6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

What is working memory used for?6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memor

Working memory is useful for taking notes, understanding texts, solving problems, mental calculation, writing and even concentrating.

What is working memory?

Working memory is the ability to momentarily retain information and process it in order to accomplish a task at hand. We could say that working memory is the same as short-term memory. To understand what short-term memory or working memory is, we need to understand the distinction between short-term and long-term memory.

Long-term memory allows us to store knowledge, information and memories. Working memory allows a person to have a mental space to hold this information for a period of several seconds. It is used constantly in daily life.

Working memory at school

Working memory is used extensively in all school tasks, especially when it is necessary to take notes while the teacher explains.6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

Working memory is also essential for understanding texts. Some children tend to forget the sentence they have just read as soon as they continue reading.

In mathematics, working memory is also very useful, whether for mental arithmetic or problem solving.

In writing, working memory allows children to keep their ideas in mind.

Beyond school subjects, an effective working memory also promotes better concentration in class.

A limited capacity 6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

It is important to know that working memory is relatively fragile because its capacity is limited. On average, it is possible to retain about 7 elements.

It is therefore easily overloaded.6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

The unit of measurement is really fundamental. For example, if you have a series of isolated letters to remember (e.g.: A, F, G, X, I, P), you will remember much less than if the letters are grouped together to form words (e.g.: RABBIT, PIRATE, HAT, etc.).

Importance of self-repetition 6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

When trying to remember a list of items, the strategy often used is self-repetition. This strategy consists of repeating the list of items to be remembered to yourself.  In the absence of self-repetition, the information quickly disappears.6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

Research indicates that children aged 7 and under make little use of self-repetition to retain information in the short term. However, recent research shows that the improvement resulting from the stimulation of working memory can reduce the negative effects of ADHD on learning.

Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

Prepare the memory! It’s always easier to find information when it’s in the right “file. When you want your child to remember information, tell them what category the information falls into (e.g., I’m going to tell you what items you need to put in your school bag…).

Teach your child to repeat the information to himself.  As mentioned earlier, to retain active information in working memory, we need to repeat it. Some children do not tend to use this strategy, so it is important to teach them explicitly. (E.g.: To remember items I want to buy at the grocery store, I will repeat them to myself: bread, milk, orange juice/bread, milk, orange juice…)

Teach your child to group things together. Studies on memory function have shown that working memory can retain up to about 7 items.  Grouping information into different categories can help retain more of it. For example, if you have a list of foods to remember before going to the grocery store, you could model this strategy for her: “I have 9 items to remember to go to the grocery store. So I don’t forget them, I’m going to group them into categories. I’m going to remind myself that I need to buy 3 vegetables, 4 fruits and 2 grain products.” 6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

Teach your child to make associations. Research shows that children and adults retain new information much better when it is associated with known items. When your child has things to remember, try to create associations with them, whether it’s in the form of funny stories or mental images.

Focus on pictures! 6 Tips for strengthening your child’s working memory

The brain retains information better when it is perceived by several senses.

Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

Cycle 2 has a common curriculum which of course evolves between CP and CE2.

Five orientations define the common base for CP, CE1 and CE2 and are spread across all subjects:

• learning languages to think and communicate;
• mastering the methods and tools for learning
• the formation of the person and the citizen;
• knowledge of natural and technical systems
• representations of the world and human activity.

In Cycle 2, students are encouraged to question their environment, both near and far. All of the subjects taught to them aim to sharpen their curiosity, to teach them to satisfy it and to express it rationally. To question the world, students must master language. Learning French is therefore a priority that does not overshadow other subjects. On the contrary: the better they handle the language, the more comfortable they will be in other areas. They will find it easier to identify vocabulary specific to each subject, understand statements better and answer questions more accurately. Because the teacher is versatile, he or she can take advantage of each activity to remind them of the rules of the language. In short, while doing math or sports, they are also doing French. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

The two paths of learning Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

In most subjects, learning takes two simultaneous paths: comprehension and automation. Understanding a sentence or an operation means giving it meaning. In French, understanding how to go from sound to letters and vice versa is an essential issue. In a broader sense, learning to read also requires understanding a text, beginning to interpret it in order to appreciate it and even grasping what is not always explicit. Automation consists of memorizing knowledge that students will use as a tool. For example, in mathematics, knowing the multiplication tables allows students to improve their ability to calculate an operation whose meaning they have understood. In the same way, in the activities of questioning the world, they can use some dates learned by heart to understand a given situation.

