Comprehensive LET Review Notes – Sir Melvin Session

Review Logistics and Key Dates

The speaker (Sir Melvin) repeatedly reminds candidates about the timeline leading up to the Philippine Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET):

  • "Final Coaching" session series

    • September 2 – major subject coaching

    • September 9 – continuation of majors

    • September 19 – GenEd & ProfEd refresher

    • September 27 – last GenEd/ProfEd polishing

  • Board‐exam proper is on September 29.

  • Videos are posted privately right after each live session; candidates should download/stream promptly.

  • Contact details: message the review page or Sir Melvin for enrollment; replies may be slightly delayed during live streaming.

  • Motivational closing: visualize success ("Say your name with LPT!") and treat the review as the last stretch of a four‐month effort.

General Test-Taking Advice

  • Underline or mentally flag negative/qualifying words in multiple-choice stems (e.g., “NOT,” “LEAST,” “EXCEPT,” “BEST”).

  • Practice “brain mapping”: during the test, close your eyes briefly to recall mental maps and Sir Melvin’s voice cues.

  • Lowest reportable grade for pupils is 60; excess absences beyond 20 % of school days require special consideration.

  • Equations or numbers in test items are rarely random—write them down and look for hidden patterns.

Philippine Arts, Culture, and National Artists

  • Grand Old Man of Philippine Art – Fernando Amorsolo (famous for “Planting Rice,” “The Bouquet”).

  • Father of Philippine Painting – Damian Domingo.

  • Father of Philippine Arts (classical sculpture) – Guillermo Tolentino.

  • Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture – Napoleon Abueva.

  • Father of Modern Philippine Arts – Victorio Edades.

  • Famous composer from Angono – Lucio San Pedro.

  • Mnemonic Recap:
    • Grand Old Man → Amorsolo
    • Modern Sculpture → Abueva
    • Classical Arts → Tolentino
    • Modern Arts → Edades
    • Painting → Domingo
    • Music/Angono → San Pedro

Generational Cohorts (Mnemonic “LG SILENT BABY X MAiZa”)

Lost (1883–1900) → Greatest (1901–1927) → Silent (1928–1945) → Baby Boomers (1946–1964) → Generation X (1965–1980) → Millennials/Gen Y (1981–1996) → Gen Z (1997–2012) → Gen Alpha (2013-present).

  • Greatest Generation keywords: duty, honor, sacrifice; fought WWII & the Great Depression.

  • Gen X: participative learners.
    Millennials: interactive learners.
    Gen Z: multimodal (blended, modular, online).
    Gen Alpha: real-time/virtual natives.

Philippine History & Geography Mnemonics

  • Chronological mnemonic FUSMA/FUSMAC for famous sites:
    Fort Santiago (1571) → University of Santo Tomas (1611) → San Sebastian Church (1891) → MacArthur Landing @ Leyte Gulf (1944).

  • Extreme points of the Philippines (“NEWS”):
    • North – Mavulis/Y'Ami Island
    • East – Pusan Point (Davao Oriental)
    • West – Balabac (Palawan)
    • South – Sitangkai/Tawi-Tawi.

Science Quick Facts

States of matter

  • Tightly packed atoms → solid.

  • Fourth state → plasma.

Orbital Points

  • Closest point to the Sun → perihelion.

  • Farthest point → aphelion.
    (Earth–Moon equivalents: perigee/apogee.)

Energy Analogy

  • Potential energy : battery = Kinetic energy : moving electric fan.

Biology & Medicine

  • “First father” of taxonomy – Aristotle (two-kingdom view).

  • “Modern father” – Carl Linnaeus (binomial nomenclature).

  • Penicillin discovered by Alexander Fleming via serendipity/accident.

Levels of Proficiency (DepEd)

  • Beginning (<75 or “Did Not Meet Exp.”)

  • Developing (75–79 “Fairly Satisfactory”)

  • Approaching (80–84 “Satisfactory”)

  • Proficient (85–89 “Very Satisfactory”)

  • Advanced (≥90 “Outstanding”)

Types of Knowledge & Research Vocabulary

  • Factual – isolated terms, glossaries.

  • Conceptual – interrelated facts/ideas.

  • Procedural – methods, steps (“how-to”).

  • Metacognitive – “thinking about thinking,” learning strategies.

Scientific Characteristics (often matched in Board items)

  • Empirical – verified by the senses.

  • Systematic – ordered, stepwise.

  • Numerical – statistical presentation.

  • Accurate – exact, faithful representation.

Literature (World & Philippine)

Major Works & Themes

  • Geoffrey Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales” – a story within a story (frame narrative); considered his magnum opus.

  • Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” – theme of selflessness and sacrifice.

  • Leo Tolstoy – love & war motifs.

  • Edgar Allan Poe – horror/detective (“Annabel Lee”).

  • Homer – “mythical geographer,” epics “Iliad/Odyssey.”

  • Aesop – “Aesop’s Fables.”

  • Beowulf – earliest great work of English literature.

  • Shakespeare highlights:
    Hamlet (longest play; theme: indecision, “To be or not to be”).
    Macbeth – corrupting ambition.
    Merchant of Venice – mercy freely given.

Indian & Arabic Classics

  • “Mahabharata” – world’s longest epic.

  • “Bhagavad Gita” – Hindu sacred book.

  • “Rig Veda” – sacred hymns.

  • “Panchatantra” – Indian fable collection.

  • “Rubaiyat” of Omar Khayyám – carpe diem (“grasp pleasure while you can”).

  • “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights” – source of Aladdin and other tales.

Rizal Works

  • “Mi Último Adiós” – elegy of love for the motherland.

  • “Mi País Filipinas” (contextual mention) – extols beauty of the Philippines and urges learning from the past.

  • Noli Me Tángere main character: Crisóstomo Ibarra.

  • El Filibusterismo main character/alias: Simoun.

Civics, Government, & Law

Legislative Structures

  • Unicameral – single legislative chamber ("two chambers combined into one" in item rationale).

  • Bicameral – e.g., Philippine Congress after Jones Law.

  • Parliamentarism – fused executive-legislative (e.g., Marcos Sr. era).

Historic U.S.-Philippine Acts (economic)

  • Gabaldon Act – school buildings modernization.

  • Payne-Aldrich Act – partial free trade.

  • Underwood-Simmons Act – full free trade.

  • Tydings-McDuffie Act – 10-year independence transition.

  • Bell Trade Act – parity rights.

Constitutional / Statutory Writs & Rights

  • Habeas Corpus\text{Habeas Corpus} – produce the body (protects against illegal detention).

  • Habeas Data\text{Habeas Data} – privacy & data security.

  • Writ of Kalikasan\text{Writ of Kalikasan} – right to a healthy environment.

  • Miranda Rights – safeguards for arrested persons.

  • Suffrage – right to vote.

  • Political Rights – right to run for office.

  • Statutory Rights – created by legislation (e.g., extended maternity leave).

  • Bill of Rights – enumerates civil & natural rights.

Ecology & Symbiosis

  • Orchid on mango tree – commensalism (orchid benefits, mango unaffected).

  • Mango vs. avocado competing for sunlight – competition.

  • Parasite on host – parasitism.

  • Predator-prey – predation.

  • Mutualistic relationship (both benefit) – mutualism.

Geography & Miscellaneous Facts

  • Largest country in Central Asia → Kazakhstan.

  • Largest country in the world (area) → Russia; in Asia proper → China.

  • Orbital point terminology recap (perihelion/aphelion).

  • ENTROPY – measure of unusable energy within a system.

Notable Filipino Historical Figures Mentioned

  • Felipe Agoncillo – first Filipino diplomat.

  • Marcela Agoncillo – sewed the Philippine flag.

  • Melchora Aquino – “Tandang Sora,” mother of the Katipunan.

  • Josefa Segovia & Josefina Guerrero – resistance figures ("leper spy").

  • Monica (first wife of Andres Bonifacio); second wife was Gregoria de Jesús.

DepEd K-12 & Legal References

  • R.A. 10533‾\underline{R.A.\,10533} – Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013; prioritizes “complete, adequate and integrated” basic education.

  • Salary Standardization: teachers receive an upward adjustment every three years; one salary-grade bump prior to retirement.

Closing Mindset

  • “You cannot give what you do not have” – master content first.

  • Share resources (“Each one, reach one”), skip ads only if bandwidth limited; ad views support free content.

  • Maintain mental health; erase over-thinking on exam day.

Quick Formula & Mnemonic Capsule

Domain→Kingdom→Phylum→Class→Order→Family→Genus→Species\text{Domain} \rightarrow \text{Kingdom} \rightarrow \text{Phylum} \rightarrow \text{Class} \rightarrow \text{Order} \rightarrow \text{Family} \rightarrow \text{Genus} \rightarrow \text{Species}
Memory aid: “Dear King Play Cards On Fat Green Stables.”

Extreme Philippine Points (map recall): “My Pen Brings Tales” (Mavulis, Pusan, Balabac, Tawi-Tawi).

Generations: “Lost Great, Silent Baby, eX-Millennials Zip Ahead.”