Working Memory in Kindergarteners
I teach 5 year olds and often give them 3 instructions. I’ve noticed that many of them seem to forget what they need to do and end up wandering around the classroom. Is this a sign of a working memory problem?
The average 5 year old can only remember about 2 pieces of information: this means 2 instructions, 2 words, and so on. When you give them more information to remember, they will likely forget it as it exceeds their working memory ’space’ or their ‘post-it note’.
So, if you are working with 5 year olds, it is best to give them short instructions of no more than 2 things to do at a time. If you still find some children struggling, they may have a working memory problem. To find out more about how to test a child’s working memory, click here.
