Relational Memories The brain only retains working (short-term memory) for a minute unless it connects with prior knowledge. Activate their prior knowledge by having students make predictions and KWL (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I Learned) charts.
Patterning The brain is a pattern-seeking organ. When students recognize relationships between new and prior knowledge, their brains can link the new information with a category of existing knowledge for long-term storage.Graphic organizers and making analogies builds patterns.