creates them. The figure titled âThe Brainâs Memory Center and Storage Areasâ shows the four main brain lobes. The memory center is located in the temporal lobe. The front part of the brain, known as the frontal lobe, is responsible for using strategies to help us remember, but it does not create or store memories. The parietal and occipital lobes store memories, in addition to their other jobs. Some memories arenât put into storage very well, and they donât last. Some memories remain in storage just fine, but we canât remember them when we want to, such as when we canât recall a fact that we actually know. How well our memory works depends a lot on our memory center. Some people are born with a weaker memory center, and some people experience things that damage their memory center. For example, a serious illness or a concussion can damage the memory center.
LESSON 2
Thoughts and Feelings About Memory
Name_________________________ Grade________ Date________
Directions
Discuss each response with your trainer before writing it.
1. How is your memory for what is taught in class? Do you remember most of what is taught or do you forget most of it?
2. How is your memory for material you study on your own? Do you remember most of it or forget most of it?
3. How is your memory for what you need to remember at home, such as where you put things? Is it strong or weak?
4. How is your memory for experiences and events, such as all the things you experienced yesterday? Is it strong or weak?
5. What are some things you might do differently to make your memories last longer?
6. For about how long can people remember something like a new phone number in their short-term memory?
7. There are different types of long-term memory. What do you think these types might be?
8. What do you think causes people to forget what they experience or what they study?
9. What are some things you donât understand about memory and how it works?
10. Do you ever worry about not being able to do well on a test because you wonât be able to remember enough? If yes, how often?
11. How often do you feel bad or get frustrated because you canât remember something? Is it never, sometimes, or very often?
12. If you could change one thing about your memory, what would you change?
13. Discuss with your trainer any other thoughts and feelings you have about your memory. Then summarize them here.
14. What questions do you have about memory and how it works?
LESSON 3
How Memory Works
People have three main kinds of memory: short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory.
Short-Term Memory
Everything we see, hear, or experience goes into our short-term memory before some of it goes into our long-term memory. When we first experience something or try to memorize something, that information is briefly held in short-term memory. Information remains in short-term memory for just a few secondsâ15 seconds at the most. The only way we can keep information in short-term memory any longer is to keep repeating it. There is also a limit on how much information we can hold in short-term memory. The usual limit for an adolescent is five to seven pieces of information, such as seven words. There are two types of short-term memory: auditory or verbal, for information we hear, and visual, for what we see.
Your trainer will now read you a list of eight words. Immediately repeat them back. In trying to remember those words, you have just put your short-term memory to work.
Working Memory
What you are thinking about right now is in your working memory. Working memory is the ability to think about something and remember the details at the same time. For example, when we try to solve a math ...