MindGym Philippines

For September 2010 LET takers and other readers,  see how well you remembered your rules on subject-verb agreement with these exercises. Simply choose the correct verb.

1.  Everyone (has, have) done his/her homework.

2.  Many a child (dream, dreams) about becoming famous one day.

3.  Some of the water in the jug (is/are) gone.

4.  A number of people (grow, grows) tomatoes in their backyard.

5.  None of the students (has, have) done their Set B drills in Math.

6.  The number of flood relief volunteers (increase, increases) each day.

7.  There (is, are) two main reasons why they broke off.

8.  Aleli (is, are) one of those who (enjoy, enjoys) reading comic books.

9.  My glasses (was, were) on the bed.

10.  The pair of scissors (is, are) on the table.

11.  Our thanks (go, goes) to the MindGym coaches who unselfishli helped us review.

12.  Mumps (is, are) a contagious disease.

13.  Four and four (is, are) eight.

14.  The jury members (has, have) been arguing for three days.

15.  Thirty per cent of the students (is, are) in favor of attending classes at night.

16.  How (is, are) the neighbors taking the disturbing news?

17.  The teacher, together with her students, (has, have) prevented the fire from spreading throughout the building.

18.  Neither the actors nor the director (is, are) coming on time for taping.

19.  Some of the books (was, were) scattered on the floor when we arrived.

20.  Both (do, does) a good deal of work around the office.

Easy?

Here are the answers to the drills last 3 July:

1.  C

2.  D

3.  A

4.  D

5.  A

Today, give some literature-related items a try. Here’s an easy starter.

1. “Nothing happens in this world by chance, it is all part of a grand design.” The author speaks of one’s _________.
A. ambition
B. luck
C. destiny
D. dream

2. The Master said:
“Only one who bursts with eagerness do I instruct. Only one who bubbles with excitement do I enlighten.”

These lines give one the idea that true learning ________.

A. makes man a disciple of instruction
B. involves patience and a dash of lethargy
C. is capable of making man
D. comes with commitment and passion

3. Which of the following line is a simile?

A. “Holding wonder like a cup”
B. “Eyes that love you, arms that hold”
C. “Life has loneliness to sell”
D. “Buy it and never count the cost”

4. Read the following lines:

“Midnight, not a sound from the pavement
Has the moon lost its memory
She is smiling alone
In the lamp light the withered leaves
Collect at my feet
And the wind begins to moan.

These lines means:

A. Confusion
B. Optimism
C. Eagerness
D. Loneliness

5. “Life is but a walking shadow, a pun player that struts and frets… And is heard no more.”

In this line, life is portrayed as:

A. Passing
B. Goes by stages
C. Has its end
D. eternal

Answers to yesterday’s (July 3) drills:
1. D
2. A
3. A
4. B
5. C
6. C
7. D
8. D
9. C
10. C

After the warm up drills in English, here’ s another round of multiple choice items to keep you going in your review for LET.

1. Wise people can _________ with frustrations.
A. cope up
B. cope on
C. cope in
D. cope

2. My grandpa had some “lucid moments” before he died. He was ____________.
A. thinking clearly
B. sad
C. confused
D. ambiguous

3. The measure of choosing well is whether or not a man likes what he __________.
A. has chosen
B. is choosing
D. choose
C. chose

4. All except this one word sounds like the “wh” in “when”?
A. While
B. Whole
D. Whiz
C. Whine

5. Which does not belong?
A. Foot
B. Kilometer
C. Centigrade
D. Mile

6. I saw a nasty _______ between two cars this morning.
A. happening
B. damage
C. accident
D. danger

7. What correction should be made to this sentence?

Most fire-related death’s result from household fires, yet many people do not have fire extinguishers in their homes.

A. Remove the comma after fires
B. Change result to results
C. Change have to has
D. Replace death’s with deaths

8. Which passage is expressed effectively and without structural error/s?
A. Having called the other students and they, the secretary went home.
B. Having called the other students and ourselves the secretary went home.
C. Having called the other students and we, the secretary went home.
D. Having called the other students and us, the secretary went home.

9. ________ not making the most of _____ opportunities.
A. You’re – you’re
B. You – your
C. You’re – your
D. You’re – you

10. The seatwork is difficult for Alfonso and _____
A. Myself
B. I
C. Me
D. Himself

Answers to yesterday’s (July 1) drills:
1. c
2. c
3. d
4. b
5. c

Are you taking the LET this September? How do you plan to go about reviewing? Are you reviewing by yourself? with a study partner? or with your college chums? Or are you currently attending a review class at MindGym or another center?

Do you know what specific topics to cover in your review? Which topics are your strengths? or weaknesses? Have you allocated time for a daily or weekly review? What review materials are accessible to you? Are these materials adequate and reliable?

It’s barely 3 months or 87 days to go before the 26 September 2010 LET (Licensure Examination for Teachers). By this time, you would have thought about or done your LET review plans. You may probably have started refreshing your stock knowledge with the use of a commercial reviewer, your old university references and notes or MindGym’s intensive coaching materials (if you’ve joined us last May 15). You may have received hand me down LET reviewers and study tips from family and friends. So the ball is in your hands.

The coaches at MindGym still have 2 groups of reviewees to coach starting July 17 and 18. Our reviewees would surely find reviewing effective, meaningful and fun — with us. Although we want to enable as many entry-level teachers aiming to pass the LET, we can not yet reach as far nor accommodate as much in our La Casa MIA center. We have yet to gather enough resources to meet varying demands of LET takers. We have yet to make our reviewers more attuned to a bigger and more heterogeneous group. We have yet to “clone” ourselves to make sure that our LET reviewers are cared for by equally committed newer and younger coaches.

