Tips: Ways to Create Humor in the Classroom

Effective teachers use humor in the classroom to motivate students to learn, enhance group cohesion, and defuse tense situations. Here are a few ways you can bring humor into your classroom:

FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE.

Adopting a light, playful mind set helps establish a warm, safe learning environment.

PRACTICE VERBAL AND NONVERBAL PLAYFULNESS.

Use facial animation: smile, make lively expressions, and let your eyes sparkle. Use comfortable body language and a relaxed voice. Make sure your nonverbal messages match your verbal messages. (For example, if you say something intended as humor, but your body language is serious, your students could perceive sarcasm.)

USE HUMOR IN A STYLE THAT IS COMFORTABLE FOR YOU.

There are many ways to be humorous, and some styles may suit you more than others. Choose a style that feels natural to you.

KEEP A "HUMOR" JOURNAL.

Write down instances of when you used humor that worked well. Reflect on what happened and why your humor was well-received. Consider how you might employ that same type of humor in the future.

TARGET YOURSELF, NOT STUDENTS.

To avoid a sense of threat, the safest target for humor is yourself, not your students.

USE HUMOR TO DEFUSE TENSION.

Develop your ability to read your students' tension levels. When you sense tension, try to defuse it by making a humorous remark or telling a funny story. (Note: This approach is most successful when a tense situation begins; once the tension has had time to grow, humor may not be an effective technique.)

TIE YOUR HUMOR TO THE CONTENT.

Humor does not have to be a diversion or digression from curriculum. Whenever possible, weave humor into what your students are already learning. (See examples below.)

CLASSROOM EXAMPLES

Here are some ways to tie humor to content:

• Rewrite a familiar song to incorporate facts your students are learning. (For example, rewrite "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," replacing the simple lyrics with more difficult synonyms from your students' vocabulary list.)
• Have your students demonstrate understanding of a book, play, or textbook chapter they've read by writing a humorous, modernized version. (For example, students could write a summary of "Hamlet" and perform it as a rap for the class.)
• Put up a bulletin board and invite students to bring in humorous portrayals of a subject they're studying. (For example, jokes, cartoons, limericks, and so on.)
• Create puns and mix metaphors when discussing a subject of study, and have your students create their own. This exercises their creativity as well as checking for comprehension. In the words of humor educator Joel Goodman, "Humor and creativity are intimately related -- there is a connection between HAHA and AHA."

Give the gift of humor to your students in one of the above ways, or tap into your own imagination for innovative ways to bring the many benefits of humor to your students' learning experiences.  

Source : Humor in the Classroom