Saber v. Conocer

The rule for the differences between saber and conocer seems easy enough:
-Saber is used for knowing facts or knowing a skill.
-Conocer is used for knowing (or being familiar with) people or places.

Even though it seems easy, my Spanish 1 class didn't catch on as quickly as I would have hoped. They understood the differences in class. However, on the quiz and the test, they couldn't apply it to situations. After grading the quizzes and tests, I decided I needed to come up with some key words that would help them apply the rule on a test or a quiz.

Saber-
-verbs like hablar, escribir, jugar, nadar, bailar cocinar or tocar
Ex: Ellos saben nadar.
Pablo sabe tocar la guitarra.
-conjunction words like que or cuando (as in to know when an event is or to know that someone is coming to the party)
Ex: Sabemos que Enrique viene.
No sabe cuando es la fiesta.

Conocer-
-look for the personal a (if you know a person, this is necessary)
Ex: Conozco a Ricky Martin.
-look for place names
Ex: Concocemos Francia.