In CP, CE1 and CE2, there is a real gap between the levels of oral and written mastery. What students are able to understand and express through speech is still at a much higher level than what they can read or write. But don’t worry, your children won’t spend three years talking back and forth without holding a pen: it is precisely during this cycle that the teacher gradually teaches them to move from spoken language to paper (and keyboard). Whatever the subject, they begin to understand that speaking or writing is both translating what they think and respecting rules. The teacher builds on this gap: in teaching French or modern languages – foreign or regional – he or she first develops their oral skills to make them understand the importance of these rules before transmitting them in writing. Knowing that one does not say “I’m not hungry”, but “I’m not hungry” already introduces grammatical nuances that will be indispensable in writing. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

Understanding and explaining Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

In these classes, teaching is based on intuitive knowledge acquired outside of school, mainly in the family. This knowledge touches on many areas: social (rules, conventions, customs), physical (knowledge of one’s body, movements), and cultural. The teacher uses this implicit knowledge as a foundation for explicit learning. Students begin to analyse what they previously knew without thinking about it and thus evaluate their own actions (e.g., judging whether a verbal form is correct, understanding a quantity, reasoning logically). This is also the time when they learn to justify rationally. In all activities, they practice not only doing what they are asked to do, but also explaining why they did it the way they did and adapting their answers: they understand that the result of a calculation or the understanding of a text, the appreciation of a work of art or the observation of a natural phenomenon are not justified in the same way. Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

Finally, in Cycle 2, children acquire fundamental skills that they will use in all subjects and throughout their schooling, and later still in many aspects of life: solving a problem, understanding a document, writing a text, designing an object. The teacher highlights the links between these activities: isn’t there an analogy between solving a math problem and doing research in science? Between reading a text and understanding a work of art? Between understanding a speech and arguing? If the teacher is not there to show students the connections between different domains, only a handful of students will be able to grasp these connections, truly understand them, and then use the common methodologies. Wouldn’t that be a shame? Cycle 2 (CP et CE1 et CE2) what will they learn?

Social relationships from 6 years old

Why are we talking about social relationships in everyday activities? First of all, in order to reach a good level of satisfaction or well-being, we need to have regular relationships and exchanges with our peers.

Through these relationships, the child will develop his or her own image, experiment and integrate social rules. Social skills are essential for a child’s place in society or school. Often, parents talk about a child who is fearful, who stays in his corner, who doesn’t talk much, who isolates himself easily, who doesn’t like to be touched, and who doesn’t share much with others. On the other hand, I am sometimes told that the child is restless, doesn’t stay put, touches everything, doesn’t manage his strength and is inattentive.

It is true that one or more of these characteristics can be found in a child with sensory difficulties. It is common and easy to diagnose a psychological problem in these children. They are sometimes referred to as hypersensitive, but this term is used with a psychological approach. This is sometimes unfortunate, because the sensory-motor domain should be investigated first and thus the quality of the child’s sensory integration process. Social relationships from 6 years old

A sensory problem can lead to maladaptive behaviours which in turn can lead to psychological problems such as lack of self-confidence, fear of others or attention problems. In this section I will discuss personal skills, assertiveness skills and communication skills. Social relationships from 6 years old

Personal skills Social relationships from 6 years old

Behind this term are several skills that the child will develop and learn from a very early age. Indeed, he will first learn to understand the feelings expressed by others. Later, he will be confronted with frustration when he does not manage to catch or get what he wants. When one of his parents says no, he will have to learn to manage his frustration, his anger, but also his stress. Finally, later on, he will develop the ability to adapt in order to choose the right attitude in relation to the responses of his environment.

Assertiveness skills Social relationships from 6 years old

Here the child becomes an actor, because he will have to express himself, but also control himself. For example, he will develop the skills to express his needs in an appropriate way (rules of politeness, communication), to express his feelings, both negative and positive, and finally, he will have to learn to control himself. When we talk about control, it means for example accepting refusal, learning to ask or reacting to malicious behaviour (teasing). If the social rules are for the most part well acquired, it is the management of all this that often come up difficulties. Social relationships from 6 years old

Communication skills

These skills are essential for a good schooling. Indeed, the child will learn to have constructed answers when a question is asked. He will then understand the importance of taking turns, a key concept in game activities, for example. Finally, he will have to develop attentional skills to follow a conversation, a lesson, an exchange or a game. It is easy to imagine that a sensory attainment will interfere with the development of these skills.

