History can be among the most difficult subjects for many students. There are so many facts to learn: characters, places, battles, laws, dates, and so much more. If you have difficulty memorizing everything, don't lose heart. With the right approach you can learn everything there is to know in this matter. Follow these steps, then, to memorize the history lessons.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Use a Pattern
Step 1. Gather your supplies and find a quiet place to study
Get rid of any distractions. Get away from your computer (or quit email, Facebook and any instant messaging applications) and put your phone away.
Step 2. Start by making a very broad outline of the topic to be learned
The chronological order is an excellent starting point. Use your textbook as a guide (many of them already have an outline or a list of key concepts). Just list the major events in chronological order, leaving plenty of space between them, which you will fill in with details.
Step 3. Read the assigned text
As you read, fill in the outline with the key details. Don't record everything - you can't memorize everything. Instead, think about the most important things and write them in the outline.
Step 4. Follow the reading by examining the notes taken in class
The information gathered in the classroom is what your teacher thinks is really important. Therefore, be sure to include them in your pattern.
Step 5. Continue building the pattern until you have a complete description of the main events to learn in your own words
You can draw arrows from one character or event to another and add notes to highlight the relationships that exist between them.
Build a timeline. There are many sites online that allow you to make a digital timeline on your own. If you do it yourself, you will be able to memorize it better, as it will be your own creation
Step 6. Focus on the overall narrative as you study
Fundamental events do not arise by chance. Remember to think about the story that is in the story. It's about being able to really make sense of it all.
Step 7. Study your pattern
You can review your outline much faster than you can read the entire text or review all the notes. Make flashcards (graphical representations of a series of information to be memorized) for the important things to analyze.
Step 8. Test yourself
Once you have studied your pattern and learned everything well enough, put it away and try to recreate it in your memory. This way you will realize what you have actually learned. If you can't get it right the first time, at least now you know what to study. Once you are able to recreate everything from scratch, you will understand that you have managed to learn your history lesson!
Method 2 of 2: Summarize
Step 1. Get a general idea of what you need to read
Step 2. Read the paragraph line by line
Try repeating it 4 or 5 times.
Step 3. Take a piece of paper
Make a summary of the page you have just read.
Step 4. Turn the paragraph into a song
Sometimes abstruse text adapted to a special rhythm can help you remember abstruse details.
Step 5. Try not to be distracted by other things in the room
Advice
- You need to try to remember the information to make sure you have learned it. Rereading alone, instead of trying to recall what you have read, will not help you fix it.
- Make sure you don't have any distractions around, like phone, computer, TV, etc.
- One of the best ways to exercise your memory is to answer a questionnaire, perhaps prepared by you. Organize some flashcards with dates, characters or key events on the one hand and important facts on the other. Use them to take a quiz of sorts yourself, or invite a friend or parent to use them to take a quiz.
- To find out more, first of all organize the lessons or the order you are going to study. Pay attention to the keywords and, more importantly, try to memorize what you did week after week (review your notes at the end of the lesson or when you are at home).
- If your friends are also reworking the lessons to be learned based on patterns, you can compare them together to see if you have entered the same information. In this way you will know if you have understood well what you have studied.