Short-term memory games test recall abilities and have led to theories about memory capacity and longevity. Popular games include Concentration and Simon, while some are used in classrooms to teach about memory limitations, such as the Eyewitness game and Grocery Store.
Short-term memory games are a useful way to test a person’s ability to recall recent information. Researchers have developed several theories about the longevity and capacity of short-term memory, and several games have been designed to test these theories. Some short-term memory games have become popular in the classroom and among the general population. Some games, such as Concentration, are usually played with one deck of cards; others, like Simon, require an electronic device or computer. Other types of memory games are played in the classroom and may involve students trying to recall details of a staged crime or a growing list of items.
One of the most popular short-term memory games is the classic card game Concentration. This game is usually played between two players with a standard deck of playing cards. All 52 cards are arranged in even rows and each player takes turns turning over two cards. If the color and number of cards match, that player collects those cards and plays another turn. The player with the most cards at the end of the game is declared the winner.
Simon is another popular short-term memory game. Originally played on dedicated hardware devices, Simon can now be played as a smartphone or web application. This game involves one player or a group of players trying to memorize and repeat an ever-increasing sequence of colors and sounds displayed on four differently colored buttons. The maximum sequence a person can replicate is a good indicator of their short-term memory capacity.
Many lesson plans use short-term memory games to entertain and educate students about the limitations of memory. The Eyewitness game can be played by elementary school children, but is also used in psychology and law classrooms to show students how difficult it is to remember the details of a crime. In this game, students observe a fake crime and then attempt to answer questions about the perpetrator’s appearance and actions. The students’ answers will then be compared to see how reliable they are as witnesses.
Another common classroom game is Grocery Store and it involves students trying to remember an ever-growing shopping list of items. Each student has to repeat a shopping list of items and add an item to the list as she goes around the room. A variation of this game is often played at the beginning of the school year to help the teacher and students learn each other’s names.
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