Mrs. Riley Bought Five Itchy Aardvarks and Other Painless Tricks for Memorizing Science Facts (Adventures in Memory)
Grade 3–6—A brief introductory chapter defines mnemonics, illustrates a few of the techniques with widely known examples, and encourages readers to begin developing their own. With no further jargon, the remaining chapters apply these strategies to random scientific facts in the areas of "Earth and Space Science," "Physical Science," "Life Science," and "The Scientific Method." Acronyms, acrostic sentences, visualizations, rhymes, songs, and even a pseudo theatrical script are all demonstrated. Readers can learn how to remember simple facts such as that the Earth orbits the Sun and the Moon orbits the Earth, or more challenging information such as the elements of the Mohs hardness scale. A brief background paragraph in a contrasting white box introduces the scientific information. Occasional "Read On" and "Extra Credit" inserts provide more detail or recommend further reading. Colorful cartoons match the lightheartedness of the presentation. Teachers will find several examples useful during related lessons, though in some cases the examples require more memorization than the facts themselves. Further reading and glossary entries focus on the scientific background presented, rather than on mnemonics.—Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WICopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.