Why one technique is not enough
School material differs in three ways, and each one rules out some methods.
- Order, or none — Stages of a war and the planets have one correct order. The properties of a triangle have none — and building a route for them wastes time.
- Meaning or exact wording — A definition in biology may be retold in your own words; a poem has to come back word for word. The second case needs a technique that holds rhythm.
- Quantity — Five things are memorised with no technique at all. Preparation only starts to pay off at a dozen or more.
Six techniques and the material they fit
Each with an example you can try at the table right away.
- Chunking
A long string is cut into pieces of three or four characters: 482913 becomes “482 · 913”. Fits numbers, codes and long figures. The cheapest technique of all — nothing has to be invented.
- Acrostics
A sentence built from the first letters. The names of the planets, the order of operations, the colours of the rainbow — anything that is a short list with a fixed order. The sentence should be funny, that is what makes it stick.
- Rhyme and rhythm
Spelling exceptions, grammar rules and formulas go in through rhythm: a short rhyme holds the exact form of a word. It is the only technique that guards precise wording.
- Number images
Every digit gets a permanent image: one is a candle, two a swan, seven a scythe. The date 1772 becomes a scene of four objects. Preparation takes an evening and then serves for years.
- A chain of scenes
The items of a list are tied into one story where each one does something to the previous. Good for a dozen or so things in order: stages, ingredients, points of a plan.
- A route
A familiar place turned into a series of points with images placed along it. The most expensive to prepare and the most reliable for twenty items or more, and for speaking.
Techniques do not replace understanding. A memorised formula the child does not understand is enough for a quiz and runs out on the first unusual problem.
Three kinds of material, three different techniques
One evening, three things to remember. It shows why a single method will not cover them.
One technique for everything
- Grandmother's phone number, the order of the planets and the definition of photosynthesis — all repeated aloud ten times each.
- The number goes in, because it is short. The planets get muddled in the middle.
- The definition is learned word for word and falls apart at the first question phrased differently, because nobody checked whether the child understands it.
A technique matched to the material
- The phone number: chunking. 501 · 234 · 189 instead of nine separate digits — three pieces instead of nine.
- The order of the planets: an acrostic. The initials M V E M J S U N turned into the child's own sentence.
- The definition of photosynthesis: first retold in their own words — that checks understanding — and only then one scene for the two key words that must not be confused.
- Three kinds of material, three techniques, the same quarter of an hour.
The choice takes thirty seconds and answers four questions: does order matter, are these numbers, does it need to be word for word, and how much of it is there. Those four questions are set out below.
Choose a technique for tomorrow's material — two minutes
Take what the child has to learn for tomorrow and run the four questions.
- Does the order matter?
If it does — a chain of scenes or a route. If it does not, chunking and single images are enough.
- Are these numbers?
Dates, formulas and numbers go through number images. Without being turned into an image, numbers have nothing to hold on to.
- Does it have to be word for word?
A poem or a definition — yes, and then rhyme, rhythm and an exact chain. Meaning in their own words — retelling aloud is enough.
- How much of it is there?
Up to seven items, single images will do. Above fifteen, there is no way round a route.
Two minutes later you have one technique and one thing to do this evening. If the answers point to two different techniques, the material is mixed — and that is the most valuable result of the exercise: split it in two and take each part separately instead of hunting for one method for all of it.
If the answer to “does the child understand this” is “I don't know”, no technique is right yet. Two minutes of retelling in their own words comes first.
What the research says
Three papers behind three of the techniques on this list.
Atkinson, 1975 — the keyword method
The paper describing what we call a chain of scenes for vocabulary: a foreign word gets a familiar word that sounds like it, then a scene carrying the meaning. It beat repeating the pairs.
Dresler et al., 2017 — training with the method of loci
Six weeks of half-hour daily practice gave ordinary adults a lasting gain in recalling lists. This is the technique we call a route.
Dunlosky et al., 2013 — a review of ten learning techniques
The authors also assess the keyword method (Atkinson, above) — and rate it low: it only works on material with an easy-to-picture keyword, and the effect fades over time. It does not replace understanding. We say so plainly, because this whole page is about techniques.
These studied the techniques, not our course, and mostly with adults. With a child the same techniques need shorter portions and a parent present for the first attempts — the table below shows this.
Choosing in thirty seconds
Four questions to ask about the material before the child starts learning it.
Does order matter?
Yes — a chain of scenes or a route. No — acrostics, chunking or plain images.
Is it numbers?
Short strings go through chunking; dates and formulas through number images. Mixing the two makes no sense.
Does it have to be word for word?
Then it is rhyme, rhythm and saying it out loud. Images hold meaning, not exact wording.
How much of it is there?
Up to seven items the technique can cost more than plain memorising. Beyond a dozen it pays off at the first review.
The most common mistakes in choosing a technique
Four misjudgements that make a good technique look useless.
One technique for everything
A route for a phone number and a rhyme for the order of the planets work worse than plain repetition. A technique matched to the material is half the effect.
A technique for material that has to be understood
A formula memorised without knowing where it comes from works only on a problem identical to the example. Understanding first, technique after.
Someone else's acrostic and someone else's images
A ready-made one off the internet has to be memorised itself. Show the pattern; the child writes the sentence.
A technique with no review
Images fade too. Without a return in the evening and a few days later, any of the six techniques holds barely longer than cramming.
How long it takes to master a technique
Time from the first demonstration to free use on the child's own material.
| Stage | How long |
|---|---|
| First run with a parent | 20–30 minutes for one technique and one example |
| Free use | A few weeks of using it on current material |
| The point where studying gets shorter | When the child picks the technique themselves instead of asking which one to use |
See where to start
Our free test is three game-like tasks: memory, attention and logic. The result hints whether to start from images or rather from attention and the order of work.
Take the free testshort test, about 7 minutes · no sign-up · instant result
Where this set comes from
This is the order in which the techniques appear in Space Memory classes: from chunking and acrostics, which work from day one, to number images and routes, which need preparation. Coaches run it in groups of 5–10 children, always on the material the child currently has at school.
Parents' questions
Which technique should we start with?
Chunking and acrostics. They need neither imagination nor preparation, and the effect shows on the first attempt — which matters for a child who does not believe this works.
Isn't using techniques cheating in a test?
No, because the material stays in the child's head, not on a crib sheet. The teacher is interested in the answer, not in the road the child took to it.
How many techniques does a child need?
Three used freely are worth more than six known by name. The rest arrive by themselves once material appears that requires them.
Does this work for maths and science?
For formulas, constants and the order of operations, yes. Solving problems is decided by understanding, and techniques do not help there.
My child says they cannot picture images. What then?
Then the verbal techniques remain: chunking, acrostics, rhyme. For some children images appear after a few weeks of practice; for some they never become a strength.
Does a technique have to be practised every day?
The technique itself does not. It has to be used on current material — then the repetitions happen alongside the lessons.
More on memory
- How to improve memory for kids
- The association method for kids
- How to check a child's memory
- Memorising techniques by subject
Pages with single techniques written out step by step.
Memory course for kids
The same techniques in weekly classes with a coach, on material from school.
Memory training for kids
What memory training is and what a child practises in class.
Memory test for kids online
Check for free how your child remembers now — before you start practising.
Mnemonics for kids
Four techniques with ready examples
Memory palace for kids
A route written out in six steps
How to train a child's memory
How to turn this into a weekly plan
Would you like someone to watch how your child uses them?
In online classes the child applies the techniques to their own school material: 90 minutes once a week in a group of 5–10. Leave a request and we will tell you about the next group.
Request a callThe techniques are free and work without us. Classes add what a text cannot: someone watching how the child uses them.