Working Memory Curriculum
- Overview
- Introduction
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Connections
- Backgrounder
- PDFs
Purpose
To provide students with an understanding of the Thinking Skill "Memory." To assist them in understanding how Memory as a Thinking Skill is acquired; how Memory can help them at home and school; and to apply Memory skills to assist them in improving the ability to pay attention, remember their chores and homework, and to assist them in a range of fun and enjoyable activities.
Objectives
To provide students with an understanding of the Thinking Skill "Memory." To assist them in understanding how Memory as a Thinking Skill is acquired; how Memory can help them at home and school; and to apply Memory skills to assist them in improving the ability to pay attention, remember their chores and homework, and to assist them in a range of fun and enjoyable activities.
Objectives
- Students will learn to identify the Memory as a Thinking Skill
- Students will learn to determine when Memory skills will be helpful for them at home and school situations
- Students will practice Memory skills and game play and then be able to connect these skills to real-world situations
- Chronotron Game
- PrePlays, Playbooks, and RePlays for Chronotron
- Student SmartSheet handouts for Memory can be found here
- Teacher backgrounder (additional informational about Thinking Skills)
Introduction (5 to 10 minutes)
Communicate the purpose of the lesson and introduce the concept of Memory.
Sample Script
Memory is a Thinking Skill that involves remembering something while you are actively doing something with that thought or idea at the same time. For example, at school, you might be doing a math problem in your head where you have to remember a series of numbers that you've added together. So the teacher says, "Add these numbers in your head: 10 plus 6 plus 5 plus 8." You use Memory because first you need to add 10 plus 6 and then remember 16. You need to remember that the next number in sequence is 5, so you need to add the 5 to the 16 and keep the 21 in your head as you are actively adding the 8 to that, coming up with the answer of 29.
At home, a very common use of Memory is when your parents tell you to do a few things at the same time. As you go and begin doing those things, it's often very easy to forget the next thing that was on the list. So, for example, if you parent says to you, "Go to your room and get your baseball hat, your glove, and your sweatshirt, because it might be cold at your game." It becomes very easy to grab your baseball stuff and, as you're getting it, lose track of the idea of remembering to bring your sweatshirt.
When Memory is difficult, people will often report that they have problems paying attention, have difficulties taking notes in class, or sometimes can't remember what someone expects them to do. Fortunately, there are a lot of things that you can do to improve your Memory. First, you have to be aware of difficulties with Memory and then to know the strategies that will help you as an individual.
Good Skills in Memory Help You To:
Communicate the purpose of the lesson and introduce the concept of Memory.
Sample Script
Memory is a Thinking Skill that involves remembering something while you are actively doing something with that thought or idea at the same time. For example, at school, you might be doing a math problem in your head where you have to remember a series of numbers that you've added together. So the teacher says, "Add these numbers in your head: 10 plus 6 plus 5 plus 8." You use Memory because first you need to add 10 plus 6 and then remember 16. You need to remember that the next number in sequence is 5, so you need to add the 5 to the 16 and keep the 21 in your head as you are actively adding the 8 to that, coming up with the answer of 29.
At home, a very common use of Memory is when your parents tell you to do a few things at the same time. As you go and begin doing those things, it's often very easy to forget the next thing that was on the list. So, for example, if you parent says to you, "Go to your room and get your baseball hat, your glove, and your sweatshirt, because it might be cold at your game." It becomes very easy to grab your baseball stuff and, as you're getting it, lose track of the idea of remembering to bring your sweatshirt.
When Memory is difficult, people will often report that they have problems paying attention, have difficulties taking notes in class, or sometimes can't remember what someone expects them to do. Fortunately, there are a lot of things that you can do to improve your Memory. First, you have to be aware of difficulties with Memory and then to know the strategies that will help you as an individual.
Good Skills in Memory Help You To:
- Remember and follow complicated directions
- Remember and comprehend what you have read
- Listen to your parents
- Remember not only to complete your homework, but also to put it away where you can find it the next day
- Multitask
- Take notes in class
- Completely write down homework assignments
- Pay attention and, at the same time, remember what your teachers or fellow students are saying
DAY ONE
Activity One
(Day 1 of Chronotron ... before playing the game)
OK, now lets think about ways that you might want to improve your ability to use Memory. Remember, Memory can help you with something you are doing right now, keeping in mind all the steps you need to do to finish something or doing a math problem in your head. What types of things would you like to remember better? It doesn't need to be just at school, it can be with things that you'd like to do better, but can't seem to remember all the steps. (Class discussion.)
Chronotron practices a number of Thinking Skills. Chronotron uses Memory in the following parts of the game:
Kids need to remember what they need their "past selves" to accomplish in the game. Their "past selves" will need to stand on switches so that the player-control character can get to the circuit. As they get to more complicated levels, kids willneed a number of "past selves" to complete tasks so that their current player can move them to the next level. They need to be able to keep in mind all the steps while their current player completes the circuit.
Kids need to pay close attention to when they're using these Memory skills in the game. This is going to help them to think about how they might apply some of the same skills they use in Chronotron to areas at home and school, where they could improve their Memory skills.
PrePlay Instructions (5-10 minutes)
Start with general questions about the game. Encourage students to talk about their successes and how they learned from their failures. Let them be excited about the game and then shift the conversation to the use of Memory in the game. Possible questions include:
Activity One
(Day 1 of Chronotron ... before playing the game)
OK, now lets think about ways that you might want to improve your ability to use Memory. Remember, Memory can help you with something you are doing right now, keeping in mind all the steps you need to do to finish something or doing a math problem in your head. What types of things would you like to remember better? It doesn't need to be just at school, it can be with things that you'd like to do better, but can't seem to remember all the steps. (Class discussion.)