Loving to learn with active pedagogies

A different kind of education implies taking into account the child’s rhythm, needs and interests, a different kind of pedagogical relationship and a definition of the child and not only of the schoolboy. This pleasure of learning is an assumed ambition of active pedagogies.

Rethinking the way we teach Loving to learn with active pedagogies

This new pedagogical relationship is based on the ambition to rethink teaching, on the need to decompartmentalize knowledge and school disciplines to broaden the reflexion to multiple facets.

For active pedagogies, thinking is not purely literary, mathematical, historical or geographical and the understanding of a phenomenon deserves the mobilization of all disciplinary methodologies. This global approach calls into question the hierarchy between school disciplines and revalorizes education that promotes creativity, the affect, the bodily, the manual and the intellectual, without hierarchy, in the service of an education that gives meaning to learning. Loving to learn with active pedagogies

This ambition is translated into practices with the will to make the child act, to experiment, to manipulate, to observe, to grope to learn. All of these ideas and approaches must be done in a trusting environment, mutual aid and the most democratic organization possible. This confidence in the child helps to develop the autonomy and responsibility of each individual. It is another way of learning, teaching and thinking about society that is being initiated. Loving to learn with active pedagogies

A benevolent and positive attitude Loving to learn with active pedagogies

Active pedagogies imply a new attitude towards the taught and therefore a new way of teaching.

The teacher’s role is all the more important in these pedagogies because the pedagogical relationship is not solely defined by the transmission of knowledge from the adult. The teacher’s function, in these pedagogies, is therefore multiple: on the one hand, he or she must, through objective, meticulous and constant observation, get to know his or her students as well as possible in their complexity and singularity; on the other hand, he or she must also guide his or her students with respect, and confidence, through facts and not words to be in line with the idea that “The being is worth by what he does, not by what he knows.

The teacher is therefore present at each stage of learning, but he is not a transmitter of knowledge, he is an “awakener”. Through the activities they propose, they create a pedagogical relationship that is conducive to learning. The child is placed in a living environment (plants and animals), the classroom becomes a workshop with multiple activities but also a place of openness to the outside world where observations are multiplied through visits to monuments or companies.

The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

In kindergarten, your child is introduced to the five major areas of learning that will lead to independence throughout his or her schooling: language, exploration of the world, measurement tools, artistic expression and physical activities. Here is a detailed review.

Language The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

Between the ages of 2 and 4, children express themselves extensively through non-verbal means. To learn to speak, they pick up words they hear around them. After 4 years of age, children’s syntax improves, their lexicon expands and they produce more and more precise statements. It is also at this age that they discover that people think and feel differently from one another. They begin to act purposefully with language and see the effects that words can have on others. In kindergarten, language is an essential condition for success. Oral language is stimulated and structured. The entry into writing is done progressively. The objective of this learning is to allow the child to give his opinion, to ask a question, to express a need. In short, to communicate with others, to be understood and to understand.

Exploring the world The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

From birth, through exploration, children intuitively perceive certain spatial and temporal dimensions of their immediate environment. Thus, they begin to evaluate the distances that separate them from an object or a place (“it’s close”, “it’s far”) even if they don’t know how to measure them. They also begin to talk about their memories and express wishes for the future, but in a limited way. One of the goals of kindergarten is to gradually bring them to understand time and space.

In other words, “yesterday”, “tomorrow”, “here” and “elsewhere” are no longer abstract notions. Not only does this new way of seeing give them reference points, but it also leads them to go beyond their own point of view and understand that of others. By comparing their perception of space and time with that of others around universal concepts, they begin to see that the world does not revolve solely around themselves and can thus begin to reason.

Measurement tools The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

From a very early age, children have an intuition of size that allows them to compare and evaluate sizes (“this is big”), volumes (“this is big”, “this is small”) and collections (“a lot”, “not much”) in an approximate way. By the time they enter kindergarten, they know how to state the beginning of number sequences, but without yet understanding what quantities and numbers are. Gradually, students learn in class to express size and rank in a list. This new ability to measure their environment allows them to structure their thinking and determine their own place in the world.

Art activities The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

They stimulate the child’s imagination and give him/her the opportunity to experience new emotions and sensations. These activities develop their sensitivity. They include visual arts (painting, sculpture, photography, cinema, digital arts) but also sounds (songs, music) and live performances (dance, theater, circus, puppets). In kindergarten, they are the first step in the artistic and cultural education pathway that all students complete during their schooling. The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

Physical activities The Kindergarten cycle: what will he learn?

