Memory Skills

Workshop
Sponsored by the Catamount Academic Tutoring Center
135 Killian Annex/227-2274

What are mnemonics? “Mnemonic strategies are systematic procedures for enhancing
memory. Their particular use is in developing better ways to take in (encode) information
so that it will be much easier to remember (retrieve). “ The key to using mnemonics is in
finding ways to associate new information with information you already know
(Mastropieri and Scruggs screen 2-3).

1. The Peg System

Best use: is with a list of items that must be memorized, especially when the list must be remembered in a certain
order or steps. There are several different peg “systems” that can be used, so you must determine which is the easiest
for you to remember (or create your own).
How it works: the “pegs” are the words (or images) that are associated with the numbers 1 through ten or 1 through
twenty. You must then associate those words/images with the list of things to be memorized.

To increase the effectiveness of your peg systems, try to incorporate all of these aspects into your associations:
¾ Use as many of your senses as you can
¾ Make your mental images HUGE
¾ Make the images mobile
¾ Make them numerous
¾ Make them STRANGE! (Mirick screen 1).

A. This first system of pegs is based on the similarity between the shape of the number and the image that
represents it (Mirick screen 2):

1= 2= 3= 4=
5= 6= 7= 8=
9= 10 =
Example: Let’s say that after work today I have to do three things (and they must be done in this order):
1) go by the post office, 2) pick my dog up from the vet, 3) drop some clothes off at the dry cleaners. To remember
these things in order, I might visualize:
1 – pen – The post office is shaped like a giant pen, and the pen has sprung a leak. Every time someone tries to get into
the post office, they slip on all the ink, and their mail goes flying everywhere. Thus, the pen-shaped post office is
surrounded by a moat of black ink with thousands of letters and packages floating around in it.

2 – swan - My dog got in trouble today at the vet’s. He managed to break out of his cage and began chasing a swan
that had been brought in with a broken wing. The great swan goddess, Leda, saw all of this commotion from her
fortress in the sky, and she swooped down and smote my dog on the nose, saying, “Bad boy!”

3 – bird in flight – When I arrive at the dry cleaners, I find that the nice man who usually takes my clothes has turned
into a giant, talking bird. He calmly explains that he has discovered a better method of dry cleaning. He then pulls out
a bottle of sparkly spray and mists my clothes with it. Then, placing the clothes hangers in his beak, he flies off into
the sky. Higher and higher and higher he goes, until finally he is circling around the sun. When he returns a few
minutes later, my clothes are warm and refreshed from their unusual cleaning.

B. The second system of pegs is based on rhyming words (Mirick screen 2):
One = Bun Three = Tree Five = hive Seven = Heaven Nine = Mine
Two = Shoe Four = Door Six = Sticks Eight = Gate Ten = Hen

C. The third peg system involves body parts (Adapted from “Tips for Memory” screen 3-4):
(in order from bottom to top)
One = Toes Five = Love Handles Nine = Face
Two = Knee Six = Belly Button Ten = Top of head
Three = Thigh Seven = Shoulders
Four = Rear end Eight = Neck

Application: Using one of the three peg systems above, create your own associations for remembering the
chronological order of these Holidays: President’s Day (third Mon. in Feb.), Columbus Day (Oct. 12), St. Patrick’s
Day (March 17), Earth Day (April 22), and Thanksgiving (4th Thurs. of November):

D. Now, create your own pegs for the numbers one through twenty:
One= Eight= Fifteen=
Two= Nine= Sixteen=
Three= Ten= Seventeen=
Four= Eleven= Eighteen=
Five= Twelve= Nineteen=
Six= Thirteen= Twenty=
Seven= Fourteen=
2. Method of Loci (Place). This memorization technique relies on your ability to vividly recall the various
aspects of a certain room, location, or path.
Best use: Like the peg system, the method of loci works for memorizing lists or related steps. The nice thing about
this system is that you are not limited to ten or twenty items (as long as you can adequately visualize more than twenty
parts of a specific room or path).
How it works: Visualize a room or location where you spend a lot of time, or a path that you frequently travel.
Imagine yourself moving through the area in a specific order, and identify objects or landmarks that you pass as you go.
These objects and landmarks will serve as your “pegs.” Once you have memorized your path and the pegs you will
use, you are ready to begin memorizing the items or steps that you must learn. Do this by associating each item or step
with one of the pegs in your imaginary journey (“Mnemonic Techniques to Improve Memory” screen 2).
Application: In the space below, identify the place or path that you will use for the method of loci. Briefly describe
your journey through this place, and identify ten objects or landmarks that you will use as pegs:

Next, briefly associate this list of grocery items with the ten pegs that you will encounter in your journey (cheese,
pancakes, bread, apples, rice, salsa, yogurt, hamburger, Pepsi, pretzels). You may want to arrange the grocery items in
the order you will actually pick them up in the store. Make sure that your associations: appeal to the senses, are huge,
numerous, mobile, and strange:

