Even come right out and ask what makes them laugh. First and foremost, education is serious business. I work at the lesson until I can get students to succeed then I start teasing them and joke around with them. You kids are crazy. Too often, teachers are the joke to students, so the sooner you make fun of yourself, the better. The best comedy stems from blatant honesty.
Wear your bell bottoms or your bow tie. Changing the pitch of your voice wakes students up from their daily trance, and it might just make them laugh too. In fact, the worse you are, the better. Improv involves creating games in the classroom and letting the students take it from there. A lot of the ideas in this article thrive on improvisation, but a great resource for improvisational games is The Second City Guide to Improv in the Classroom www. He hits on almost every subject.
Hard Laughter Summary & Study Guide
Check out his story on DJs and Democrats. Political Cartoons and most comic strips for that matter make great classroom posts and good lesson starters. Not of the Three Stooges brand but emphatically physical, slapstick delivered by the teacher draws fits of laughter. When I went to an awards ceremony for Excellence in Teaching, bestselling author and teacher Ron Clark spoke and told inspirational stories as he jumped onto tables.
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All I could think was that he was crazy, and I could never do that. But, some teachers can and should. During one class, the students and I were trying to figure out how to set ourselves up for reading with a British accent.
It worked and it gathered laughter for the first twenty minutes of class. Tell them about the time a bird pooped on your head when you were talking to that person whom you adored. Or, ask why students pick their noses right in front of you, even when you look at them, your eyes widening, hoping for an end to the madness. We are all a mess sometimes.
Show them you not only have grace but can laugh at yourself too. Flash your basic anger at the system and watch the smiles appear. I found a student in tears and when I sat to talk to her I found out exactly why. Some students go through horrors that no one should ever have to endure. Yet, here they are.
We were laughing so hard and blowing our noses at the same time. Students started treating it like an addictive drug habit. They snuck around handing out gum, and they started chewing it in my class to see if I could catch them. I thought it was hilarious. A math teacher recently said the line goes in one direction and the class started giggling and singing a One Direction song.
A few years ago when Miley Cyrus was still popular and I was teaching students about learning from mistakes. The whole class bounced in their seats, sang in unison, and laughed. This was actually something I learned when I lost my voice. I had to do a lot of writing on the board, but for some things I simple mimed the meaning and students guessed. For instance, I wave my hand forward to begin the pledge. They look at eachother then I point and they begin.
I motion for them to check IDs. They giggle and check. Kids love to talk about talk shows, reality shows, and the latest popular drama.
Lesson Plan for Murder (A Master Class Mystery)
So let them, and then work some humor in by asking why they need to watch Jersey Shore or is it necessary to watch every episode of American Idol? To them, that is success. Some of the worst impressions are some of the funniest. I often have my own terrible impressions of super models. Sometimes students like to shoot you down and do their own impressions. If students are acting up and jumping out of their seats, which usually happens with the after-lunch crowd, then give false consequences such as lunch detention or detention in general.
In about five to ten minutes, take it back because they were so good after all. It often turns into a game of them quieting down for five minutes at a time, complete with giggles, but keeps them under control. If they get Five Guys the restaurant chain that President Obama loves—laughter , they get lunch detention.
No one ever gets to the fifth one and everyone enjoys the game. In the middle of a lesson, a student got up and started talking to me about her cat. The awkwardness of it made for an even more interesting lesson. Students kept raising their hands and saying something about their cat or dog. The student then became the cat kid and liked it.
Teachers using vernacular particular to the students sounds ridiculous but amusing to them. They clash and crumble while one character you, the teacher or one situation the classroom puts them back together. They were very interested to know how a teacher could justify this. I sprinkled in answers to their questions throughout lessons to keep them interested in what I really wanted them to learn.
Use it and use it often. Sometimes students are perplexed by it. Other times they mimic it. The bottom line is that sarcasm is a survival mechanism for most teachers. The dramatic way you love your subject truly entertains students. Her obsession makes for great comical moments. This is humor at the expense of a ridiculous character tormented with bitter irony. Teachers can be childish. So at those moments revel in the idea that you might just be adding some interest to your persona.
Comedy in the Classroom: 50 Ways to Bring Laughter Into Any Lesson | InformED
All the things we shake our heads at in children are the same things we adore doing ourselves: Use these antics wisely. Stomp your feet then throw a stack of papers on the floor. Attention and grins will follow. I always struggled with spelling.
Comedy in the Classroom: 50 Ways to Bring Laughter Into Any Lesson
I make mistakes and welcome their criticisms. Some of the funniest moments arise out of fear or anxiety. When you or the students encounter it, remember your humor when appropriate. Bringing up your irrational fears is a great equalizer. There is a hope that there will someday be a world with no school, no lessons, no homework and a hope for some students that they might grow up to be a Professor of Video Games and Technology, which may actually be a reality someday.
But, they still have to graduate high school to get there. To get what they want, they need you. So ask that inevitably difficult question: The answers alone supply giggles galore, then let the rest take you to the points you want to make. No two kids are alike and some are so different you wonder how they ended up in the same realm let alone the same classroom. Take the two extremes and put them side-by-side. Jen and the others try to pick up their lives again and act like everything is normal.
It is hard because they are all so confused and have no proof that the tumor is not going to come back. Jen thinks of all the people who deserve to get a brain tumor instead of Wallace. She tries to go back to work, and even Wallace starts writing again. One day, Wallace starts hiccuping and can not stop, even after many hours. The entire family is worried that this means that the tumor is back and that they are all going to have to go through it again. The doctor relieves their fears, saying that hiccups are a side effect of the radiation.
They all try to relax and be thankful for their blessings, now that they have felt the specter of death. Read more from the Study Guide.
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Browse all BookRags Study Guides. Copyrights Hard Laughter from BookRags. Get Hard Laughter from Amazon. View the Study Pack. View the Lesson Plans. Skip to main content. Log In Sign Up. To laugh or not to laugh? Even if there is nothing to laugh about - laugh on credit.
Origin, types, and benefits of laughter. Journal of Health and Science, Dec Http: Adults Name of School: Ruamrudee International School Total 16 of students: