Before I start listing off all of this wonderful studying info, I would like to bring to your attention that you CAN email me ( the-other-side@live.ca ) your own study methods/tips! You get full credit! If you want to email me some tips, include your name PLEASE!!! It is all I am actually going to ask for. If you have an email you could but don't have to include that, but please... no more information than your email, name, age, website if you have one and would like to advertise it here but NO MORE than that! If it isn't appropriate, please don't send it.
Here's a Link
I don't know if this works yet, but I found a memorization website I was surfing around and I signed up for a newsletter. Just yesterday, I was sent a link about memorizing the Bible. Again, I don't know if this works since I didn't use it last year and haven't had the chance to use this link yet but hey! Here you go: http://youcantbeatme.com/improveyourmemory/articles/memorizing_the_bible.php?name=Maegan&utm_source=memorizeme2&utm_medium=email&utm_content=e12
One more thing: I do not post these like God would strike you down if you didn't do them, or even read it all. You do not HAVE to do anything on this site! You have freedom of choice so USE IT!
Study Methods.
1. Read it
Yeah, it's what EVERY rookie tries to do to memorize... even if all they are going to memorize is the key verses. By the end of the year you figure out it gets kind of plain studying like this. This is actually the best method, though, for quiz meets. This way, all you have to carry around is the text and its less stressful.
2. Highlight your hard parts!
Thanks to my soul sister Patricia! Love you! Basically, you highlight or outline all of the areas you have trouble with memorizing so you remember what you need to study the most, and when your friends are practice-quizzing you, they can help you with where in the verse you are having troubles with, its really hard to notice where you go wrong on your own.
3. Make a timeline
Kind of self-explanitory, but let me explain. You either take a piece of paper or open your computer's word processor and type the order of events in each chapter. It may look like this:
Chapter 2:
Census, baby, shepherds, dedication, Simeon, Anna, offering, Passover, Jesus in the temple.
Or it could look like mine, with all of the verses when all these events are happening.
4. Do your 'homework'
Where you take quizzing, your head coach or whatever its called should have given you the option of buying a workbook. Did they? If so, take the opportunity and buy the workbook! It helps more thanyou could ever imagine. Plus, in the back there should be a pre-meet review section to help you make sure you know what you are doing before you go quiz. I would recommend doing this section the week before, and after every study session put your text away and after a 5-minute break go back and try to fill in the questions you couldn't answer.
5. Copy it out
It actually helps to copy the material out... especially your trouble spots. If you go back and double-check it the parts you mis-typed will be easier to quiz in since you paid just that little bit more extra attention to it. Think you're too smart for copywork? Try to type it out without the text in front of you. And while you're at it, go recite for your coach and get a pretty certificate.
6. Audio
Patricia, thanks again!!! What Patricia has suggested is that either you get your hands on an audio version of the book(s) you are studying, or for a lower price, record it yourself! That way, you can study in disguise, through your mp3! It helps so much, because according to Patricia, you can sort of hear it inside your head during the quiz (no mp3's in the quiz, sorry! lol She means mentally) and even if you can't remember the audio kind of fills in the blank.
7. Motivational Questions
This is my fav! It is kind of fun if you think about it. If you have a timed flashcard set online, great! If not here's a link:
Luke: http://www.flashcardmachine.com/392649/6tg7
Now, what you do is you find an exercise you HATE!! Got it? I use push-upsor situps. Choose something you will do but hate to (or just don't like to) ... had to change your mind? Thats fine! Anyways, you go to your flashcards and set them to go off after 30 seconds after the flashcard is shown. For every error put a mark on a piece of paper. For every mark on the paper, add a certain number of that exercise to your plan, 5 push-ups. This idea comes from my dancing... every time we make an error its 5 extra crunches... we learn our dances pretty quick! Some things you could use are: push-ups, jumping jacks, jump rope, even math problems if you want. If you want to be more strategic, you can study a few more minutes for every check.
WARNING!!! DO NOT try the above method using intense physical activity if you would get hurt, use something less physically challenging if you need to. Also, DO NOT use anything that could injur you. PLEASE no cutting, hitting or physically harming yourself! Use this method at your own risk!
8. First Verse Highlighting
This one was from Amy from Southgate, and she's in grade 12. Thanks Amy! What Amy did was highlighting the first verse in each paragraph with a bright colored highlighter. The example she gave ws from Luke 1 (Bold would be highlighted):
1Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, 2just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. 3Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
5In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly. 7But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. 8Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside.
