If you would like to share a lesson or a story to be posted,
please send me an email. DEzell@MagicForTeachers.com
I use magic in my middle school MH classroom for behavior management. At the beginning of the semester, there was one student who behaved badly everyday in class and I had to think of something to motivate him to act appropriately. I decided that it couldn't hurt to try magic. I showed the class my first trick in the morning and then told the student if he had a good day I would teach him the trick. This trick worked like magic. He was wonderfully behaved. Once he knew a few tricks he started to present them to the class. Then he started doing the tricks with teachers and other students around school. He would beam every time he completed the tricks correctly. After a few weeks went by I made the goal higher so now he has to have a good week before he can learn a new trick. It is really working. Magic really has raised his self-esteem and given him something to look forward to. ~Carrie C. Melbourne, FL
I have used
magic tricks in my classroom for a while now and the students just love it!!
I have connected the magic experience with academics and they go together wonderfully.
I would first teach the trick to the student and then they could present the
trick to the class. This has made each student the star of the show. When my
student's with learning disabilities performs for the general education class,
you can see how proud they are of themselves. I have seen this transformation
time and time again with my students! I have also used writing prompts with
the magic. Normally my students groan when asked to write, but when asked to
write the steps to a trick they have just learned there is no complaining. I
have also had students that would only write four or five sentences write a
page detailing which trick is their favorite. There are so many places that
magic can fit into the classroom. Academics! Self-Esteem! Don't forget fun.
Magic really does work!!
~Jill H. Melbourne, FL
I use magic in my
high school TMH class. We started a MAGIC BUDDIES club last year at the high
school. We had nine students with various disabilities and nine general
education students as members. We held weekly meetings where all of the
students would learn new tricks and practice the tricks they already knew. All
of the students seemed to enjoy the experience of working together and helping
each other. I had a student with disabilities who would teach the general
education students the tricks that he had perfected. His self-esteem shot
through the roof as a result of this. We performed a magic show twice in the
community. We performed once at an elementary school and once at a middle
school. I found it interesting that the general education students were the
ones before the performances who were more nervous. I am a strong believer in
the power of using magic in the classroom setting. Because I used magic in my
classroom as well as being the sponsor of a MAGIC BUDDIES club, I have seen the
success first hand. This helped all of the students to learn social skills,
gain self-esteem and make lasting friendships.
~Janis S. Palm Bay, FL
I found an awesome activity to use on Flag
Day (June 14th)!!! I did the change bag trick with flags. It worked really
really well!! I did the trick with my students and a few other special education
classes near us.It was so neat to see the students’ faces when they saw the
flags mixed up or missing colors! I was so proud when they knew when there was a
problem and then when it was the correct flag!! (the trick is where you take the
three scarves—red, blue and white and then use the change bag to pull out messed
up flag scarves and then the real U.S. flag scarf at the end)
~Carrie, C.
Melbourne, FL
During my two years at the University of Central Florida
(UCF), I had the great honor of working with Dr. Dan Ezell and being introduced
to the wonderful world of magic. With the tricks that I was taught I have been
able to reach students in ways that I did not think would be possible in some
cases. I remember one student in particular who had difficulty with controlling
his temper because he had been in a bad home environment. He had never learned
to read a person’s expression and did not realize when other students were just
joking with him. I used the bow tie rope trick and told him that sometimes we
think things are difficult and hard when in reality they are something
completely different.
In my final semester at UCF, I began an after school
magic club called M.A.G.I.C. B.U.D.D.I.E.S. My students ranged from 1st
to 5th grade. There were both disabled and non-disabled students in
the club. All students were special in there own way and did not like to perform
in front of others. They were very self conscious. In the weeks that we
conducted the magic club, I saw this group of boys go from an “I can’t attitude”
to an “I can.” The boys even went so far as to performing for the entire after
school daycare program with the help of Dr. Dan the Magic Man hosting their
performance. I saw these boys grow in ways that are very hard to explain, but
they became a group who worked together, helped one another, and were more open
to friendships. When I left my internship and my group, I felt proud to have
been part of this special group. Magic may be sleight of hand tricks and optical
illusions, but it can also build a child’s self esteem like nothing in this
world can. Children need the magic of teachers and the magic of self esteem to
succeed in whatever they dream to do.
Dayle Ramsey, ESE Graduate of UCF Cocoa. Class of 2005