There must be many people here in the Café who , as teachers, use magic in the classroom to introduce or even reinforce an educational topic. If you are such a person I wonder if you could name any trick you do and how you use it educationally

Don't think this is the best place to post this as this section pertains to mentlaism

Hi Boat. Weird is right, you have the wrong part of the Café. That said, I was a classroom teacher for many years during which time I used magic in the classroom nearly every day. I also ran numerous professional development workshops for teachers on using magic in the classroom. Drop me a line and we can discuss it. Cheers.

Christopher Taylor

20 years of educational magic shows to inspire children to read. No more.

I was shocked this year to hear that none of my high school interns had ever seen a live magic trick. I brought in a VERY modest cups and balls routine and blew all their minds with a story about how the skills you learn keep popping up and never go away, ending with the seeds we plant in our program bearing larger and larger fruit as time goes on.

I think it doesn't really matter what tricks you do, so much as how you relate it to their lives and experience.

I advise you post this in The Little Darlings forum: https://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/view......7&179205 We discuss topics like this dealing with educational, motivational and inspirational magic for students.

Here is something I do: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckBLZFiEuUM

What tricks do you have right now?

Actually, there's a whole series of books "Tricks for Trainers" in which author lists various tricks and how they can be used in corporate and classroom training.

Lybrary.com has them:

https://www.lybrary.com/tricks-for-train......846.html

Though bit of advice...

I do a lot of training. In past I'd do tricks to illustrate a point, thinking it a clever way to get class' interested and get them to remember the point. But found out, they remembered the trick (or that I did magic of some sort) but not the lesson or point I was making.

So I've come to conclusion, that for me, magic's not the best tool for teaching.

You are not alone. I have been on several regional and national PTA, PTSA, PTO and Principal Association boards and this perspective is quite prominent among school assembly shows and towards magicians these days. The "Reading Is Magic" or "The Magic of Science" type of shows have been cut or shelved for just these very reasons. The emphasis and takewaways is often the magic rather than the message, cirriculim or educational content. Some outright are refusing to book and magicians or magic-based presentations primarily because of this and many magician's mindsets and approach.

As far as in the classrrom, many students have not experienced live magic, and unfortuenately most teachers perform it poorly or amaturally with the emphasis on the magic or on themselves rather than on it's perhaps intended purpose or how it could be best utilized. They attract more attention to the "how" or create a challenge with students rather than the often desired point, message or takeaway.

Yeah, if all you are interetsed in is "tricks" then Little Darlings may be for you as unfortuantely that is all they want to discuss there.

Meant curriculum