Only Mice Like Useless Socks: The Power of Mnemonics

It's no secret that mnemonics can help people remember steps and processes in mathematics and other subjects. Many people have heard (and used) the mnemonics for the order of operations: PEMDAS and Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally. I've personally witnessed the power of mnemonics and their usefulness. They help make learning "sticky" and help calm students during testing situations.

Have your students had trouble with interquartile range? The concept was added to our sixth grade standards last year. Interquartile range is quite different from the simplicity of dot plots and bar graphs. It requires students to find the median of a set of data, the median of the lower half of the data, and the median of the upper half of the data. When I first introduced the concept to students, they had that classic "what?" look. I had to think of a way to help students remember how to find interquartile range.

I listed the steps for finding interquartile range, and the idea of mice and socks formed in my mind. A short time later, I wrote down the mnemonic "Only Mice Like Useless Socks."

Order the data from least to greatest
find the Median of the data
find the median of the Lower half of the data (Q1)
find the median of the Upper half of the data (Q3)
Subtract Q1 from Q3

The quirkiness of the mnemonic is perfect for middle school students. To "hook" them in, ask them how they think mice and socks can help them remember interquartile range. The responses you get will probably be hilarious, but the question and the responses add to the "stickiness" of the lesson. The mnemonic transformed a normally tricky lesson into one where students have a little fun. Maybe it will work for you as well.

Click here to download a copy of the worksheet I use to introduce interquartile range. It's available for FREE until Saturday, February 20, 2016.

Have a great week!!!

Classroom Hack: Think Outside the Box Plot

Learning is Love...and I love classroom hacks! During a recent trip to the dollar store, I picked up some great finds for Valentine's Day. I've been thinking about how to help students better understand box plots and interquartile range. I like students to explore various ways to make learning "sticky." Once I found a bag of foam heart-shaped stickers, I hoped I could create an activity that would make box plots sticky for students.

I always like to start off with a crazy question. For this lesson, I may ask students, "How can hearts help us learn about box plots?" At first glance, there is no obvious answer (one student did mention that we could display the data for heartbeats:. ;-)

100 Hearts for $1. What a deal!

For this activity, I used box plot task cards with various scenarios. They vary in difficulty, which allows for differentiation. In addition to task cards, students need 5 foam heart-shaped stickers, a sharpie or pen, and their interactive notebooks or pieces of paper for their box plot full of hearts. For an added touch, I used red yarn for the whiskers.

Students will use the task cards to determine the median, first and third quartiles, and the upper and lower extremes. They will create a number line with the appropriate scale and intervals. Next, they will write the labels of the five summaries on the hearts. Now, they can construct their box plot using the stickers and the string.

What's great about this activity is that it's quick and simple. Plus, kids will have a little bit of fun while learning about or review box plots. Win-win for $1 plus tax. We can all love that!!!