Explore how language is used for comic effect. Middle schoolers determine which of the three formulas for jokes (double meanings, unexpected outcome, humorous mental image) make each of 18 classic, corny examples funny. They complete a...

You've got your topic—now how do you make your poem funny? Explore ways to make a poem humorous, including puns, exaggeration, silly words, and surprising endings, with a helpful poetry lesson.

For this writing worksheet, students first select a collection of jokes and riddles to read. Students complete 4 activities: illustrating jokes, making a matching game with riddles and answers, making a comic strip, and telling a joke...

Inspire your class to write about role models and personal heroes with this resource from The Learning Network. Class members read a New York Times article excerpt about basketball star Jeremy Lin and how he inspired the author. After...

Throughout history, many people have run for president. But, what is that like for the children of those individuals? Kids read a bit about Mitt Romney and his five children, then respond to a writing prompt in a blog post. They describe...

What is the author's purpose in writing a joke book? What about a book about the digestive system? Explore author's purpose with a learning exercise that challenges kids to identify whether ten books are meant to entertain, inform, or...

If a bar of chocolate was on the floor, would you try to pick it up? What if it was covered with glue? The eighth lesson in an 11-part unit designed to accompany The Twits by Roald Dahl has scholars imagine crazy scenarios. The...

Students listen to the story about  a naughty dog who writes to his owner in letter form. In this writing a letter lesson, students pretend to write to a character in the story and practice their literacy skills. Students then...

Nothing's better than the sound of children's laughter. This humorous presentation should have your young learners laughing. Jokes and puns are the focus. Classics such as, "Why did the turkey cross the road?  To prove he wasn't...

Let your writers take a break from formal writing and experiment with undirected freewriting. First they'll discuss the difference between directed and undirected freewriting. Then they'll put their knowledge to work and create some...

In this humor learning exercise, students read the article, answer true and false questions, complete synonym matching, complete phrase matching, complete a gap fill, answer short answer questions, answer discussion questions, write, and...

In this Christmas Eve instructional activity, students complete activities such as reading a passage, matching phrases, fill in the blanks, correct word choosing, multiple choice, sequencing, unscramble the sentences, write questions,...

In this book report form worksheet, students write about a joke/riddle book they have read. There are 4 questions, and students write answers inside large blank shapes.

"Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle?" Inspired by this quote from the award-winning novel written by Andrew Celements, this lesson allows children to invent their own...

Humorists do more than tell jokes; they also impart key messages about society. A series of free-response topics from the AP® English Language and Composition exam cover three topics, including one discussing the role of humorists....

Analyze the free-writing method of brainstorming to explore how to write an essay. Middle schoolers plan their writing from the beginning after reading two samples of free-writing, then creating their own. The lesson includes extension...

Have some fun with Roald Dahl-related activities in order to celebrate him as a person and a writer. The page includes 10 tasks that learners can complete to honor Dahl, including everything from wearing something yellow to swapping a...

For this capital letters worksheet, students circle letters in sentences that should be capitalized and write their own sentences. Students complete 3 tasks.

First graders share and create jokes to promote and enhance reading skills (fluency, emphasis, timing and sight word recognition), acquire vocabulary and recognize homophones. Students read their jokes aloud, concentrating on voice...

In this writing riddles worksheet, students choose a topic, list facts, number facts from least likely to reveal the answer to most likely to give away the answer, rewrite the facts in order, and add an ending question. Students write...

Provide practice for your class transforming adjectives into comparative and superlative forms using -er and -est. Learners do so, first with 11 adjectives, then for 10 more that end in -y, so they must...

Challenge your pupils' writing skills with this two-page activity. There are a total of twenty sentences which must be read in order to determine whether or not they contain errors in parallel structure. Note: This activity accompanies...

How many potatoes tall are you? Unearth this rich resource! A reading of John Coy’s Two Old Potatoes begins a cross-curricular exploration of potatoes. Class members read, write, weigh, measure, and experiment with potatoes. Additional...