USING MNEMONIC INSTRUCTION TO TEACH READING

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What Is Mnemonic Instruction?

Mnemonic instruction is a set of strategies designed to help students improve their memory of new information. Mnemonics instruction links new information to prior knowledge through the use of visual and/or acoustic cues. These strategies have been proven effective with students at a wide range of ability levels (gifted, normally achieving, and those with mild and moderate disabilities) and at all grade levels. Mnemonics are particularly helpful in teaching students with disabilities who have difficulty recalling verbal and content-area information, as they are effective with any type of verbal content.

There are three basic types of mnemonic strategies:

  • Keyword – A keyword is a familiar word that sounds similar to the word or idea being taught. Keywords are generally used with an illustration of some type. The teacher creates a picture or other graphic that links the old and new information in the student’s memory. For example, a mnemonic for remembering the definition of the word “carline” (meaning witch) might be a drawing of a witch driving a car.
  • Pegword – Pegwords refer to a set of rhyming words that are used to represent numbers. For example, the pegword for “one” is “bun.” Pegwords are used to help students remember information involving numbers or other information in a particular order.
  • Letter – Letter strategies include acronyms and acrostics (or sentence mnemonics). For example, the acronym HOMES can be used to help students remember the names of the Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, etc.). Acrostics are sentences in which the first letters of the words correspond to the first letters of the information students are expected to remember. For example, “Every Good Boy Does Fine” is commonly used to help music students remember the notes on the lines of the treble clef.

What Does It Look Like for Reading?

Of the three types of mnemonic strategies, letter strategies and keywords are used more often in teaching reading. A combination of letter strategies and keywords can sometimes be used as well, as in the example below. The purpose of using mnemonics in teaching reading is generally to teach either letters and letter sounds (phonemics) or to teach vocabulary.

How Is It Implemented?

In teaching new content, good teachers not only tell their students what is important to remember, they give them ways to remember it. Teachers must create the mnemonics themselves and must be explicit in their instruction, telling students, for example, “ here is a good way to remember this.” Then the teacher must go through the specific steps involved in using the mnemonic to show students how to use it to retrieve information. Then the teacher practices all the steps of the strategies with the students, until they can practice them independently and retrieve the information correctly. See the references at the end of this brief for resources on: combining mnemonics, using them with varying levels of student independence and teacher support, and using them with other teaching techniques.

There is no need to be an accomplished illustrator to create the illustrations or other graphics used in some mnemonics. Simple drawings or clip art can be used, as in the example below. Most word-processing software offers a wide selection of clip art, and there are web sites offering free or inexpensive clip art. And most mnemonics can be used without pictorial illustrations. The references at the end of this brief provide some sources teachers can use in developing mnemonics and accompanying illustrations.

Example of Keyword Strategy

 
C = cake
D = dog
B = boy

 

Letter/Keyword Strategy

This strategy is based on linking new information (in this case, letter sounds) to keywords that are already encoded in the memory. This mnemonic is probably familiar to teachers and students alike. Students are taught to associate the letter or its sound with a picture. For example, “A” and an apple. In this example, the teacher pairs the letter or sound for “A” with a visual cue of an apple Picture of an apple so that students will be able to more easily remember that particular letter sound.

Letter Strategy

As shown above, letter strategies involve the use of acronyms or acrostics (sentence mnemonics). One acronym that can be used in teaching reading comprehension is PARTS, which is an effective instructional strategy for teaching students to peruse a reading passage to improve their comprehension. This strategy is especially effective for students with mild and moderate disabilities. As with all mnemonics, teachers will need to model the strategy to students and go through the steps of the mnemonic repeatedly, until the students can use it independently.

 

Example of Letter Strategy

Perform goal setting
 Clarify why you are analyzing the chapter parts
Identify a goal related to this reason
Make a positive self-statement

Analyze little parts (title, headings, visuals, and words)
Explain the information indicated by the part
Predict what the section under the part is about
Tie the parts together  

Review big parts (introduction and summary)
Search for signal words that indicate main ideas
Decide what the author thinks is important
Relate new information to what you already know
Paraphrase the main messages  

Think of questions you hope will be answered
Check questions provided by the chapter
Identify your own questions

State relationships
How does the chapter relate to the unit?
How does the chapter relate to what you already know?
(Ellis, 1993)

 

References

Ehren, Barbara J. (2005). MnemonicDevices. University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning. http://itc.gsu.edu/academymodules/a304/support/xpages/a304b0_20600.html

Ellis, Edwin (1993). Integrating Strategy Instruction: A Potential Model for Teaching Content Area Subjects to Adolescents with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities 26, 6, 358-383.

Scruggs, T.E. & Mastropieri, M. A. Teaching Tutorial: Mnemonic Instruction.www.teachingld.org

Other Web Resources
Alert 5: Mnemonic Instruction. www.teachingld.org
www.allfree-clipart.com

 

 

For additional information on this or other topics,
please contact The Access Center at center@air.org.
The Access Center: Improving Outcomes for All Students K-8
The Access Center is a cooperative agreement (H326K020003) funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs, awarded to the American Institutes for Research 1000 Thomas Jefferson St. NW,
Washington, DC 20007
Ph: 202-403-5000 | TTY: 877-334-3499 | Fax: 202-403-5001 |
e-mail: center@air.org website: www.k8accesscenter.org

This report was produced under U.S. Department of Education Cooperative Agreement H326K020003 with the American Institutes for Research. Jane Hauser served as the project officer. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred.