Thursday, November 20, 2014

Presidents Pointers

At practice on Monday, we began to discuss with the students strategies for Presidents.  I'd like to pass along something that we published in an MLAG publication a few years back that is still relevant today:


Presidents Pointers

The good thing about Presidents is that unlike the cube games it is totally up to you how well you do at a tournament.  In the cube games, no matter how much you study, whether you win or lose depends a lot on the opponents you face, and how much they have studied.  In Presidents, the more you study, usually, the better you do at the State, or National tournament.  For that reason, it is particularly beneficial to spend time studying for Presidents outside of your normal practice time.

Here are a few strategies to help you study:

Make Flashcards – They say it takes the average person hearing something six or seven times before they remember it.  If you make flashcards, you have to read it once, write it down, and then read it again, and you’re halfway there.  Plus we all know that Academic Games players are above average ;-)

Study One President Each Day – Spend 15 minutes each day reading about a different President.  With more than three months before the State tournament, that means that Minor, Elementary and Middle students will go through the list of Presidents more than three times, and Junior and Senior will go through the list more than twice.

Get Some Help From Adults – I had a former student one time who made a deal with her parents – she agreed to do the dishes after dinner every night if her parents would read Presidents clues to her.  Her parents were happy that she was helping with the chores, and she became a top flight Presidents player.

Start a Presidents Book – One thing that you can do with your teammates is to start a collection of Presidents facts in a notebook.  Set aside a page or two for each President, and every time somebody on the team finds a Presidents fact, they write it down and bring it to practice.  They write that fact in the Presidents notebook which stays at practice.  If everyone on the team contributes, by the end of the year, you will have a notebook that will help everyone on the team be a better Presidents player.