Newsletter – Memory Muscles – March 29, 2024

Did you know that informal testing or “retrieval practice” is a powerful way to reinforce knowledge? The more you practice retrieving information from your long-term memory, the more likely you’ll recall it when you need it.

If there’s something you want to remember, make a deliberate effort to quiz yourself or have someone else quiz you.

At Book Bums, we use a lot of no-stakes testing. This means we are continually reviewing taught concepts by inviting kids to share what they’ve learned. We say, “What sound do we make when we see a-r?” (Answer: A-r says /ar/ like a pirate.) and “What rule do you see in the word life?” (Answer: I see a magic e.) and “If we remove the i-n-g from the word hoping what letter would we find hiding under there?” (Answer: There’s a magic e under the i-n-g.) and “Why is there an extra p in the word hopping?” (Answer: It’s a blocker letter.)

When kids are invited to review how words work, they are better equipped to navigate our code-based language whether they’ve seen the word before or not.

This constant request for kids to retrieve what they know about how words work is required for instant accessibility when they’re decoding/reading and encoding/spelling words.

The trick is for the kids to recognize that nothing is lost if they cannot recall the “right answer.” There is no disappointment from the teacher. We simply provide the information again, reminding them of the letters, sound(s), motions, and the anchoring activity (and/or treat) from that lesson to remind them about what they’ve learned.

Remember, we used Froot Loops and Cookie Crisps to make words with two side-by-side o’s. We learned that
o-o says /ew/ (as in Loops) or /oo/ (as in Cookies).

Our students must be convinced that nothing is lost—there’s no condemnation—for not knowing, but they will be praised profusely when they have been sufficiently equipped (our job) to recall what they’ve learned.