Students with weak memory skills often lack the knowledge about how to remember what they are learning. Simple strategies such as repeating what the teacher has said or writing something down that has multiple steps are seldom considered when children do not have a basic understanding that they can use strategies and techniques that will improve their memory skills. Providing memory tips for elementary school students such as those detailed below can make an enormous difference in how these kids learn and study. Introduce your students or child to these tips and watch their memories improve.

Here are some of our favorite memory tips for elementary school students:

Borrow a friend’s notes from class.         

•  Write down only the main ideas your teacher is covering when you take notes in class.
•  Later, compare your friend’s notes to yours and fill in what you missed. 

Eat good “memory” foods.

• Did you know that some foods can help you increase your focus and memory?
• Look at this link to learn how certain food can help you focus.

Ask people to repeat themselves.

• Ask people to repeat themselves if you are having a hard time remembering what they have said. 
• Tell the person that you are listening but need to have the information repeated to help you remember it.
•  Writing down what the person says can help, too.

Play brain games to improve your memory.

• There are a lot of special “brain” games to improve your memory.
• Play games such as Brain Age 2, Echochrome, Castlevania, or Big Brain Academy.
• Ask your parents to look for more brain games to help you keep improving your memory.

Remember to ask the teacher if you don’t remember something.

• Your teacher is there to help you.
• Write down what the teacher is saying, record it, or ask your friends to repeat what the teacher has said.
• If you can’t remember what was said, it’s OK to ask your teacher to repeat it.

It’s OK to need special tools to help you remember.

• Kids who have a hard time remembering things need tools to help them remember.
• If you use a recorder or an agenda to remember what is said to you, try to make sure you always have those things with you.

Group words with a picture.

• Group words or tasks together using pictures.
• Have someone read you the words you need to remember and draw a silly drawing using pictures of those words.
• Write a sentence about the picture using the words you need to remember.