Remembering a passphrase with a silly picture

Name:

Date:

Class:

Quick Questions

Shade in the A or B circle for each question.

1. Your passphrase is 'purple fish bicycle moon'. Which memory trick helps most?

A Picture a purple fish riding a bicycle up to the moon

B Write it on a sticky note and stick it on your laptop

2. Why does a silly picture help you remember a passphrase?

A An odd, funny scene is easy for your brain to remember

B It makes the passphrase shorter

3. True or false: random words can still be easy to remember.

A True, if you link them into a silly story

B False, random words are always impossible to remember

4. After you make up a silly scene, what should you do next?

A Never think about it again

B Practise the story and type the passphrase a few times

5. Which passphrase words are best to link into a silly scene?

A Your pet's name and your birthday

B Random words like 'tiger spoon cloud sock'

Match the Pairs

Draw a line connecting each item on the left to its match on the right.

Left column		Right column
1frog piano rocket pizza		AThese words are a plain list with no story. Nothing links them into one silly picture, so they are harder to remember.
2wombat toaster cloud skateboard		BPicture one silly scene: a frog plays a piano on a rocket while eating pizza.
3Link your random words into one story so they stick in your mind		Cpicture it, say it, type it
4Practise your picture a few times: see it, say the words, then type them from memory		DImagine a wombat riding a skateboard on a cloud and making toast.
5red blue green pink		Ecow moon pencil jelly
6Picture the scene one time and never practise it		FSeeing the silly picture only once is not enough. You need to practise it a few times for it to stick.

Definitions

silly picture

Fill in the Blanks

Complete each line of code by filling in the missing parts.

words = "frog bike moon" scene = ____(words)

repeat 3 times: ________(scene)

randomWords = pickRandom(4) scene = makeScene(___________)

if remembered __ False: practise(scene)

words = ["frog", "bike", "moon"] passphrase = " ".____(words) scene = "A frog rides a bike to the moon"

Spot the Error

Shade in the letter of the line that contains an error.

Question 1

A words: cat, pizza, boat

B scene: cat eats pizza on boat

C practise scene 0 times

Question 2

A words: Rex, my dog, Mia

B scene: robot wears jelly sock

C practise scene 3 times

Question 3

A words: bus, cheese, hat

B scene: cheese bus wears a hat

C make it boring and normal

Question 4

A words: duck, piano, snow

B scene: duck. piano. snow.

C practise scene 3 times

Question 5

A words: kite, soup, tiger

B scene: tiger sleeps in a bed

C say scene aloud 3 times

D type passphrase from memory

Answer Key

Remembering a passphrase with a silly picture

Section A: Quick Questions

A — Picture a purple fish riding a bicycle up to the moon

A — An odd, funny scene is easy for your brain to remember

A — True, if you link them into a silly story

B — Practise the story and type the passphrase a few times

B — Random words like 'tiger spoon cloud sock'

Section B: Match the Pairs

frog piano rocket pizza → Picture one silly scene: a frog plays a piano on a rocket while eating pizza.

wombat toaster cloud skateboard → Imagine a wombat riding a skateboard on a cloud and making toast.

Link your random words into one story so they stick in your mind → cow moon pencil jelly

Practise your picture a few times: see it, say the words, then type them from memory → picture it, say it, type it

red blue green pink → These words are a plain list with no story. Nothing links them into one silly picture, so they are harder to remember.

Picture the scene one time and never practise it → Seeing the silly picture only once is not enough. You need to practise it a few times for it to stick.

Section C: Definitions

silly picture — Picture your passphrase words together as one funny scene or story. The odd image helps you remember random words, and you can practise it a few times.

Section D: Fill in the Blanks

words = "frog bike moon"
scene = link(words)

repeat 3 times:
    practise(scene)

randomWords = pickRandom(4)
scene = makeScene(randomWords)

if remembered == False:
    practise(scene)

words = ["frog", "bike", "moon"]
passphrase = " ".join(words)
scene = "A frog rides a bike to the moon"

Section E: Spot the Error

C — Practising the scene a few times helps it stick. Zero times means no practice. It should say 3 times (or a few times).

A — The words should be random. Pet names and people you know are easy for others to guess. It should use random words like sock, robot, jelly.

C — A silly, odd picture is easier to remember than a boring one. The line should say to make it silly and clear.

B — The scene must link the words into one story or picture. A plain list of words is not a scene. It should be something like: duck plays snow piano.

B — The scene must use every passphrase word. This one leaves out kite and soup. It should be: tiger flies soup kite.