Monday, September 22, 2008

Mnemonics

Today in class, we were talking about mnemonics, and I used the example of "My Very Educated Mother Just Sent Us Nine Pizzas" to remember the planets' names in order. The students had never heard that. I thought maybe it was because they didn't learn Pluto as a planet, but they said that changed after they learned the planets. They also said that they never had to learn the planets in order. What are they teaching kids these days?

I feel old when the students and I don't even have mnemonics in common.

But, turns out Frank doesn't know it either.

3 comments:

Kristina Killgrove said...

Huh. I never learned that one either, but I can't remember the mnemonic that I did learn.

When we create mnemonics in college courses, we can be a bit dirtier. The one I learned for remembering all the carpal bones (which I will teach my students on Wednesday) is: Some Lovers Try Positions That They Can't Handle.

SS said...

Hey! That mnemonic was on Scrubs!

What mnemonic do you use to remember how to spell mnemonic?

Kristina Killgrove said...

I don't. It's from the Greek word for memory and related to Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. Hm, I think I found my next pet's name.