Memory : Learning the Alphabet Backwards

If you are reading this, then you know all the letters of the alphabet. You've probably been reading and writing with letters for many years. So, it should be a trivial exercise for you to recite the alphabet. Now try it backwards.



The reason this is so much harder is because you memorized the alphabet using serial-learning. In other words, each letter is a cue for the next letter. This little exercise will teach you how to recite the alphabet backwards. Learn this and impress your friends.



To do this, you should be familiar with the Peg Mnemonic System and in particular, the Alphabet Pegwords which will be reproduced below. Now, start with the word for the last letter in the alphabet, "zucchini," and associate it with the letter before it - "yo-yo." Perhaps you will imagine a zucchini on the end of a string. Then associate "yo-yo" with "x-ray." Once you have made all 25 associations, you should be able to quickly recite the alphabet backwards by recalling each association in order.



Apple

Boy

Cat

Dog

Egg

Foot

Goat

Hat

Ice

Juice

Kite

Log

Monkey

Nut

Owl

Pig

Quilt

Rock

Sock

Tie

Umbrella

Vampire

Wig

X-ray

Yo-yo

Zucchini