Continuing our series of cognitive quick tips, let’s have some fun building auditory memory skills. Start with Auditory Memory Activities for Kids if you’d like a more in depth look at the importance of strengthening children’s auditory memory.
Ready? Let’s dive in.
AUDITORY MEMORY SKILLS AT HOME
Quick tip: The Grocery List
Before taking your child with you to the grocery store, put her in charge of remembering three (or four or five) items from your list. Say the items out loud rather than showing the items or words visually. Be sure to have your child repeat the items back to you right away to check for understanding. Then check again when you get to the store.
Taking more than one child? Give them each their own items to remember (not too many of course).
AUDITORY MEMORY SKILLS IN THE CLASSROOM
(Great for homeschool classrooms, too.)
Quick tip: Auditory Spelling List
This is a good exercise to identify those students who may be struggling with auditory memory skills and/or reversals.
Before delivering your weekly spelling list via handout, spell each word out loud for your students to listen to, remember, and write once they’ve heard all of the letters. You can even let students take turns dictating to the class.
Be sure to demonstrate the even pace of one l-e-t-t-e-r per second. Stick with seven letter words or less for seven-year-olds, six letters for six-year-olds, etc. Do check for accuracy! We don’t want students to study new spelling words that they may have written down incorrectly.
Alternative:
Writing what we hear uses a different process in the brain than speaking what we hear. Ask students to listen, remember, repeat out loud, then write their new spelling words.
Are you finding some students struggling with this? Offer their parents some quick tips like The Grocery List above to reinforce auditory memory skill building at home.
More in the Cognitive Quick Tips Series:
Visual Memory at Home and in the Classroom
Visual Memory at Home and in the Classroom Part 2