[Students are heading back to school. Memorizing is mandatory i=
n many academic fields, so thought I would encourage you to consider mnemon=
ics to help with recall.]
Music Mnemonics
How many lyrics to son=
gs do you remember? How did you come to remember them? The same method you =
used to recall song lyrics also can work just as well in academics or adver=
tising on radio and TV. Music Mnemonics work best with long lists.
ABC’s =3D sing the “ABC Song̶=
1;
United States in alphabetical order =3D &=
#8220;Fifty Nifty United States”
Books=
of the Bible =3D tune of “Have You Ever Seen a Lassie”
Name Mnemonic=
s
First letter of each word in a list of it=
ems is used to make a name of a person or thing.
Roy G. Biv =3D colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blu=
e, Indigo, Violet)
Pvt. Tim Hall =3D esse=
ntial amino acids (Phenylalanine, Valine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Isoleucine=
, Methionine, Histidine, Arginine, Leucine, Lysine)
Model Mnemonics
Use objects linked to a word
Circular sequence model
Pyramid model of=
stages (foods pyramid widely used)
Pie char=
t (percentages or fractions visualized)
5-bo=
x sequence (teach coin values).
=
=
Expression/Word Mnemonics
Arrange the first letter of each item into a word or phrase. =
PEMDAS or Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally for o=
rder of operation in math =3D Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply, Divide, Add=
, and Subtract (in that order)
FANBOYS for c=
oordinating conjunctions in English =3D For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
Sally Left The Party To Take a Cat Home for th=
e small bones in the wrist toward hand =3D Scaphoid, Lunate, Triquetrum, Pi=
siform, Trapezium, Trapezoid, Capitate, Hamate
=
FACE =3D spaces in treble clef
Eve=
ry Good Boy Does Fine =3D lines in treble clef
All Cows Eat Grass =3D spaces in bass clef
HOMES =3D Great Lake (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior)
Poetic/Rhyme Mn=
emonics
Number of days in each month =3D 30 =
days have September, April, June, and November. All the rest have 31 except=
February, my dear son. It has 28 days and that is fine, but in leap year i=
t as 29.
Difference between cyanate and cyan=
ide: Cyanate "I ate" and Cyanide "I died." (Cyanide is =
fatal.)
Organization Mnemonics
The way textbook a=
nd lecture notes are organized can help
Make=
an outline with points and subpoints to organize main ideas and relevant d=
etails to be recalled.
Connection Mnemonics
Inform=
ation to be remembered is connected to something already known.
Direction of longitude and latitude lines on a globe =
=3D The lines running North and South are LONG (long in “long”i=
tude). The horizontal lines running east and west are FLAT (flat in “=
lat”itude)
Image Mnemonics
Envision a menta=
l picture. The sillier the image you imagine, the easier it is to recall.
Camels =3D the Bactrian camel’s back lo=
oks like a “B” on its side. The Dromedary’s back looks li=
ke a “D” on its side.
Phases of =
the moon by shape, as viewed from the northern hemisphere: DOC (D is the wa=
xing moon, O the full moon, and C represents the waning moon.
Spelling Mnemonics=
A principal at a school is your pal, and a=
principle you believe, or follow is a rule.
You’ll never succeed if you proceed to exceed the speed limit. All =
others are spelled “ede”.
Rememb=
er to separate since there is a rat in the word.
To spell and river or state, break up the spelling of Mississippi, com=
bining letter groups: M-iss-iss-ipp-i.
We p=
robably all still say "I" before "E" except after "=
;C" or when sounding like "A" in neighbor and weigh.
Geography =3D George Edwards Old Grandma Rode A Pi=
g Home Yesterday.
~~
Dr. Bob Griffin
“Abhoring all my sin, adoring only Him=
”
[email protected] www.grif=
=2Enet