Let’s get our kids ready for the new school year! How can we help them get started on the right foot? One very helpful step is to help them anchor their teachers’ and classmates’ names into their easily-accessed lexicon. This is especially important for our middle-schoolers and high-schoolers, who may have 6 or 8 new teachers’ names to remember. Develop mnemonic cues for those new names!
Find a connection that is meaningful to them. Use visuals when possible. I also love to incorporate motor movements. Here’s a quick review of the 5-step retrieval procedure for improving word finding of target words outlined by Dr. Diane German (2005) in the Word Finding Intervention Program, Second Edition (WFIP-2).
First, select a word that is difficult for the learner to retrieve. New teachers’ names may be difficult.
Second, divide the target word into syllables, reinforcing each syllable of multi-syllable words. You can have the kids touch shoulder, elbow, wrist, tap out syllables, clap, or even stomp their feet. “Head, shoulders, knees, and toes” is meaningful for the younger kids. Reinforce each syllable with a movement.
Third, match a mnemonic cue (a word that sounds like the target syllable) to the “evasive” (i.e., difficult to retrieve) syllables. This helps anchor the syllables for automatic retrieval.
Dr. German stresses that it is important to think of the cue as you practice saying the target word out loud. She recommends mnemonic cues be written in a “think cloud” to reinforce that one only thinks of the mnemonic cues.
Finally, steps 4 and 5 involve rehearsal. While the learner thinks of his/her mnemonic cues, each target word is rehearsed three times alone and then in a meaningful sentence (German, 2005). When I do these last steps with my students, I modify a bit: I ask for a “word finding 5.” Each student says the word aloud 5 times, makes up a sentence using the word, then he or she gets a “high 5.”
Some examples of mnemonics: Mr. Hock – use a picture of a hawk; Ms. Cunningham – cut/ham; Mr. Rogowski – rug/cow/ski (this is a great visual – a cow skiing on a rug!!); Mrs. Sorensen – sore/sun; Ms. Dahlberg – doll/berg (a picture of a doll on an ice berg). Use your imagination! Sometimes the silliest mnemonics are the easiest to remember. Help children come up with their own cues. The key is for the cue word to sound like the target word. Remember to REVIEW and ask the kids to say the names ALOUD. Encourage them to use the same strategy with classmates’ names. Knowing teachers’ names should help each student start the new school year with confidence.
Resource: German, D.J. (2005). Word Finding Intervention Program, Second Edition (WFIP-2), Austin,TX: Pro.ed.