How to Make Flashcards that Truly Help Right-Brained Learners

Flash cards are NOT created equal. Where they get a bad rap is when they are used for trying to drill and cram for a test, using stark, boring memorization. The outcome of this sort of study varies wildly from child to child. When I was in school, I was somehow able to “memorize” content this way for tests – but honestly? Usually, the minute my brain spilled its crammed contents out onto the test page, my memory was wiped clean. Or take the times I got to a test thinking I was well prepared, only to glaze over, leaving me staring at a blank test paper.

Some common uses for flashcards include:

• Learning new vocabulary words and their meanings

• Learning facts for a history test

• Learning Biology terms

• Learning philosophers and their signature area of belief

• Learning prominent English monarchs

• Learning the Roman emperors and what they were known for

A commonplace flashcard will have one item on the front and the matching factoid(s) on the reverse side. This is so you can try and recall the factoid first and can flip the card over to see if you got the answer right.

Here is an illustration of a boring flashcard

Here is an illustration of a boring flashcard.This one is about Trajan, a Roman Emperor, and some facts about him. The question becomes, how do I group those particulars around the name Trajan, when I am also learning about Tiberius or Augustus or Caligula, and their cronies? This is the failing of normal flashcards. You still have to somehow relate all the facts together and recall them when needed.

Here is an illustration of a fun flashcard

 

 

 

 

This card uses the same facts, but since we used images and a body motion (hand on ones heart to signal Trajan’s kindheartedness) it becomes super easy to remember the name and what goes with it. Dacia was a rich country that was found north of the Danube River. On this card, you can plainly see the roads and bridge that Trajan built, the bank holding the funds for the poor, and his prominent heart reminding us of his kind heart. Note that the a’s in Trajan became his eyes while the j became his nose.

If your child is an active learner, engaging his hands in making his own flashcards will do wonders. Anyone can draw stick figures and also little symbols that are visual reminders of the content. A visual learner will remember the image on the card intact as though his brain snapped a picture of the content. Best of all, he will later be able to recall it intact also!