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The Raves
Memorization Made Easy
Through ProgramStudents learn memorable tips during “Memory Madness” program.
By Jody Seefurth
Source Staff WriterDoug Scheer wears many hats.
On Jan. 21, Scheer appeared before students at Angus Elementary School in Sterling Heights as Mr. Memory, the host of the Memory Madness game show.
Scheer brought this, one of ten programs to the school to teach students how to strengthen their memorization skills. With a colorful set, loud music and entertaining props, and by using word association or other techniques, students learned the names of the first 10 presidents, the order of the planets and how to memorize lists of items.
Scheer started of by having students name 15 items they could touch. Once the items were listed, Scheer, who captured the students’ attention with his Jim Carrey-like presence, rattled off the words without peeking at the list.
“Who wants to learn how to do this?” he asked. “Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to do this for your mom and dad?”
Without hesitation, Scheer spilled his secret to the eager students - turn words into bright, colorful pictures in your head. Seeing pictures, Scheer said, helps people remember better than boring, old words. He used the same technique when having the students memorize the names of the first 10 presidents.
“If we have to remember words like these, we can turn them into pictures,” Scheer said. “You don’t need the words anymore, because the pictures remind us of the people.”
He used animated pictures to describe the presidents.
For example, a woman washing her laundry represented Washington and a man rowing a boat represented Monroe.
To learn the order of the planets, Scheer introduced another memorization technique. He presented the students with a sentence in which the first letter of each word was the same as the first letter of each planet. Instead of memorizing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto, the students memorized this sentence: My very eager mother just served us nine pickles.
Scheer also instructed students on a method to memorize state names and capitols using props such as a pencil, which represented Pennsylvania, and a bag from Taco Bell, which represented New Mexico.
Following loads of laughter and screams of delight, it came time for the final showdown - a true test to whether Scheer’s animated efforts had worked. Three students were chosen to compete in the Memory Madness game show. Scheer quizzed the youngsters on all of the memorization tactics he had shown them for the day.
“This show is designed for second grade and up,” said Scheer, following the assembly. “The kindergarten and first grade get a little lost, but they enjoy the props and the lights. I try to make it entertaining as well as educational.”
Scheer said he was inspired to do the Memory Madness show by childhood favorite Mike Douglas, a 1970’s talk show host.
“Mike Douglas had a TV talk show when I was in fourth grade,” Scheer said. “He had a memory show where he’d teach the names of the presidents. Maybe it’s fate, but ever since then I’ve wanted to incorporate the 10 presidents into a show. And it kind of just became one of the aspects of (my) show.”
Scheer said memorization is important for students to learn because of the amount of focus placed on acquiring knowledge.
“Educators focus so much now on knowledge, what you have to know,” he said. That’s true. Kids do need to know how to pass a test. However they do need to know how to remember things, too, not only in the classrooms, but in the every day. We’re teaching kids techniques they can use in the classroom and outside the classroom.
“Most kids remember by rote which is good for short-term memorization, but by visualizing, by turning words into pictures, it’s locked into long-term memory.”
Scheer also offers assembly about mathematics, Halloween reading, problem solving, science the government and pollution.
“It’s fun,” he said. “The kids are a blast. They’re just so much fun.”
Need more information? Give us a call. There’s a school in your district that’s already seen these programs.
We’ll just let them brag for us.
