Tips for Using Flash Cards for Kids Study?

If you have ever tried searching for learning strategies for improving recall and information retention, you must have come across flashcards. They are, by far, the easiest way to gamify learning for your kids to ensure a fun learning experience. 

What’s best is that flashcards can be used by children of all age groups. Yes, you read it right! This learning tool is suitable for children who’re just learning their A to Z, and for adults who are pursuing their college degrees and beyond. 

Has the question “how do you use flash cards” ever crossed your mind? What are some things you need to keep in mind? How can you gamify them? In today’s blog, we will answer all these questions and more. Here’s what you can expect to learn: 

• What are flashcards?

• How to use flash cards?

• Why are flash cards effective for studying?

• Flash cards tips for studying 

What Are Flash Cards?

Did you know that flash cards have been used since the 19th century? ‘Reading Disentangled’ (1834) by an English educator for phonics is believed to be the first known use case of flashcards. 

What is a flash card? It is simply a card that bears information on both sides. Typically, it bears a question on one side and the answer on another. These flash cards are primarily used to enhance memory and improve recall of the information you have just learned. 

Next, let’s look at how to use flash cards effectively for children.

How To Use Flash Cards for Kids?

Before using flash cards in your learning sessions, you must introduce your child to the learning material. For instance, if you are trying to teach your child about animals, the learning material can be an animal book that introduces them to various animals, what they look like, and what they are called. 

Once your child has good exposure to the learning material, move to the next stage: the testing process. This is what flashcards help you with. Below is the answer to your question, “How do you use flash cards for kids?”  

Testing Simple Recognition

If the goal is to test whether or not your child is able to identify (just name) the animal shown, you can begin by showing them cards with a picture of an animal on them, and asking them to identify the animal. 

If your child is unable to identify a couple of animals, they need to go back to the learning material and revise it, followed by the flash card activity. 

Improving the Recall Time

Recall means bringing a fact or an event back to the mind. Let’s say that your child can recognise all the animals without help. 

In this case, you can introduce a timer. Start by asking them to identify as many animals as possible in 3 or 5 minutes, then push them slowly to recognise them faster in shorter durations. 

Searching for flash cards to teach your kids about animals? Check our Flash Cards for toddlers: First 100 Animals (ages 1-4) – Skillmatics UK. 

Why Are Flash Cards Effective For Studying?

If your question is, “how to use flash cards for study?”, read what follows next carefully. Flash cards work on cognitive principles, which makes them very effective for studying. Below is an overview of the same. 

Testing Effect

They are primarily an application of the testing effect. The testing effect is that an individual’s long-term memory increases when the learning period involves retrieving information via testing and with proper feedback. 

Specifically, flash cards activate the process of active recall. When asked a question, one must give the right answer. Active recall improves the way information passes from short-term memory to long-term memory. Thus increasing your child’s ability to recall that information in the future. 

Scientifically, learning and recalling it frequently strengthens the neural pathway for the information in your brain, making it easier to access that information. 

Identifying Gaps

It is impossible to remember everything you are taught in one go and recall it 100%. With flashcards, you can accurately identify which information or facts need more attention for better retention. As parents, you can simply put the flash cards your child finds difficult to answer in a separate pile for more practice. This is one of the flash card tips you will come across. 

Improves Exam Performance

The process of using flash cards mimics how the retrieval process works during exams and assessments. This enables your child to successfully recall information at a much quicker pace when put under pressure. 

Tips For Studying With Flash Cards 

Well, now that you know what flash cards are and what makes them effective, let’s look at some of the tips for using flash cards for studying.

Shuffle, Shuffle, and Shuffle

While your kids may learn information in a sequential order, it is unlikely that they will be asked for it in the same order. Shuffle the cards every time you use them to make recall truly the function of the prompt and not the sequence effect. This way, your child never knows what’s coming next, demanding they be vigilant and actively involved. 

Add a Timer to the Mix

The easiest way to improve performance during assessments and exams is to prepare your child in the same environment. Set a mutual time goal for answering a particular set of cards. 

For instance, if the end goal is to finish a stack of flash cards in under a minute and your child currently takes about 5 minutes to do it, start at 5 minutes and reduce by 10-15 seconds with every round you do. 

Want to make it even more effective? Put it on a chart so that your child can see their progress. 

Use Spaced Repetition

Spaced repetition is gradually increasing the interval between two repetitions to increase the learning rate. New or difficult cards are shown more frequently, while old or easier cards are shown less frequently. 

Gradually, as the kid gets a hold of the new or difficult cards and starts to answer them correctly, you can increase the gap between two repetitions. This way, you are continuously re-exposing them to the information after adequate gaps to reinforce learning. 

Use The Leitner System

One of the most used flash card tips is the Leitner System, which tells which cards need more exposure. In this method, the cards are sorted based on how well the learner knows each card. 

Here’s how to do it. Take 5 boxes and number them from 1 to 5. 1 means they need more practice, while 5 means the learner knows the card very well. They show your kid the flash cards. At this stage, all cards are in box 1. If your kid successfully answers a card, move the card to the next box. If they fail, you send it back to the previous box. As the number of boxes increases, the period before the child can revisit the cards increases. 

Conclusion

Flash cards are hands-down one of the best learning tools for actively engaging your child and working their memory. When used correctly, they not only improve retention but also reduce the time it takes to bring that information to the mind. 

If you, too, are looking for unique flash cards for your children, look no further. At Skillmatics, we have a range of flashcards for kids of all ages, from infants to pre-teens. They target essential concepts like sight words, animals, numbers, and colours, gradually getting more challenging as the years pass. 

Check our entire collection here: Flashcards for Kids | Focus & Attention | Skillmatics UK to make learning fun, easy, and long-lasting for your children.