A Little Something for April 1st

Yes, Monday is April 1st and that means April Fools!!

Last year at Oakland Elementary School in Royal Oak, Michigan, 4th grade teacher Joe Dombrowski gave his students a spelling test, which surprisingly, was not a test of the words they had studied. Watch the video as they self-correct the 10 words on this April Fools test!

Have you ever pranked your students? If so, let us know by leaving a comment.

Did you know that April is National Humor Month?

Keeping a students attention can sometimes be difficult, but humor can help! Critical and creative thinking in the classroom can be enhanced when students open their minds and use their imaginations. “Humor is about allowing oneself to be intellectually playful with ideas. ” (Tamblyn 2003) Just be aware that the humor should be directly related to the course content.

Here are some tips from the “Institute of Progressive Education and Learning” for adding fun to your class:

  • Avoid telling jokes/stories that you don’t know well.
  • Don’t laugh at your own jokes/stories (especially before you tell them).
  • Avoid starters like “This is a joke” or “I’m not very good at telling jokes, but …”
  • Remember that the punch line is at the end, not somewhere else in the telling.
  • Use positive humor instead of negative humor.
  • Know your audience and their sensitivities. Not knowing them, you may be offensive and not even aware of it.
  • Personalize or localize jokes/stories when possible.


Have a great weekend and a fun April Fools Day on Monday!!