Making Learning Memorable with LightSail’s Memory Work Feature

At some point, every student will be asked to memorize something for an assignment – a list, names, important dates, locations, poetry selections, important speeches, science terminology. The possibilities are endless. For certain homeschool styles, such as the Classical style, memorization is considered an integral part of learning, and there are dozens of recommended lists for a child to know by heart.

You could spend hours researching and compiling these lists and the content they incorporate, or you could let LightSail do it for you!

1. Check out our lists!

LightSail has already assembled the most commonly memorized lists for homeschool families. To check them out, click on Fluency on your LightSail dashboard.  There you will find a Memory Module icon. 

Based on your child’s age, interests, or curriculum needs, you will find premade lists of content that you can review and assign. Some of the lists are basic in nature for young learners such as:

• Seasons
• Months of the Year
• Food Groups
• Skip Counting Tables

Other Memory Module lists are more appropriate for middle and high school aged children or advanced learners. These lists can easily open the way to further exploration and research in LightSail’s vast library. Some of these lists include:

• Branches of Government
• Metric Conversions
• Famous Scientists
• Biomes

Even more, LightSail’s in-house team of experienced homeschoolers has created lists of commonly memorized faith-based content to help your child become more familiar with and understand their faith or a new religious teaching.  Examples of this material include:

• The 10 Commandments
• The Fruit of the Spirit
• The Books of the Bible – Old Testament & New Testament
• A Timeline of Jesus

The beauty of LightSail’s platform is that it allows you to choose the perfect materials for your personal homeschooling needs. Content is continuously being added to LightSail to cover the diverse needs of homeschooling families, but you may see the need for a Memory Module list that we don’t have yet. Good news! You can make your own.

2. Make your own list.

If your child has a particular interest that is not already covered in LightSail’s Memory Module feature, you may consider making your own lists.  LightSail allows parents the opportunity to type or copy and paste new materials for your child to memorize.

For example, if your child has an interest in penguins, you could use excerpts from Lerner Books and World Book Encyclopedia articles to assemble a list that contains facts about penguins. 

3. Set a schedule and evaluate.

You set the schedule! The LightSail platform will remind your child to practice their assigned Memory Module based on the frequency that you select – daily, weekly, or monthly. Further, you may choose for each practice session whether your child should be able to reference the material they are memorizing or not. The child can record their recital, allowing you to check in on their progress at your own convenience. 

If you know your child has a busy week and they will not be able to put their full effort in memorizing an in-depth assignment, such as the Preamble to the Constitution or the Queens of England, no problem!  LightSail allows you to alter the schedule for memorization.

You can also select how the child is graded on their memorization and how many attempts they get at recitation. 

 Whether you use LightSail’s premade memory work lists or create new ones, the Memory Module feature makes the memorization process simple, without pressure, and tailored to your child’s learning experience.