Accidental Mentalist

Normally I don’t use conventional magic tricks in the classroom, I prefer to adapt a magic trick to the contents of my syllabus. But this particular card trick is perfect to present and practice the names of the cards and their suits, as well as to practice numbers and the pronunciation of letters (spelling). This trick also introduces the principle of equivocation, which we will see in the video about forcing.

Notice: this magic trick is not an adaptation of a card trick, it is a card trick taken as is, without any changes.

Demonstration & Explanation

 

Think-a-bit tip: As I have already mentioned, I have not really adapted this trick to the classroom, except to teach a bit of vocabulary, and to check students’ spelling. Of course, you can adapt this trick to the classroom if you want. Let’s say you want to do a “get-to-know-you” classroom activity at the beginning of the year. Write down the names of nine students in the class and where they are from (Laura, from London. John, from Manchester. Peter, from Glasgow… etc.). As long as the nine students’ names are all three letters or longer, and as long as all the towns they are from are five letters or longer, this trick will work with flashcards with these students’ names and their hometowns written on them.

Next trick: “The Odd Card Out” >>