{"product_id":"pense-betes-college","title":"The Big Book of Study Guides — Middle School Special (Grades 6-9)","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Yeah, yeah, I've studied.\" Door closed, music in their ears. Then, during the test, Pythagoras and Thales get all mixed up. Again.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn middle school, you can no longer study for them. The coursework piles up, the Brevet is approaching, and every concept forgotten during the 8 weeks of summer will be a concept that needs to be caught up on in September — when everything is already moving too fast.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGood students don't necessarily work harder. They retain information better because they have shortcuts: a phrase for SOHCAHTOA, clear landmarks for Pythagoras and Thales, images for figures of speech. \u003cb\u003eThe Big Book of Middle School Mnemonics\u003c\/b\u003e brings together about 145 of these tricks, from 6th to 9th grade, right up to the Brevet.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWhat's in this book\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003e148 mnemonic tricks, from 6th to 9th grade\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003e74 corrected exercises to verify that it's mastered — alone, without you\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003eMath (Pythagoras, Thales, SOHCAHTOA), French, Physics-Chemistry, Biology\/Geology... right up to the essentials for the Brevet\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003e88 pages in short, colorful cards, perfect for a busy teen's brain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch2\u003eWho is this for?\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003eMiddle schoolers from 6th to 9th grade who \"learn\" but don't retain\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003eFuture Brevet candidates who want solid reference points\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\u003cli\u003eParents tired of asking \"did you study?\" without ever knowing\u003c\/li\u003e\n\n\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003ch2\u003eImagine, in a few weeks...\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst test of the year. They turn the page over, smile: they know the shortcut. The formula comes to them effortlessly. That evening, it's them telling you about their day — without you having to pull teeth to get it out of them. ✨\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eOne hour of tutoring costs about €30. This book costs €24.99 — and it stays with them for four years, from 6th grade through the Brevet.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e📦 FREE delivery in metropolitan France · 🖨️ Printed on demand in Europe, for your order · 🔒 Secure payment\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eSlip the book that turns \"I studied\" into \"I remembered\" into their bag.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eA book of tricks for learning and memorizing in middle school, from 6th to 9th grade\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn middle school, the volume of information to retain shifts scale: formulas, dates, grammatical rules, in all subjects at once. Rereading is no longer enough. This book tackles the problem from the other end: 148 mnemonic tricks, numbered one by one, that give each concept a foothold to stick. Nine sections: mathematics, French grammar, French literature, history-geography and civic education, physics-chemistry, biology\/geology, English, Spanish, and a Methods \u0026amp; Brevet section.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSix tricks, from SOH-CAH-TOA to blood types\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSOH-CAH-TOA\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe trigonometry classic, with the right-angled triangle drawn: Sine equals Opposite over Hypotenuse, Cosine equals Adjacent over Hypotenuse, Tangent equals Opposite over Adjacent. Three ratios, and no more confusion possible.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eF.I.L.D. (First, Inner, Outer, Last)\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo expand a binomial expression without forgetting a term: First, Inner, Outer, Last. You check off the four products in order, and the calculation is complete.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"The cloud is up, the demon is down\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe cloud for the nu-merator, the demon for the de-nominator. In 3\/4, the numerator is 3 and the denominator is 4. One second is enough to decide.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"Napoléon Mangea Allègrement Six Poulets Sans Claquer d’Argent\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe third row of the periodic table in order: Na, Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, Ar. The physics-chemistry section relies largely on this process.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"O = Offers, AB = Accepts Broadly\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBlood types: group O is the universal donor, group AB the universal recipient. The trick is followed by an explanation using antigens, so they understand rather than just recite.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"Assonance and vowel start with a vowel\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo you don't swap the two sound figures: assonance repeats a vowel, alliteration a consonant. The example given is the verse about snakes hissing over your heads.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAn exercise at the bottom of every page, all solutions at the end\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt the bottom of every content page, an immediate application exercise: 74 corrected exercises in total, exactly one per page. The 74 solutions are gathered at the end of the book, often commented on in a single sentence. Your middle schooler can therefore verify on their own that they've understood, without you having to reopen a 9th-grade textbook.