Using the Major System has its limitations when remembering content. This is where the Peg System comes in.
The Peg System ties everything together and make it easy to remember all kinds of things. I usually call both these systems just the Peg System. Once you get the basics down, it’s not that hard to use and it makes it much easier to remember content, especially numbers and dates.
Watch the video below and see how I use the Peg System to remember a small list of items. You can review the Major System in my previous post here.
I use the Major system to remember dates of different scientists in class. Once you know the Major system, it’s easy to remember because the picture sticks in your head and it is also easy to translate.
Here are the basics of the Major system and how to learn it.
Remember, when translating, it always goes by how it sounds and not the spelling.
I teach this system in the beginning of the year. It only takes a few minutes each day for a few days. Once they get the system down, we move on to the peg system. It is now possible to learn and remember many things. As we add to our background knowledge, we can make connections and synthesize information.
Here is my first post on using the Major System.
Synthesizing is creating something new using different sources.
When learning different dates and small packets of information, the students can make connections. For example, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison were born in the same year, 1847. One of my students asked me if they ever met each other and I said that’s a good question. I encouraged the student to find the answer and do a report.
I learned the Mnemonic Major System when I was in college taking mathematics classes and trying to learn lot’s of technical material. Now that I teach, I pass the system along to my students. How do students learn and remember things? it’s an age-old question that I have been refining for many years. Remembering things means to put them in your memory. But how is this done and how can we make it easier?
How I use the Major System
In my classroom I have been teaching The Major System and the Peg system for almost 20 years. I’ve used it in gifted classes when I taught for the college gifted programs during the summer and also in my special education classes where I have a variety of students at different ability levels.
Here are the numbers to letters conversions.
I believe the Major System system helps students remember what they learn and helps them achieve at higher levels. Having a trained memory, using good study techniques, and employing the techniques of good storytelling are the pillars of good teaching and help students achieve at the highest level.
To teach for comprehension and understanding, It’s very important for students to build their background knowledge as everything flows from that. This is why I spend time in the beginning of the school year to teach my students a system to help them build their background knowledge.
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This week I started my school video blog at Dingman Delaware Middle School. I posted the first video about the four color lab yesterday. The video shows how the students completed the lab and how the colors mixed together. They also learned the different class procedures such as moving row by row when going to the sink and putting supplies back in an orderly way. They wore safety glasses for the first time as the glasses protect their eyes and also gets them in a good habit of wearing them during labs.
The students learned how to measure the volume of a liquid using the graduated cylinder, beaker and petri dish. They also learned how to read and interpret the meniscus, the line that one sees between the liquid and air in the graduated cylinder. The students learned how to use the graduated cylinder, beaker and petri dish.I hope to post video there every week showing what we are doing in the classroom and to give the students experience demonstrating the important concepts. Like they say, those that explain, retain.
You can see the video and read the blog here.
I just upgraded to WP 3.2 and I really like it so far. There is a new feature where you have a full page to write with no distractions– sweet.
- It’s been a few weeks since school got out and it’s taken me this long to decompress and I’m back to normal now.
- It’s summer vacation and I got a few things planned. I’m taking the family camping next week. We’ll be in New York and New Hampshire.
- I’ve been working on my Bisaya vocabulary and reviewing my past lessons so I don’t forget what I’ve learned.
- I made another rocket launcher and I have more in production. Hope to get them on Siyensya with some added value videos.
This week I gave a demonstration of the egg in the bottle to my classes. This is a favorite demo and I always enjoy doing it. This is a good demo when learning about pressure. To start, burn a piece of paper and put it into the bottle and quickly put the hard boiled egg on top. As the fire goes out, the pressure inside goes down and the higher pressure on the outside pushes the egg in.
Here is a link to my last science lab- the hexaflexagon, which we did last week and you can see the video to learn how to construct and add content to the hexaflexagon.
