[For Upper Grades] Simple Magic Tricks for Elementary School Students: Astonishing and Impressive Magic
Not only do you get to experience a magical world where mysterious things happen right before your eyes—you’ll want to try it yourself! Many kids probably feel that way, don’t they? In this article, we’ve gathered a variety of magic tricks we’d love upper elementary school students to try.
We’ll reveal the secrets, of course, and also share tips on how to make the tricks look good and what to keep in mind when performing.
Feel free to use this as a guide and give them a practice! Invite everyone into a world of wonder with your magic.
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[For Upper Grades] Simple Magic Tricks for Elementary School Kids: Astonishing and Inspiring Magic (11–20)
You can do calculations with playing cards!? Simple playing-card magic
In this magic trick, you do a calculation using two selected playing cards.
For example, let’s say the selected cards are a 6 and a 2.
Add 6 and 2 to get 8… then when you turn over the 8th card from the top of the deck, an 8 will appear.
This is a self-working trick, meaning it requires no sleight of hand.
By placing the 4, 8, Q, and 3 at predetermined positions in the deck beforehand, doing the math will make the correct card appear from the deck.
At the beginning, you show three cards, but in fact all three are 6s—and the next three cards are all 2s!
Elevator Card Magic
This is a magic trick themed around an elevator: a card that should be somewhere in the middle of the deck rises to the top with a snap of the fingers.
If you master a few techniques, memorize the routine, and perform it smoothly, it’s sure to amaze your audience! However, the patter you use to explain what’s happening and the actual handling of the cards can differ, so acting skills are also required.
In addition to the essential break used in card magic, this trick calls for a slightly more advanced technique known as the Elmsley Count.
The Elmsley Count lets you display four cards while secretly hiding one of them, making it appear as though all four are shown—this plays a crucial role in the latter part of the routine.
Once you’ve learned these techniques, you’ll be able to perform other card tricks as well, so take this opportunity to give it a try!
The answer is always 3!? A mysterious calculation
Have the audience think of a favorite number, then follow your instructions to calculate.
First, add 1 to the number they thought of.
Next, double that result and then add 4.
After that, divide by 2, and finally subtract the original number they thought of… Did the answer come out to 3? With this curious calculation, no matter what number they start with, if they follow the steps correctly, they will always end up with 3.
Since the audience likely doesn’t know it will be 3, reveal that you had predicted the number after they get their answer to amaze them.
Let’s predict the sum of four numbers!
Let’s try predicting a total using a 4×4 grid of numbers.
First, have a spectator choose one number from the grid.
Circle the chosen number, then cross out the squares directly above, below, to the left, and to the right of it.
Repeat this process, and in the end, add up the four remaining numbers—that total is what you’ll predict.
The trick is, no matter which numbers are chosen, the total will always be 20! By setting eight numbers along the top and right edges so that paired sums equal 20, and then filling the grid by adding those values, you can construct a table where the total is guaranteed to be 20 every time.
99-times-table calculation magic
In elementary school, we memorize the multiplication table (the times table) like a chant.
The usual table goes up to 9, but in this trick we take on the 99-times table! Without long multiplication or mental math, you’ll produce the answer instantly.
The secret is that the result for multiplying by 99 can be formed by taking the answer for multiplying by 9, splitting it into the hundreds and ones places, and simply putting a 9 in the tens place.
For example, 99×2 is 198, and 99×3 is 297.
If you first write the hundreds and ones digits and then quickly fill in the tens digit with a 9, most people will think, “You only wrote a 9—there’s no way that’s correct.” Show them it matches perfectly and give them a surprise!