Organizational Strategies in Children
Make a photocopy of the pictures on this page and use scissors to cut them apart. In this study you will test a child between the ages of 4 and 8; ideally, it would be interesting to test children of several different ages. Arrange these pictures in random order in a circle facing the child. Instruct him or her to study the pictures so that they can be remembered later. Mention that the pictures can be rearranged in any order they want. After a 4-minute study period, remove the pictures and ask the child to list as many items as possible. Notice two things in this demonstration: (1) Does the child spontaneously rearrange the items at all during the study period? (2) Does the child show clustering during recall, with similar items appearing together?