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe book speaks to the student, using the informal \"tu,\" never to the parents. It doesn't replace the course: it's not a summary of the curriculum, it's a collection of tricks to consult in five minutes before a test or when a concept refuses to sink in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eAn entire section devoted to methods and the Brevet\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe ninth section doesn't deal with any specific subject: it deals with how to work. Learning by testing yourself rather than rereading, spacing out your reviews (the same day, the next day, in a week, in a month), organizing yourself with short sessions, decoding a topic, and managing the day of the exam. Ten tricks that are useful in 6th grade just as they are the night before the Brevet.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eBefore and after middle school\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe collection follows their entire schooling: \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/pense-betes-primaire\"\u003eThe Big Book of Primary Mnemonics\u003c\/a\u003e covers the basics from 1st to 5th grade, and \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/pense-betes-lycee\"\u003ethe High School version\u003c\/a\u003e takes over from 10th to 12th grade, including philosophy and the final oral exam. See also the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/collections\/pense-betes\"\u003eMnemonics collection\u003c\/a\u003e and the \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/le-grand-livre-des-pense-betes-college-pdf\"\u003eprintable PDF version\u003c\/a\u003e of this book.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat a shortcut changes when eight subjects pile up in the same week\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Middle School volume covers eight subjects, plus a methods section. In an ordinary week, an 8th-grade student is reviewing a math test, a biology lesson, a list of irregular verbs, and two dates. It's not the difficulty of each concept that's the problem, it's their number and their proximity.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA mnemonic device acts on a specific point of this disorder. It doesn't make you understand: it fixes the form. The order of a list, the direction of a sign, the placement of an agreement, the arrangement of a formula. What was understood in class then becomes retrievable months later, even when the original reasoning has faded.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou must therefore know what a trick does not do. It proves nothing and replaces no exercises. A phrase doesn't prove a theorem: it just avoids inverting the terms on the day of a test. The book sticks to that, moreover: one concept, one card, one example.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCreating the trick counts just as much as using it. The operation mobilizes several memories at once: the memory of meaning, for the rule itself; the memory of recollections, for the funny image associated with it; the memory of gesture, when a finger covers the last two digits of a year to find the century.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSeven cards taken from the sections we talk about less\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePast participle with \"être\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"With être, I agree with the being who does the action.\" The card uses the image of clothing fitting its size: feminine, an 'e'; plural, an 's'. The examples given are \"elles sont parties\" and \"ils sont venus.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003ePronominal verbs\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBefore \"s'est,\" the book suggests mentally replacing it with \"a,\" then applying the rule of the direct object placed before. \"Elle s'est lavée,\" but \"elle s'est lavé les mains.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"quand,\" \"quant\" or \"qu’en\"?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThree tests in a row. \"quand\" speaks of the moment and replaces \"lorsque.\" \"quant\" means \"as for\" and always drags an \"à\" or \"au\" behind it. \"qu’en\" is two words stuck together: \"qu’en penses-tu?\"\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOhm's law in a triangle\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eU on top, R and I on the bottom. Cover the sought-after letter with your finger, and the formula appears: U = R × I, R = U\/I, I = U\/R. Example from the card: R = 20 Ω and I = 0.3 A gives U = 6 V. The same triangle will be reused for speed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWeight or mass?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMass like Matter: in kilograms, it never changes. Weight like Weightlessness (gravity): in newtons, it changes depending on the planet. The card concludes with the 70 kg astronaut, who keeps their 70 kg on the Moon but weighs six times less.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eRespiration or photosynthesis?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo gas exchanges that are the inverse of each other, and only one thing to remember: respiration, release of CO2. Respiration takes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide, day and night; photosynthesis takes CO2 and releases oxygen, only when there is sun.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSince or for?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"since\" announces a precise starting point, a date, a day: since 2020, since Monday. \"for\" announces a duration, like a set package of time: for two years, for a week.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe same content exists in a printable file, \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/le-grand-livre-des-pense-betes-college-pdf\"\u003ethe middle school PDF\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe Methods section: what really makes a lesson stick\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the book's cards is called \"Spaced Review.