TITLE: The Card System
AUTHOR: Darrell M. Eddington, Box Elder High School,
Brigham City, Utah
GRADE LEVEL: Appropriate for grades 7-12
OVERVIEW: This system of learning names, dates, places,
events, etc. in history classes makes the chore easy and
enjoyable for students. It also provides a convenient
on-going review process.
OBJECTIVE(s): Students will be able to learn and retain
significant historical detail which can then be applied to
discussion, written work and examinations.
ACTIVITIES AND PROCEDURES:
1. Prepare a list of significant historical detail (names,
dates, places, events, single concepts, definitions,
etc.) in the order they will be encountered.
2. As a homework assignment or a class activity, have the
students prepare a 3 x 5 card for each of the details
they will encounter that day. On the first side of the
card, have the students print the name, date, etc. in
bold letters. On the opposite side of the card, have
them, in concise form, identify the significance of the
detail.
3. These cards can then be used in a variety of ways:
a. graded as assignments
b. as a "flash card" for home review for tests or
quizzes
c. as a "flash card" to be used in small groups in
class
d. in gaming situations in class
4. Using an old shoe box (or something similar), students
should create a file to store their cards in the
classroom. They, of course, can take them home as they
need, but storing them in the classroom is most
convenient.
5. Games that could employ these cards are limited only by
the imagination of the teacher. Simply having the
students find the card from their file that matches
clues given by the teacher to more sophisticated team-
oriented activities are not difficult to develop. These
games could be as short as 2-3 minutes to a days
review.
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER:
The key to this process is to use the cards continuously
throughout the course. Literally hundreds of significant
historical detail can be mastered by students allowing them
then to apply that detail in other formats.
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