Remembering the Bill of Right's sixth amendment

The goal of Struggling Student's Memory Guide is to develop ways to use association and mnemonic memory techniques, instead of rote memorization, to remember educational information we can use for a lifetime.

The sixth amendment is about our rights related to criminal prosecution in a federal court. It's pretty extensive but the highlights of our rights are: Speedy Trial, Public Trial, Impartial Jury, Counsel, Confrontation and Cross Examining of Witnesses, and Notice of Accusation.

We're going to substitute "six" with "sticks" and for those who know the Link/Peg/Phonetic system we're going to use the word "shoe". We're also going to use the acronym SPICe CaN for Speedy trial, Public trial, Impartial jury, Counsel, Confrontation and Notice of accusation.

Memory story: (We're going to steal from Dr. Seuss.) You're the Grinch and have been a bad boy this year so you get sticks and coal in your shoes again for Christmas. (Which can be used as a switch should anyone be so inclined to use it on you.) Misanthrope that you are you decide to steal every SPICe CaN of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in Whoville making Christmas a little less festive. No pumpkin pie, spiced yams, eggnog, muled wine, or hot buttered rum for them you think as you go about your nasty business. You're just about to complete your mischief when you get pinched.
You immediately get charged by the federal government because this is a federal crime it being so horrendous.
You're given a speedy trial out in the public square and your impartial jury (a toothless bunch of Whos who must have left their partials at home) is selected by your appointed counsel (your school councilor who was the first person you stole a spice can from) and the district attorney. You're looking at all the witnesses you get to confront as they read your Notice of Accusation, which took about twenty minutes longer than your trial. (You've been a very bad boy, especially around this holiday.) Your punishment? Banished to Mount Crumpet for the rest of your life. Yea, well wait til next year's Christmas you think. I'll show 'em.

Remembering the Bill of Rights' Fifth Amendment

The goal of Struggling Student's Memory Guide is to develop ways to quit using rote memorization and use association instead to quickly remember useful educational information for a lifetime.

The fifth amendment protects us against government abuse in a legal procedure. It's pretty extensive but the keywords are: Grand Jury, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process of Law, and Eminent Domain.
Frankly the fifth amendment is pretty tough and when things get tough in association and mnemonics one of the best things we can do is take a walk. A mental walk that is and we're going to do ours in your local neighborhood park.

The memory story that follows includes a Loci (location) or a mental walk through a place you're familiar with and where you've made visual connections to things in advance. So read through the memory story and then go to the park to make your visual connections. (Yes, I know it sounds crazy but you have to go to the park because we want to remember this for a lifetime. Everytime you go by that park this memory story will get remembered.)

We're going to substitute "hive" for "five" and for those who know the Link/Peg/Phonetic System we'll use "owl".

Memory Story: You're walking through your park and spot a hive flowing over with honey. You break into it to scoop some honey out when all the animals yell and you're immediately arrested by a couple of bears bearing arms. They take you to the wise old owl who realizes you're scared because you don't how the legal system works in this park. The owl wants you to know you won't be legally abused but will have a fair trial here in this park.

He shows you the Grand Jury, a jury of animals in a grand piano (over on top of that picnic table maybe). Thankfully there's no bees in the grand jury because they want you tried as a terrorist and sent to a military court because in their opinion what you did to them was an act of war.

Then there's Alex Trabech from tv's Jeopardy (over by the swings maybe) who will make sure you won't be tried twice for the same hive destruction.

The owl points to the empty witness chair (the slide maybe) you don't have to sit in and the microphone you don't have to talk into.

Then he shows you his DiPLoma (due process of law) (over on that big tree maybe) that insures he knows all the ins and outs of making sure you get a fair trial.

Finally he shows you the M&M doughman (eminent domain). A gargantuan doughman covered with M&M's going around and taking trees, tables, and what have you, but pays the animals and humans with M&M's and dough for their property. It's okay because the M&M doughman always does it legally the owl assures you. (Hopefully the M&M doughman won't grab up your park or he'll make your Loci just a memory.)

Remembering the fourth amendment

The fourth amendment guards us against unreasonable search and seizures. For association purposes we're going to substitute "door" for "four" and use "rye" for those who know the LinkPegPhonetic memory technique in this memory story.

Memory story: You are Jean Valjean from Voltaire's Les Miserables and policemen break down your "door" and they ruffly search you and your house for the loaf of "rye" bread you've pilfered from the local bakery to keep you and your family from starving to death. Off to the galleys you go.