ABSTRACT
Mrs. Leighton teaches fifth grade. She wants her students to know the capitals of the 50 states. She has an intuitive sense of the importance of this knowledge: tradition, general information about our country, the intrinsic value of memorizing 50 pieces of information. Having used mnemonics, visuals, kinesthetics, all kinds of worksheets, games, puzzles, and gimmicks, she recognized that these methods were not elevating the task beyond a literal level.