If you get a chapter verse reference question, you can remember what verses were highlighted and think if it was, say, verse 7, you would know it was in between verses 5 and 8, which were highlighted.
This must work very well, our team quizzed against hers I think twice at one of the meets, and I remember calling her the Chapter Verse girl... I have a hard time with names! Thanks again Amy!
9. Act it out! (This one works better for the letters, because they are like very long monologues)
Okay, so maybe its just because I am a theatre junkie, but this helps me a lot. Go somewhere with a mirror and a door you can close. Maybe put a sign up asking people to knock or lock the door. Then, grab your quizhelper or Bible, or printed pages, or I guess anything else that might have the material on it. Go through the entire material (or maybe just your trouble areas) over-dramatically! This helps you remember what you said after whatever was in the question (and maybe even how!).
10. Keyword Verses
In the quizhelper, there should be a keyword (words that only appear once) index in the back. Take the list, and look at the first word on the list. In Corinthians it should be abandoned, at 2 Corinthians 4:9. Find the verse listed, and copy out the word, the reference and the verse. I find it helps to underline the word. In quiz meets, if you miss a keyword you are called wrong, so its good to remember where all the keywords are and what the keyword are, so you won't have a 'wow I was off by one word' moment, especially if the two words meant the same thing.
11. Flashcards.
Making them is a great way to study, but if you just want to use them, the link to the ones I made are here:
Luke- http://www.flashcardmachine.com/392649/6tg7
Corinthians- http://www.flashcardmachine.com/520884/p6d1 (Told you it'd be up before you know it!)
12. Crossword Puzzle!
I am currently working on a keyword crossword so hang on tight!
13. The Famous 'Cranium-Cracker'
Did you know that the cranium is the part of the skull that encloses the brain? What I think of doing is putting the words into my brain until I can HEAR my cranium crack. So for every verse, I read it, then think really hard about it for a few seconds, then see if I can write it down. If I can't, I didn't really put it in there. This works cause I never acually hear the crack! Boo :o(
Study Tips
1. Stop when you need to
If your eyes start to close by themselves or you get to the point where you can't handle staying awake any longer, don't take drugs or something like that! Studying all night can be fun especially when done with friends or turned into a game or puzzle, but if you're going to fall asleep on your desk, wouldn't you be better off just going to bed?
2. Eat!
Keeping in mind that if you really want to do well you won't be snacking on liquoriche, bring some veggies or cheese or something to nibble on while you study, your brain needs fuel and you will be falling asleep after a few minutes without food (see above tip)
3. Remove distractions
You have an annoying little brother? Lock your door and put on headphones. Phone constantly ringing? Turn the ringer off. Chatting with friends online is fine and won't be totally distracting as long as you can keep focused. Listening to music is the same deal. Don't call anybody on the phone, verbal communication keeps you from focussing on either your friend or your study material, and you don't want that to happen, do you?
4. Grab a buddy!
If you don't like studying, misery loves company! If you like studying, cheerfulness does too! Its fun to have a friend to laugh with at your complete blankness on a question you know you knew! If you have a friend, you guys can check eachothers review sections. Isn't that nice?
5. Keep On Keepin On
Okay, we ALL have trouble verses, or have a problem with SOME part of the text, wether we like it or not. Most of the time, we don't! But, thats okay. When you think you can't memorize your club verses, keep trying. Kinda like if you err out in a quiz. You're not gonna just go home, or stop jumping for the rest of the meet, are you? Keep trying, you'll get it!
6. NIV PLEASE!
WHENEVER you're reading the new testament, I don't care if its quizzing material or not, it might be future quizzing material. New King James John 3:16 is (apparently) the reason for so many 'dran-it-I-wish-I-hadn't-gotten-that-last-error' moments. NIV is your friend, people. You can read NKJ, but if you want to memorize something out of hte New Testament, not a great idea.
7. Understand What You're Reading
1 Corinthians 1:(something... I hate references and could've looked this one up easily but I'm too lazy) says something about 'he chose the lowly things of this world, and the despised things, and the things that are not, to nullify the things that are'. WHAT??? How do you nullify something? Sounds like a wrestling term 'And he just NULLIFIED him!!'. Do you know that to nullify is to declare invalid, or invalidate? (Come to think of it, some wrestling announcers COULD add that to their dictionary...) Once I looked that up, the verse was stuck in there.