3. Acronyms – Involves making a new word from the first letter from each word to be memorized and. Ex:
SCUBA (self contained Underwater breathing apparatus). Create an acronym that will help you remember the six
mnemonic strategies discussed in this workshop (pegs, method of loci, acronyms, sentences/acrostics, chunking,
number alphabet):

4. Sentences/Acrostics – Like acronyms, with sentences/acrostics, you take the first letter from each word to
be memorized, but you use those letters to make a sentence rather than a new word. Ex: “My Very educated mother
just sent us nine pizzas.” Use the list of mnemonic strategies above to form a sentence/acrostic:

5. Chunking- generally used for memorizing numbers. “People can remember between five and nine things at a
time . . . when you use ‘chunking’ to remember, you decrease the number of items you are holding in memory by
increasing the size of each item” (“Mnemonic Tricks to Improve Memory” screen 3). For example, instead of trying to
remember each individual number in 3651928465, how could you “chunk” those numbers so that you decrease the
number of items to be memorized?

6. Number alphabet – a more complex system for remembering numbers.

Best use: The number alphabet works well when you have need to remember not only the number, but also the
number’s significance. This method works best for small numbers.
How it works: The number alphabet technique assigns a consonant letter (or letters) to each of the numbers zero
through nine. In order to remember a number, you form a word using the letters that represent the individual numerals
and whatever vowels you wish to use (North screen 1). The number alphabet looks like this:
Number Letter/Sound Memory Aid

1 t,d t has one downstroke

2 n n has two downstrokes
3 m m has three downstrokes
4 r “four” ends with r
5 l Latin 50 = L
6 j,sh,ch J reversed looks like 6
7 k,g Visualize a K drawn with two 7s
8 f,v Cursive f has two loops like an 8
9 p,b P reversed looks like 9
0 z,s “Zero” starts with z

Application: Let’s say you need to remember that your brother’s birthday is February 9th. You use the numbers 02/09
to represent the month and day, then translate the numbers into s,n,z,p. By adding the vowels “u” and “a,” you get the
words “sun zap.” Then you picture your brother dressed up as a superhero, flying around with the SunZapper 2000, a
state-of-the-art piece of machinery that fights global warming by zapping the sun with bolts of thick, creamy, birthday-
cake icing. Now, whenever you think of your brother, you automatically think “SunZapper,” you take the first four
consonants: s,n,z,and p, and translate them into his birth date: 02/09! Okay, how about something a little more “down
to earth”? Perhaps you need to memorize the periodic number for Gold (79). 7 = k and 9 = p, so you form the word
kup (or cup), and you envision a “cup of gold.” What could you do with silver (47)?

7. General strategies for improving everyday memory use (Adapted from Glicksman):
A. If you are bad about misplacing objects such as keys, glasses, watch, etc., try to remember the old adage: “a
place for everything and everything in its place.” When you are forced to leave an object somewhere other than its
normal “place,” use visual and verbal cues to help you remember. For example, visualize yourself putting your keys in
your coat pocket, and then say to yourself out loud, “I am putting my keys in my coat pocket.”

B. If you have trouble remembering names, you should 1) repeat the name as soon as you hear it (“Hi, Sheila, nice
to meet you.”), and 2) spend 10-15 seconds creating a visual image or association (for example, if you meet a man
named Warren, you might visualize him involved in a war – “in” “war” = “war” “in” = “Warren”).

C. Exercise! ! ! “Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which improves alertness” (Glicksman screen 2).

Works Cited
Glicksman, Eve. “Lessons that Can Improve Your Memory.” Good Housekeeping. 219.3 (Sep. 94): 3.
AcademicSearchFullTEXTElite. Online. EBSCO Host. 12 March 2001.
Mastropieri, Margo A. and Scruggs, Thomas E. “Enhancing School Success with Mnemonic Strategies.” Intervention in School
and Clinic. 33.4 (March 98): 8. AcademicSearchFullTEXTElite. Online. EBSCO Host. 12 March 2001.
Mirick, Susie. “Improving Your Memory Skills: Mnemonics.” 13 March 2001.
<http://www.wm.edu/OSA/dostud/moresski/memory.htm>
“Mnemonic Techiniques and Specific Memory Tricks to Improve Memory, Memorization.” Intelegen Inc. 13 March 2001.
http://www.web-us.com/memory/mnemonic_techniques.htm
North, Kevin Jay. “Technique for Memorizing Numbers.” 13 March 2001. http://www.premiumhealth.com/memory/htiym3.htm
“Tips for Improving Your Memory.” The Study Hall. 13 March 2001. <http://www.studyhall.com/smemory.htm>