The Washington Post recently ran a story, Why the brain hangs on to some memories but lets others fade, about a new study.  The article’s subtitle summarizes it:

Tying “fragile” memories to emotional events could help people remember them better in the future, researchers at Boston University believe.

I’m not sure why this is such big news – I thought it was known already, but perhaps I’m in error.

The study itself is open access, but not particularly understandable to a layperson like me.

The quote above is from one of the authors, and appeared in the Post article.  I don’t think the idea is new to most teachers, but it never hurts to be able to refer to a respected study if one’s administrator questions you on why you’re doing something.

I’m adding this info to A BEGINNING LIST OF THE BEST RESOURCES ON TELLING STORIES WHEN WE TEACH.