We all learned tricks when we were younger to help us remember information. Think about learning to spell words with NO phonological rationale – so we learned “F-R-I-E-N-D” is the correct spelling because it is a “friend to the end”.
While some tricks do not have much relevance in our adult life – I am proud to say that I have mastered tying my shoes, so ” Over, under, around and through, Meet Mr. Bunny Rabbit, pull and through” is no longer a guiding light for me; there are others that still are a part of my world:
- The action is affect, the end result is effect. Affect is usually a verb, effect is usually a noun; “The effect of absences could be falling below grade level.” or “To affect a student’s performance, snacks are provided throughout the testing.”
- “I before E except after C” – I know that auto-correct will automatically correct it, but this comes in handy when you have somebody looking over your shoulder as you are typing
- “The Principal is your PAL (princiPAL)” – same usage as above
- Ctrl, ALT + Del to open task manager – when the computer is freezing and all I’m getting is a message that the program or site is not responding, I use this to open Task Manager and close the program that way and move on with my life!
- “Righty tighty, lefty loosey” – when I need to screw an item into place such as replacing light bulbs, fixing that teeny, tiny screw to re-attach the arm on my eyeglasses, etc.
- “Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November” – I never really use this – I open a calendar app somewhere – but if there is ever a question in a trivia quiz……
- HOMES – the Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior (mostly used when doing crosswords)