Level Up Activities

• Pick a topic from your study guide, a chapter title (or section sub heading), a lecture topic, etc. 

• Write the topic in the middle of a blank page and put a box around it

• Set a timer for 2-3 minutes

• Write and/or sketch everything you can remember about that topic 

• When your timer goes off, stop! 

• Go back to your notes and course materials (i.e., textbook or videos, etc.) 

• Using a different color, write or sketch information you did not include in your original brain dump

• Level up to Level 2 by turning your braindump into a mind map 

• Once you've "dumped" all you can remember group information into categories and give each category a title

• Draw arrows between categories to show relationships. For example, does one category cause another? Is one category different or opposite from another? Do categories flow into one another like a cycle or timeline? 

• Organize each brain dump for each category in your study guide, then create a mind map to think about the ways each topic is related to the other. 

• On a piece of notebook paper (or better yet - notecard) draw the knowledge organizer. You can also fold a paper into 1/4ths to create a box for each of the sections:

  • Definition

  • Draw a picture

  • Examples

  • Non Examples

• In the middle write the topic you are organizing. This could be a topic in your study guide, from your textbook, a vocabulary term, theory, etc.

• Without looking at your notes, book, or study guide try to write (or draw) the following based on what you remember

  • Definition - explain the topic in your own words. What is it? Why is it important? How would you explain it to someone else?

  • Draw a picture- This is not about being a great artist. Draw a sketch of what the topic means to you. This could be a symbol, logo, flow chart, graph, etc.

  • Example - Write or draw two examples of the topic. This can be from your course or from your life, a book you've read, a show you've watched, a movie, a song lyric, a meme, etc. 

  • Non-Examples - Write or draw an example of what it is not! This can be the opposite or in conflict with what the topic is about. This can be from your course or from your life, a book you've read, a show you've watched, a movie, a song lyric, a meme, etc. 

After trying to generate each from your memory, go back to your notes and course materials and add details to your organizer. Try using a different color so you can see what information you know from memory and which information you need to add to your memory. 

• If you make your knowledge organizer on flashcards you can sort them in different ways. Grouping topics and sorting is a way to think more critically about the relationship between topics. 

• Ways to sort cards:

  • Topics that work together - how does one topic connect or relate to the other? 

  • Topics that have similarities and differences - what do they have in common? How are they different? 

  • Topics that are part of a system, cycle, for timeline: How does one support the other? Which happens first? What would happen if one of those topics were missing? How did one topic lead to another? 

  • What you know and don't know: Sort cards based on how well you can recall the information on them? Can you look at a topic and rephrase what it's about without looking? If not, put it in a "need to study pile". If you can explain the topic without looking, put it in your "I know this" pile. The "need to study pile" can help you set goals for your focused study session. And are the cards you should use to start your retrieval practice in your next session.  

  • Need study tips for spaced practice with flashcards? Watch this video. 

• Flashcards are an excellent retrieval practice activity and tool. You've probably made them before. 

• How do you make flashcards that level up your study game? 

• Watch this video for how to make flashcards fun, creative, and an effective way to study during focused sessions and when getting ready for an exam!