Worksheets Don't Build Dendrites: Chapter 6 {Humor}

I'm linking up with Amanda over at One Extra Degree; she is hosting the linky on Chapter 6 about humor.

When I began to think about humor in my classroom, I couldn't pinpoint any one specific thing I intentionally do to elicit or engage students with humor.  I was feeling a bit sad that I didn't really have anything I was doing well in this chapter.

As I started to read the chapter, I found that there are some suggestions that I already incorporate.  It was focusing more on positive atmosphere and engaging those positive feelings in the classroom. One of the suggestions I already use is games.  My students love a good game!  I am thankful this year that I don't have a class of kiddos that stresses about winning or losing and just plays "for the love of the game".

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get a picture of this, but we played the game "Make Ten" that I read about over at Joyful Learning in KC during Chapter 4 of the book study about games.  Each day we journal about our day, and numerous kiddos wrote about this game and how much fun it was.

My kiddos this year love "little things" that make the day different.  Things like a special project or activity frequently get "This is the best day ever" from this class.

One thing I'd like to incorporate from this chapter is adding some "intentional humor".  I found some kid-friendly jokes on Pinterest.   Our building uses a clip chart behavior system.  My plan is to have each child above green choose a joke to read to the class at the end of the day.  These will be put in a container and chosen at random.  It is a great way to get a little reading practice in and add some humor.

Our next unit, beginning next week, will be about animals.  I plan to have students write some animal jokes on April 1 to celebrate April Fools Day.

How does humor find its way into your classroom?