The Memory Strategy is excellent for any task involving memorization. Sight words — words that should be instantly recognized by children — work well with the Memory Strategy. The Memory Strategy is also useful when teaching instant recall of letter names, shapes, and sounds.

There are two types of sight words: basic and personal. Basic sight words are those frequently encountered by young readers. Personal sight words are those of particular interest to individual children. Personal lists include names of pets, street names, or best friends.

As noble as it is to encourage higher order thinking, without some basic, automatic information and skills, the process will not work. Examples of tasks that are appropriate for the Memory Strategy include instant recognition of sight vocabulary, matching words and definitions, math facts and answers, names of states, and countless other tasks. In this context, the Memory Strategy is used to gain instant recognition of sight vocabulary. Many words that are phonetically regular need to be recognized instantly. The Memory Strategy is especially helpful for those irregular words that cannot be decoded with phonics. Steps of the strategy are outlined below.

• Begin by choosing three different words that you believe children should recognize instantly and automatically.
  
  
• Think of a memory aid for each word. The more dramatic and outrageous the association, the easier it will be for children to remember the word.
  

• After each set of three words, stop and check children’s understanding.