I have seen this egg demo using a small water balloon and it works the same. To get the egg out, you can try to blow into the bottle which has never worked for me. I usually use an Alka Seltzer and water to pop the egg out. I have also used putting the bottle under hot water to warm the air inside the bottle to expand and push egg back out.
Extensions and discussion
It’s difficult for students to visualize a change in pressure until they see this demonstration. Some of the students have experience going under the water and experiencing increased pressure in their ears, and that helps to understand the concept. For the egg here, it’s the pressure difference that pushes the egg in.
Also, be careful to explain that the lack of oxygen alone doesn’t “suck” the egg in. After I question the students, I explain how the egg goes in and then have them explain to their lab partner. At the end of the class, I have them write their explanation on paper about the egg demo and hand it in so I can check for any misunderstanding.
Making and encoding the video
Here is my latest video on the egg in the bottle video. Again, I used iMovie and since the demo is short, I used a movie trailer. This worked out well as the audio has music and the audio from the classroom was very chaotic. I encoded the flv video as the highest level, which gave me a file size of about 39 meg.
Science with Hexaflexagons
This week we built hexaflexagons in class and added science content on each of the four sides. I thought since the water cycle has four main vocabulary terms, it would be creative to put one vocabulary word on each of the four sides. We also used this for the layers of the atmosphere. Hexaflexagons have four sides and can be constructed with only one piece of paper.
This activity builds enthusiasm for learning science and is a good hands-on activity– much like the great bag of science. See the video gallery for all the science videos here.
History of the hexaflexagon
I first learned about hexaflexagon from Martin Gardner when I was in college. In his book, Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions, Gardner shows a few different ways to construct a flexagon and hexaflexagon. Even though Gardner wrote about the hexaflexagons, others are given credit for their discovery. A graduate student named Authur Stone, while at Princeton University, created the first flexagon by playing around with some paper in math class.
This is a fun activity to do when you have four of something. I also did this with another science class with the layers of the atmosphere.
Here is the video on how to construct your own hexaflexagon. I made this video with iMovie and did a voiceover to give directions on how to construct the hexaflexagon. I exported with mpeg-4 as a Quicktime movie and encoded to flash using iSkysoft Video Converter.
How to fold the hexaflexagon
Start with a piece of paper with the length twice as long as the width. From there, follow my video instructions to complete your own hexaflexagon. Students can add content before or after it’s done. We have made both small and very large hexaflexagons in class over the last few years. Using colored markers is easier that colored pencils as the markers don’t press in on the paper. Remember, the better you make the creases, the easier the hexaflexagon will turn. Watch the video for directions.
Managing the volcano project
This week my classes researched and made a volcano to demonstrate to the class. The project involved making a volcano resume and building the volcano. They were to present to the class about the volcano and demonstrate how the volcano works. I only let them use baking soda and vinegar because of safety reasons. They can add some soap and a few drops of food coloring to the volcano which will give a realistic look of the lava.
Careful with other solutions demonstrating the volcano
Don’t let them use Mentos and soda to demonstrate the volcano project as this will create a large mess in the classroom and will attract bugs and insects. The Mentos and soda should be done outside on another project. I don’t think using them for the volcano project is a good idea. See my other science videos on the video gallery page here.
Keep the class volcano projects moving along
To help keep thinks moving along, I employ a few strategies for the classroom.
- I keep an index card of each group with their names and class period for each volcano project.
- I use the index cards to show the order of who is going first and the next six groups.
- When the group project is ready to present, I staple the index card to their grade sheet. This helps keep track of what they did and helps me find the location of this group on the video.
- I always require 10 points in the presentation for cleanup of the volcano, ensuring that they learn to help clean up.
I made a grade sheet for each group using this rubric from Science Scope. Use it and change it for your need and let me know how it worked for you.
I’m taking a mathematics training class after school on Tuesday and I’ve developed a Google form document to gather some responses. Let me know what you think about Club 91, Fast 50 and the peg system given in class.
For videos showing how Fast 50 works, click here for part A and here for Part B
