Chunking works on words too. Here is a shopping list: apples, milk, bread, carrots, cheese, rolls, yogurt, bananas, bagels. Nine items. Now sort them:
| Fruit and vegetables | Dairy | Bread |
|---|---|---|
| apples | milk | bread |
| carrots | cheese | rolls |
| bananas | yogurt | bagels |
Key idea
Sort a list into 3 or 4 groups of things that belong together. Remember the group names first, then the items in each.
Worked example: Worked example
Group these: robin, oak, salmon, maple, eagle, trout, pine, sparrow, tuna.
- Birds: robin, eagle, sparrow.
- Trees: oak, maple, pine.
- Fish: salmon, trout, tuna.
Answer: Three groups of three: birds, trees and fish.
Why it works
The group name is a cue. Recalling "fish" helps pull out salmon, trout and tuna together.
Common mistake
Making too many groups. Nine groups of one is no help; aim for three or four.