In this lesson your students will learn a simple but astonishing card trick.

Do spend time learning the trick yourself. Being able to perform it will have a much greater impact on your class group rather than simply showing them a video demonstration. Once you are familiar with the inner workings of the trick, you will be able to troubleshoot issues or inconsistencies your learners may have while they practise and learn the routine.

Start the lesson with a demonstration. This is probably best performed while sat at a table with your learners stood around watching. Perform the trick before explaining how it’s done. There really needs to be a pause and period of enquiry prior to revealing its secret.

Introduction:

Ask your learner group to gather around a table while you demonstrate the trick. The deck of cards should be set up so that the top 4 cards are, in this order: 8 clubs, 9 spades, 8 spades, 9 clubs (9 clubs should be on the top of the deck).

Steps:

• Sit at a table and place the deck of cards, set up as described above, in the centre.
• From this point on, you should not touch the cards until the trick is finished.
• Invite an audience member to take the top two cards and place them side by side, face down on the table next to the deck.
• Ask the audience member to turn over one of the two cards, briefly look at it, allowing everyone in the audience to see it too, before replacing it face down somewhere in the middle of the deck of cards.
• The audience member repeats the process above with the second card, i.e., briefly look at it before returning it to the centre of the deck.
• The magician asks the audience member to square the deck, so the two cards are lost in the middle.
• The magician pauses and asks the audience member, ‘have I touched the cards?’ The reply should be a very certain, no!
• Ask the audience member to once again take the top two cards and place them side by side, face down on the table next to the deck.
• Ask the audience member, ‘is it possible for the two cards you originally chose to magically appear, here on the table?’ You may wish to make the point that you have also not touched the deck.
• Wave and click your fingers over the two cards before asking the audience member to turn them over. Their two cards will magically appear.
• Pause for a moment for everyone to see the cards before turning them over and returning them to the deck.

Task:

• Place learners into groups and ask them to discuss how they think it was done.
• Bring learners back to the table and invite suggestions.
• Go through a demonstration and reveal, step by step, how it was done:
  • The trick is essentially self-working and requires no sleight of hand.
  • The first two cards the audience member takes are the 8 clubs and 9 spades, however the cards revealed at the end are the 8 spades and 9 clubs.
  • The trick works on the principle that the 8 and 9 of clubs and spades are the most similar and therefore easily confused.
  • Keeping a distance. The trick is greatly improved if the magician does not touch the deck during the performance. It adds a level of complexity which strengthens the illusion.
  • Asking the audience member, ‘have I touched the cards?’ is important as it affirms your limited involvement and how they were the only one in physical contact with the cards during the trick.
  • When the cards reappear, allow everyone to see them on the table before naturally turning them over and returning them to the deck. The longer the audience has to study the cards, the more likely they are going to notice something incongruous.

Magic is magic for a reason. Remind your learners not to reveal the secret.

• Place your learners into pairs/groups of 3 and ask them to practise the trick using the task language and steps as a guide.
• Monitor and assist when necessary.
• Invite learners to mingle and perform the trick. Organise which students are magicians and which are audience members. They will need to change roles to allow everyone an opportunity to perform.
• While the magician performs the trick, the audience member(s) should assess the performance using the success criteria and give feedback.

Here is a video demonstration. It’s slightly different to description above but the effect remains the same.

Download a PDF of the Task language and steps and the Success criteria here: Lesson. The 8 and 9 card trick

Task language and steps

• Place a deck of card on the table.
• Cards on the top of the deck: 8 clubs, 9 spades, 8 spades, 9 clubs.
• Ask, ‘do you want to see a magic trick?’.
• Put the cards on the table.
• Say, ‘please take the top two cards from the deck’.
• Say, ‘please put them next to the deck’.
• Say, ‘please turn over one card and look at it’.
• Say, ‘now put the card back’.
• Say, ‘now turn over the other card and look at it’.
• Say, ‘now put the card back’.
• Say, ‘please square the deck’.
• Ask, ‘have I touched the cards?’.
• Say, ‘please take the top two cards from the deck’.
• Say, ‘please put them next to the deck’.
• Ask, ‘did you put the two cards in the deck?’.
• Ask, ‘do you think they could magically appear, here on the table?’.
• Wave and click your fingers over the two cards.
• Say, ‘please turn over the two cards’.
• Say, ‘your cards have magically appeared’.
• Pause for a moment for everyone to see the cards before turning them over and returning them to the deck.

Success criteria

• Did the magician perform the trick well?
• Did the magician tell the audience what was happening? E.g., did they say, ‘please take the top two cards from the deck’.
• Give the magician some feedback and advice.

Before finishing the lesson, try and make time for a review stage. If your students have followed the task language and success criteria, there will be plenty of scope for reflection.

Also, when I have run this lesson, I ask my students to perform the trick in English for their family as a homework task. A nice compliment to the lesson and gives a real-world use to some of the language.

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Do you need a game to fill a gap in your lesson and engage your students? If yes, look no further than here: Games and board games