I am Psychic

I love to do this activity at the beginning of the school year. I tell the students that I am psychic and can "read" what number they are thinking of between 1 and 31 using these special "Magic Cards." I have the students think of a number and while scrolling through the cards, the students tell me whether or not their number is on the card (with a simple yes or no). Once I have gone through all the cards, I am able to tell the students their number. The students are amazed by this and think it is so cool! What they don't know is that it is so easy to do! All you have to do is add the number in the upper left hand corner of all the cards that the students say yes to. The Magic Cards work thanks to base 2. The students answering "yes" is similar to switching on and off in binary code. Try it out! Your students will love it!

In the past, I have used construction paper to make the cards. This year, I have a SMARTBoard, so I made this powerpoint: Magic Cards