Chronotron practices a number of Thinking Skills. Chronotron uses Memory in the following parts of the game:
Kids need to remember what they need their "past selves" to accomplish in the game. Their "past selves" will need to stand on switches so that the player-control character can get to the circuit. As they get to more complicated levels, kids willneed a number of "past selves" to complete tasks so that their current player can move them to the next level. They need to be able to keep in mind all the steps while their current player completes the circuit.
Kids need to pay close attention to when they're using these Memory skills in the game. This is going to help them to think about how they might apply some of the same skills they use in Chronotron to areas at home and school, where they could improve their Memory skills.
PrePlay Instructions (5-10 minutes)
- Have students go to learningworksforkids.com/[web address]
- Each student completes the PrePlay
- Teacher hands out PrePlay goal sheets [LINK HERE]
- Before kids play the game, tell them to take a look at their goal sheets and check off the areas in their life (at home and school) where they would like to improve their Memory skills.
- Time to play Chronotron
- Students have 15-25 minutes to play the game
- Students have 5-10 minutes for debriefing, review
Start with general questions about the game. Encourage students to talk about their successes and how they learned from their failures. Let them be excited about the game and then shift the conversation to the use of Memory in the game. Possible questions include:
- What did you do to successfully complete a level?
- How did remembering the ultimate goal of collecting the circuit help you to successfully map out the actions for your "past selves"?
- How did you remember what steps you needed to complete different levels
DAY TWO
Activity Two (Day 2)
Sample Script:
Yesterday we played a game called Chrontron. Who remembers why we played that game? Does anyone know the Thinking Skill we were working on? Can anyone give me an example of how you use the Memory in your life whether at home, school or even outside playing?
Excellent answers and like you said, Memory is used in almost every area in your life. It's helpful when you're playing a video game when you're able to keep information in your mind from your previous experience in the game from earlier levels so you know what to do on more difficult levels of the game. You would use Memory if you were remembering how to put something back together, such as a small engine that you had taken apart, rewiring your family's cable box and television, or when you're trying to repeat or tell a story about something that happened to you and want to make sure that you remember all the details and put them in the right order.
Think About How You Use Memory When:
Time to play again. Remember to use Memory skills.
Students Have:
Activity Two (Day 2)
Sample Script:
Yesterday we played a game called Chrontron. Who remembers why we played that game? Does anyone know the Thinking Skill we were working on? Can anyone give me an example of how you use the Memory in your life whether at home, school or even outside playing?
Excellent answers and like you said, Memory is used in almost every area in your life. It's helpful when you're playing a video game when you're able to keep information in your mind from your previous experience in the game from earlier levels so you know what to do on more difficult levels of the game. You would use Memory if you were remembering how to put something back together, such as a small engine that you had taken apart, rewiring your family's cable box and television, or when you're trying to repeat or tell a story about something that happened to you and want to make sure that you remember all the details and put them in the right order.
Think About How You Use Memory When:
- Your teacher is talking to you about a homework assignment but not writing it down on the chalkboard You need to listen and keep in mind what the teacher is saying, and then at the same time, write down what you heard. While you're writing, you need to continue to listen or be able to remember or rehearse/repeat what your teacher said so that you can remember everything the entire homework assignment.
- You're trying to make a complicated move in a video game where you need to have your game character act in a particular sequence, such as run, jump, and flip, in that order. At the same time, you need to remember which controller buttons you need to use to make that sequence happen.
Time to play again. Remember to use Memory skills.
Students Have:
- 15-25 minutes to play the game
- 5-10 minutes for debriefing, discussion and RePlay
- Have students go to learningworksforkids.com/[web address]
- Each student completes the RePlay
- Teacher hands out RePlay review/rating sheet
- How is completing a level in "Chronotron" like solving different pieces of the same complicated math problem?
- How is beating a Chronotron level like doing a bunch of directions in order?
Classroom Connections
(to practice the Memory skills throughout the school year)
The following are classroom situations in which the Thinking Skill "Memory" is required. Teachers are encouraged to initiate conversations with students when they encounter these situations in order to reinforce the preceeding lessons. Encourage the students to make the connection between the skills that are used in the game and how they might apply them in the classroom.
Strategies that use fellow student to prompt their classmates in the use of Memory are even better. Developing classroom spirit to have these game-based skills be practiced in the classroom will encourage students to find other areas where they will independently find other areas in the classroom where they can apply these same Memory skills.
Example of Connections Within the Classroom:
Tell students to get four specific things out of their desks that they need for their next project; if everyone in the classroom is able to have everything on their desk, they will earn an extra 5 minutes of game play. They can help each other out and work as a team to complete the task. They have 2 minutes to get ready for the project.
Just like when learning to read you needed to learn and remember letters, sounds and sight words. Just like in Chronotron, you needed to remember each step of reading taught to you to proceed to the next step. Now not only are you able to read letters, but words, sentences and stories.
Backgrounder
For a more detailed discussion and other sources of information about Memory as a Thinking Skill, visit this page.
For a more detailed discussion and other sources of information about Memory as a Thinking Skill, visit this page.
PDFs FOR THE MEMORY CURRICULUMCurriculum
To view or print out a PDF of the Memory curriculum, click here.
Student Smartsheet
To view or print out a PDF of the Student SmartSheet handout for Memory, click here.
