The Genii Forum

I am a Special Education teacher. I am looking for the easiest magic tricks to teach my students. Any ideas or suggestions?

Why not teach 'em how to vanish a quarter and then pull it from someones ear!??? Minimum props, could even be done with a small stone. Gives em a piece of magic they could always do. I taught my son that trick when he was about ten years old using a french drop and now he takes great pleasure in doing it for his kids; my grandkids. Just a suggestion but you have to swear 'em to secrecy and take the magician's oath. :)

-=tabman

With all respect to my good friend Tabby, even such a "simple" idea as vanishing a coin requires sleight-of-hand skills that may be beyond what is appropriate for special ed students. I might recommend the book "Magic for Dummies" which contains many many simple tricks, plus excellent instruction on the principles of magical performance. I believe a thorough reading of this book would be of use to an instructor, first and foremost. There might well be a trick or tricks which you might find appropriate, but the book overall is an excellent introductory primer to the subject that would serve to provide the instructor with a useful background before embarking on such a course of study.

Originally posted by Jamy Ian Swiss:
... skills that may be beyond what is appropriate for special ed students. I might recommend the book "Magic for Dummies" ...

I didn't think about that Jamy, you're absolutely right but I could see that nobody was talking about it so I decided to jump in!!! I would definately go with your suggestions. He might be able to turn this into something really meaningful with your help.

-=tabman

I'm sure it would not be necessary to Bato to point out that he should not bring the book to a special ed class. For them to know that their magic was coming from a book called Magic for Dummies would not do much for their self-esteem.

That aside, the book does have some good material in it. Don't let the title put you off.

I have no idea what special ed students can learn but as an idea, the first trick I learned was taught to me at a very young age by an uncle. It was finding a card by using the glimpsed bottom card as a key. I took great delight in using the old gag of dealing by the chosen card and then betting a nickle the next card I turned over would be it. Just a thought. Tom

students? how old are they .As former therapistI had workshop with mentally disabled children...
I used with the younger one many tricks needing few skill: chips or coin attached with elastic and diseapparing into the sleeve (You have to drill a coin)
coin diseapparing on a paper under a glass or a ring gimmicked by a secret paper;
You may for older teach a false knot diseapparing from a rope and a quick retrieval by doing a knot with one hand. (see Abott encyc. of rope tricks, or all the easy...tricks by Karl Fulves in Dover collection. The most difficult thing is avoiding to teach too much tricks, you have to let your pupils understand they have to master one tricks before tryng another stunt. And more important is to make them present theyr trick to the other students, and findin together what is the best presentation. OOPs!

I have the autistic class at my school. I have two high-functioning third-graders, a moderately functioning fourth-grader, and three moderate to severe fifth-graders. One of the fifth graders is, in fact, not autistic but has Williams Syndrome, a form of mental retardation.

dear Bato, be careful, autistics may be frightened by your magic. Many years ago I was involved with an experience on thrapy win flats where young educators and people with various diseases tried to live together.
I was a young psychologist and the doctor who managed the fundation asked me if I could do some magic tricks. I though clever to vanish a thimble and retrieve it in the back of one a young man who was in the flat.... I saw his face turning white, as if he was penetrated by the thimble.....

I think it is so cool that Jamy Swiss feels that way about "Magic For Dummies." That was my magic primer, and I always recommend it to anyone who is attempting to locate a Square One. I love the inclusive tone - that magic is something fun for people of all ages and all walks of life. Many of us can read music without interfering with the ability of musical geniuses to express themselves and make a mint off of their talent, and I believe that magical geniuses would not be harmed, and would probably be more highly regarded, if more of the population at large knew how to read magic.

Here's a fun trick I used to teach to kids when I taught magic classes ... snapping a knot in a piece of rope ...

Prep. a 3' piece of rope with a knot tied 2 or 3 " from the end ...

Hold the rope so the knot is concealed by the RH ... let the other end dangle down and the LH brings the end into the RH and the RH snaps the rope releasing the unprepared end ... repeat again ... on the third try the RH hand retains the unprepared end and releases the pre-made knot ...

Actually, what I meant was teaching educational principles by way of using magic tricks as an illustration. For example, Gospel magicians use magic to teach Biblical principles and morals (I think).

How could a teacher teaching basic addition, reading, social studies, science, etc., use magic tricks to illustrate non-magic lessons and concepts?

Richard Pinner uses "Mathematical Finder" for teaching. It is trick #30 from Scarne on Card Tricks (also described in Martin Gardner's Mathematics, Magic and Mystery pp7-8). He gets the pupils to pull out nine cards from their own decks, shuffle and look at the top one before dropping the balance of the deck on top.

He then goes into the revelation as described, which will involve counting downwards from ten and simple addition.

The 1998 force is very effective and uses very basic math.