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.