\" It starts from an unpleasant observation: the brain forgets quickly, and that's normal, it's filtering. The workaround boils down to four appointments, printed as such: the same day, the next day, in a week, in a month. The card adds the sentence that sums it all up: five minutes several times is worth more than an hour the day before.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt's the principle of spaced repetition. Each return to the lesson is a reactivation: we force recall instead of rereading, and it's that effort that installs memorization. Rereading several times gives the feeling of knowing; reciting the lesson out loud, without looking, shows in ten seconds what is actually mastered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA second card deals with the review sheet. One sheet per chapter, everything fits on one page, you write the essentials in your own words. No copying: copying occupies the hand without making the memory work. Colors, keywords, no long sentences.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA third suggests the mind map for lessons that are too long: a star-shaped diagram, the theme in the center, one branch per idea, little drawings everywhere. The book explains it in one line: the brain loves images and links, and an idea linked to others is retained much better. Those with a more visual memory gain the most; those with a more auditory memory will prefer reading aloud.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowed by the Pomodoro technique, twenty-five minutes of work and five of rest, with the phone in another room, and a reminder about sleep: at night, the brain sorts and engraves the day's lessons. An all-nighter before the Brevet wipes out part of the work put in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese pages don't claim to explain how memory works. It's not a neuroscience book and it talks neither about neurons nor brain areas: it provides work habits and tricks to remember.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMultiplication tables, decimals, and the basics of calculation fall, for their part, under \u003ca href=\"\/en\/products\/pense-betes-primaire\"\u003eThe Big Book of Primary Mnemonics\u003c\/a\u003e, which covers 1st to 5th grade.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThree questions parents often ask\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"They learn their lessons by heart and have forgotten everything a week later.\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat's the most common scenario, and there's nothing abnormal about it. Learning by heart the day before fills the short-term memory, the one that serves to hold out until the test and then empties itself. Nothing was done wrong: the information was simply never reviewed, so the brain classified it as useless.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat changes everything is going back over it. The same day, the next day, a week later. Each return costs five minutes and does more than the hour spent the night before. And it's better to close the notebook and recite the lesson than to reread it: asking yourself questions and having to go get the answer is what installs it durably. Rereading several times gives the feeling of learning quickly, without retaining anything more.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"They say they have a bad memory.\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlmost always, it's not a question of capacity but of method. A student who believes they are incapable of memorizing generally applies the only technique they were shown: rereading until it sinks in. It's the least effective of all.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEveryone also retains through slightly different channels. Some have a more visual memory and gain from transforming a lesson into a diagram or mental image; others, more of an auditory memory, retain better by reading aloud or explaining to someone; others still need to write, redo, manipulate. None of these profiles prevents learning effectively, provided you don't stubbornly stick to just one way of doing things.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\"Does it work for languages?\"\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly in part, and it's best to say so clearly. The English and Spanish sections of the book deal with \u003cb\u003egrammar\u003c\/b\u003e, not vocabulary: the difference between \u003ci\u003esince\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003efor\u003c\/i\u003e, modals, the genitive, \u003ci\u003eser\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003eestar\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003epor\u003c\/i\u003e or \u003ci\u003epara\u003c\/i\u003e. These are rules that we invert constantly, and a mnemonic device fixes them very well.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLists of words, however, are not learned like that. For vocabulary, there is no shortcut: you have to review it regularly, in small, spaced series. You will therefore find in this book neither lists of vocabulary, nor speed-reading methods, nor memorization techniques to practice over months, like memory palaces or the art of memory. No mind mapping either, beyond the mind map explained on one page.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat it contains is simpler: 148 ready-to-use tricks, one per concept, with an exercise opposite to verify that it's mastered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-kb=\"kb-guide-memo\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eHow to really use it?\u003c\/em\u003e Our guide on \u003ca href=\"\/en\/pages\/techniques-memorisation-college\"\u003emiddle school memorization techniques\u003c\/a\u003e details the techniques that work, concrete examples, and review errors to avoid.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kidibook","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":62662598525258,"sku":"KB-PB-COLL","price":24.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1059\/1118\/9834\/files\/pense-betes-college.png?v=1783618155","url":"https:\/\/editions.kidibook.com\/en\/products\/pense-betes-college","provider":"Kidibook","version":"1.0","type":"link"}