In the meantime, we want to share what we have on hand, through this series of FREE online LET work outs — mainly for the benefit of the many aspiring teachers all over the country whose only means to hurdle the LET would be to self review and get a little guidance from their remote kapamilya at MindGym. May these workouts also serve all others reviewing for the LET in their journey towards becoming professional teachers.

This July 1, we’ll start what is supposedly the easiest subject for many LET takers: English.

For the LET, English would comprise 20% of the General Education (GenEd) competency or roughly 30 items. Based on the Professional Regulatory Commission Board of Professional Teachers — Table of Specifications for the LET), English would cover and have weights relative to total GenEd items as follows:

Study and thinking skills 6%

Writing in the discipline 5%

Speech and oral communication 3%

Philippine literature 4%

Master works of the world 2%

So, here’s the English quickie for today.

1. Your mother is paying for your plane ticket, ___________?

A. isn’t it C. isn’t she

B. is she D. aren’t you

2. The words “inappropriate, illegal, irresponsible, and unaware” have prefixes which are classified as _________.

A. positive C. negative

B. common D. neutral

3. Which among these words has the “z” end sound?

A. Maps C. Laughs

B. Jokes D. Buys

4. What figure of speech is in the following line from the poem “The Brook”?

The second time it was a tiny snake.”

A. Personification C. Simile

B. Metaphor D. Apostrophe

5. The person in the lines below could be characterized as __________.

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rage at close of day;

Raged, against the dying of the light.

-Dylan Thomas

A. pessimistic C. courageous

B. violent D. strong

We hope you find these exercises a good warm up for the succeeding MindGym work outs you’ll have to accomplish. Answers will be posted tomorrow.

What can you say about these warm up items in English?

Congratulations to the new MindGym LET topnotchers and passers!

The results for the April 2010 Licensure Examination for Teachers are finally out! Follow these links for the complete passers list (c/o PhilStar.com):

• LET Elementary Level
• LET Secondary Level

What better way than spend this year’s Easter at wonderland? Get Kkkrrrafty with MindGym’s do-it-yourself Egg Wands and test your Brainy with our memory games!

Seeya there this Sunday at the Art Planet, Easter Wonderland, Eastwood City!

Inspired from her art workshop last April 2009, one of our students, Shing, wrote this creative writing piece. Read on what this recent highschool graduate thinks about taking art “seriously” for the first time and how it changed her perspective of simply learning about other things in life:

What My Sketch Pad Taught Me

By Elisha Andrea A. Liganor

Even if a year has passed, I can still remember clearly the first comment Sir Mar told me about my work:

‘Iha, ang diin mo mag shade. Lagyan mo ng konting hinay’

Or something like that. Up until now, I still have a tight grip on my pencil, and I tend to write without caring if there would be marks on the other side of the paper – because that’s just who I am.

Art classes, as many would think, may just be another form of leisure, a hobby to take the boredom away, but meeting Sir Mar made me think otherwise. Of course, I’ve known a lot of art people from school, but his philosophy in his work very much stands out: it’s different and more complex than the ordinary. I can honestly say that his life is one big art work where as ours would be like a page off a sketch pad – everything in his life IS art.

Keep on reading..

Most achievers we know have certain habits they’ve sworn their hearts to that makes them thaaat good in doing what they do. Success is not all “talent”– it’s also diligence, faith in self, and discipline. Hmm.. Let’s put concrete steps to those seemingly giant concepts!

MindGym’s very own Coach Albert garnered a top spot at the LET while keeping his sanity, day job, and numerous career stints. In his speech below to students of his former review center (Manila’s MET Review Center, September 2009), he shares specific things one could do before-during-after “exam time”.

While doing what he did may not guarantee a topnotcher’s position in the LET, it could spell the difference between succeeding or passing the LET at first take and retaking the licensure all over again next time. What could those tips be? Read more

Conducted by April 2009 Top 3, Albert Basa, and other LET placers who are not only academically proficient but who really care to help reviewers pass the LET; LET refresher includes several drills in GenEd and ProfEd competencies to be tested and coaching on Majorship.

At the end of 10 days, trainees will bring home LET memory tools for easy recall of knowledge; proven test taking tips and techniques for passing the LET; and the confidence to pass even even top the LET.

We are accepting only 25 reviewees per batch to ensure that each reviewee can freely ask questions on subjects of concern and closely interact with peers and coaches. Read more

Testimonial from Ericka Villafuerte (Top 4, Secondary Level, LET October 2009)

I took the exam last October 2009 and enrolling in MindGym was definitely the best decision I made in preparation for the LET.

The coaching was very thorough, and given that the class was limited to only a few people, we were able to set our own pace for the review. The MindGym coaches were very approachable and took the time to make sure that none of the reviewees were left behind. It also helped that we were free to ask questions or have something repeated for clarification.

Also, the environment was very conducive for learning and not very constricting (as I’ve heard that other review centers fill auditoriums with reviewees to the point that those in the back cannot even hear the lecturers, nor are all the questions entertained).

The drills were very helpful too as it trained us to work under pressure. It also allowed us to keep track of topics we were having difficulty with.

 I can honestly say that I would not have been able to pass (and thankfully, top) the LET if not for MindGym!