I picked up quite a few free joke books over the weekend to skim through and pick out some goodies.
Why did I pick up jokes? Well to help me teach of course! Just like I think comics are helpful, I think jokes can be great for a class. I
am about to give a Summer long TOEFL class which consists of 3 hours a day of
TOEFL training. The class isn’t my favorite to teach as it focuses on passing
the test; that is to say, we spend more time on form than meaning. I try my best to make it a bit more communicative and fun through jokes, music videos etc. After all, a day without laughter is a day horribly spent.
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| Less than a penny a joke: $.99 |
. Are these the best jokes?
Probably not. A lot of these are old, and quite a few I just didn’t find funny
(including a section on "yo momma" jokes). However, as a teacher this book does
provide reminders of some great jokes to use in class.- For example, if you are going to review plurals (fox-foxes, datum- data, dice-die) this is a great joke to start the class
- “Julius Caesar walks into a bar, “I’ll have a
martinus,” he says. The bartender gives him a puzzled look and asks, “don’t you
mean a ‘martini’?”
“Look,” Julius Caesar retorts, “If I wanted a double, I’d have asked for it” - A classic grammar gem (usually underappreciated by students)
- “The past, the present and the future walk into a bar. Then things get tense”
- Working on homonyms? They show up a lot in the listening section and sometimes in the reading.
- Here's a classic to review the different meaning bar can have: “Two guys walk into a bar. The third ones ducks”
- Practicing idioms for the TOEFL?
- “I used to have a handle on life, but it broke” is an easy one.
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| Usually sold for $2.99 |
Every single one of these was appropriate for class, though
I am not sure I’d use every single one. Here are some that would be helpful for
my TOEFL class.
- Working on homophones?
- What did the mother bird say to the baby bird when it didn’t talk nicely? Don’t use fowl language.
- What about homonyms?
- Why is it always so hot in a stadium after a football game? Because all the fans leave
- What color socks to bears wear? They don’t wear socks they have bear feet.
- Similar Sounds: The TOEFL does a lot with similar sounds. Students need to differentiate between Leaf and Leave. Knock knock jokes can be great for this:
- Knock knock Who’s there Joanna Joanna who Joanna come out and play.
- Practicing idioms for the TOEFL? Idioms often show up in jokes and this has a few examples.
- Which runs faster hot or cold? Hot, anyone can catch a cold.
- Patient: I think I am a pair of curtains Doctor: Pull yourself together.
- Patient: I think I am a needle. Doctor: Yes I can see your point.
If you want to start (or end) each class with a laugh, any
of these jokes are good for a laugh and I think I would end up using most of them, meaning the $2.99 would be a good investment.
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| Usually $2.99 |
Ultimate Knock Knock Joke Book. I am not sure if I
would classify this as the ultimate, but many of them would be useful for
class. A lot of these are great to practice hearing words correctly, which
comes up on the TOEFL listening a lot.
A few of my favorites:
- Knock Knock Who’s there? Gorilla. Gorilla who? Gorilla cheese sandwich for my lunch please
- Knock knock Who’s there? Turnip who? Turnip the volume, it’s quiet in here.
That being said a lot of these are old. If you think you can remember your own knock knock jokes then you can probably save yourself the $2.99. If, one the other hand, you think your class would enjoy knock knock jokes and you just can't remember any this would be money well spent.
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| Normally $2.99 |
is great because the jokes are all very basic. It still had a few for idioms and several for homophones and homonyms. Here are some of my favorite examples:- Homophones
- What are twin’s favorite fruit? Pears
- Idioms
- Why can’t a rooster every get rich? Because he works for chicken feed.
- Why did the picture go to jail? Because it was framed.
- Homonyms
- Why did the bicycle fall asleep? Because it was two tired
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| Normally $1.99 Currently Free! |
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| 2 books for $2.99! |
and Knock Knock Jokes for Kids DOUBLE PACK '101 Knock Knock Jokes for kids' and '101 MORE Knock Knock Jokes for kids'
- Minimal pairs sometimes pop up on the listening.
- How do prawns and clams communicate? Shell-phones (from the Fish book)
- Knock Knock. Who’s there? Dishes. Dishes who? This is your friend let me in. (Knock Knock)
- Homonyms
- How do you know the sea is glad to see you? It waves
- Idioms
- What did the shark say to its broken hearted friend? There’s plenty of fish in the sea.
The moral of the story is, whatever website or book you use
you are sure to find a few funnies you can use for your class! I snagged all of these books while they were being offered for free, so if you click now you too may be able to load them to your kindle (or whatever device you use) at no charge. If you are reading this later and they are no longer free they are all under $3.00 making them less than a coffee!
I'll make more posts later on how to specifically use jokes in the class, but if you come up with any activities on your own please post them in the comments!
I'll make more posts later on how to specifically use jokes in the class, but if you come up with any activities on your own please post them in the comments!
What’s your favorite joke to use in class? Do you have a joke book or a web page you consult when you need something to tickle your funny bone?
Teaching with humor always makes a difference! This website that uses comic strips could also benefit learners and teachers:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.comicsenglish.com/
Thanks for the comment Jonathan great site :)
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