Bag of Tricks: Flashcard “War”
Hans needed a little help getting his addition facts down pat.
Jaeger needed a little help getting the vowel sounds down pat.
Neither of them seemed to have their brains in gear when we worked on these things. Both of them seemed to have sieves in their head instead.
So. I changed things up. I made it a challenge, a game, a competition.
Two days of said tactic, and I have noted marked improvement.
My secret: Flashcards.
Can you believe it?
It’s all in the presentation, my friends. It’s all in the sales pitch.
So, here’s how I sold it to them:
You need to work at keeping this information in your head, and you need to get as fast as you can with the answer. This is a way to practice that will help you do that. Here’s our stack of cards (for Hans, with addition facts; for Jaeger, with letters). You get to hold them (that is key). You look at it, say it, say the answer, and if you get it right, you give it to me. If you get it wrong, you have to say the right answer, then put it at the bottom of the stack. When your hand is empty, you’re done and you win!
Suddenly, Hans knew the addition facts right off the cuff when before he labored for minutes over each one. Suddenly, Jaeger knew all three sounds of i and o, when before he could not for the life of him come up with one. Instead of rolling his terrible eyes and lolling and dragging around on the couch, he was bright and alert.
I can’t vouch for how long it will last, but I am adding this to my bag of tricks.