They contribute to the motor, sensory, emotional, intellectual and relational development of the child. These activities allow students to explore their physical possibilities and help them to better situate themselves in space. They are also an opportunity to interact with other students – especially during group games – and to practice respect for equality and rules. Physical activities contribute to both their physical and psychological health.

The cycle CM1 – C M2 – 6ème: what will they learn?

Cycle 3 links CM1 and CM2 to the 6th grade. The teaching is organized with a double objective: to consolidate the fundamental knowledge and to give the children the means to act on their learning. In middle school, they will need to be autonomous… The cycle CM1 – C M2 – 6ème: what will they learn?

Cycle 3 has a common program – the Common Base – which, of course, evolves between CM1 and 6e. It aims to consolidate what has been learned in previous years and to develop the practice of it in order to give students greater autonomy. It extends to the five fundamental learning areas covered in the CP-CE1-CE2 cycle: The cycle CM1 – C M2 – 6ème: what will they learn?

– languages for thinking and communicating (French, foreign or regional languages, scientific languages, artistic languages, physical expression)

•  the use of tools and methods;
•  the formation of the person and the citizen;
•  knowledge of natural and technical systems
•  representations of the world and human activity.

In Cycle 3, students deepen their knowledge of the various languages necessary for the successful pursuit of their schooling and their social life: French, of course, but also scientific, artistic and physical languages. At the same time, they acquire the tools and methods that should make them more autonomous and allow them to gradually get rid of the permanent assistance of their teacher. Finally, they discover their historical and geographical environment with more precision by classifying their knowledge. Their horizons broaden: they begin to think about the world…

Language practice The cycle CM1 – C M2 – 6ème: what will they learn?

The learning that your child began during the first three years of elementary school is considerably reinforced in CM1, CM2 and 6e. This starts with language skills. The better – and earlier – your child knows how to use them, the better he or she will be able to approach the following grades in all subjects. In French, for example, during the CP-CE1-CE2 cycle, he has acquired reading and writing tools. Cycle 3 allows him to extend his use of them. Oral expression, on which his fluency also depends, is also the subject of constant attention and specific work. The teaching of the second modern language, undertaken in the CP-CE1-CE2 cycle, is continued with the addition of the study of certain cultural aspects of the country of the language studied.

In the area of scientific languages, children continue to explore whole numbers in mathematics and begin to study fractions and decimal numbers. They become familiar with the vocabulary and methods used to characterize objects: geometric shapes, sizes and measurements. They are also trained to use a variety of representations of objects, experiments and natural phenomena (diagrams, drawings, models) and to understand and produce tables, graphs and diagrams.

In cycle 3, artistic languages – visual arts and music education – are now aimed at encouraging students to discover the means, techniques and approaches of artistic creation, and to create their own production, notably by participating in the artistic and cultural education pathway. Physical education and sports constitute another language, that of the body. Motor skills, action, self-involvement and confrontation with others contribute to educating children about health. They allow him to explore his possibilities and to gain ease.

The tools of autonomy

Cycle 3 children are becoming increasingly aware of the means they use to express themselves in all languages and the possibilities they offer. They are no longer content to repeat the teacher’s lessons. French and the second language he is learning become objects of comparison and reflection. He begins to reason about the language, to understand its system and to apply this reasoning, especially for spelling. They also become aware of the means to be used to learn or to solve problems (in mathematics, for example). In most subjects, they become familiar with all kinds of documentary sources, and learn to search for and sort information, especially in the digital world. They begin to choose the most appropriate work methods with greater autonomy and thus to organize their own personal work. In short, they become actors in their own learning.

Organizing the World

In fourth, fifth and sixth grade, your child continues to organize the knowledge he or she acquires about the world every day. In the previous grades, he had begun to situate himself in time and space. History and geography now teach him that his current environment is the result of a long and constantly changing evolution. In this teaching, he discovers different methods of research, distinguishes between real facts and fiction, and compares his way of life with those of other times or other places. On the one hand, his horizon expands, on the other hand he looks at it with more precision. The study of science and technology offers the same virtues. Here again, it is a matter of giving students the keys to understanding the world around them. They learn to rationalize their knowledge by offering explanations and solutions to technical problems.

In general, in the CM1-CM2-6th cycle, children gain access to more abstract thinking that fosters reasoning, observation skills, curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, taste and autonomy. In most subjects, they are encouraged to act responsibly and to cooperate through the realization of individual and collective projects. In short, these classes help them grow.