Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM May 2019 | Page 32

EDUCATION
JODY CERISANO
Huntington Learning Center of League City
832.864.2769
www.huntingtonhelps.com/center/league-city
T
Strategies to Build your
Child’s Working Memory
hroughout the course of any given day,
children are asked to do a lot of different
things, from doing chores, to doing
homework. In school, your child’s job is to
learn, but learning is actually quite complex.
It requires active listening, comprehension, reasoning,
critical thinking, making comparisons, and organizing
thoughts for multiple subjects.
When all of those activities come easy for children,
school usually comes easy too. But if you notice
that your child struggles in school and has difficulty
remembering important information and focusing on
homework, you might wonder what’s going on. There
could be several contributors, but it is possible that your
child has a weak working memory.
Working memory is defined as “memory that involves
storing, focusing attention on, and manipulating
information for a short period of time” (Merriam-
Webster). Put simply, working memory is what helps
children remember homework directions long enough
to complete the work. It allows them to problem solve
when they encounter tricky math homework or use
context to figure out a word they do not understand
when reading. It helps children recognize when a draft
of a writing assignment needs correcting. Children who
lack working memory, on the other hand, likely have a
range of issues in school, including:
• Poor memorization skills
• Difficulty paying attention in class
• Difficulty staying organized
• Struggles with completing math
calculations in their heads
• Lots of mistakes in writing (difficulty
retaining and remembering
grammar rules)
• Often unable to follow multi-step
directions
Here’s the good news: you can help
your child improve his or her working
memory with brain-boosting exercises
and other memory improvement
strategies. Here are some easy ways
to do so:
Make sure your child gets
sufficient sleep. A good night’s sleep
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accelerates the improvement in working memory
performance, among many other important benefits.
Play memory games. Certain games help children
improve working memory because they require them
to keep track of moves of their opponents and recall
information quickly. Think card games, which require
players to remember their cards and keep information
in their heads long enough to decide their next move,
and classic games like “Simon” (yes, still available
today!), which has players memorize and repeat a color
pattern that gets increasingly complex.
Break down bigger tasks. Have your child break
down complex, detailed assignments into smaller
steps. He or she should write them down and keep
that to-do list visible. To strengthen working memory,
encourage your child to use tools like graphic
organizers, visual maps and checklists when doing
homework.
Have your child teach you. When learning a new
task, have your child teach you how to do it. Even the
simplest of tasks, like teaching you how to dribble a
basketball, or how to play a board game, can help
them exercise their working memory.
Working memory is one of the most essential
functions students need to manipulate, process and
retain information to help them be successful in
school.