May 07, 2013

50 easy jokes for Young English Learners


                                                           

                                                              "The shortest distance between two people is a smile."
                                                                                                                           Victor Borge



Sharing laughter after telling a joke to young learners shows we care. Jokes are not only fun, but they are also relaxing and energizing. Moreover, jokes provide great material for teaching  vocabulary, grammar, idioms, and phrasal verbs. Last, jokes are delightful at bringing intonation and culture.  


Jokes only deliver their multiple benefits if students understand them. So it's essential for us as teachers to make sure our young learners understand the jokes and can have a laugh. This can be done by choosing the joke with learners in mind, pre-teaching words, using pictures and gestures, and sometimes even explaining the joke after we tell it. And then telling them again and again. 

I have separated two groups of jokes for young learners: the easy and quite easy. 

The easy:


1.     Why won’t the elephant use the computer?….He’s afraid of the mouse!
2.     Which are the stronger days of the week?…Saturday and Sunday. The rest are weekdays.
3.     Which runs faster, hot or cold?…Hot. Everyone can catch a cold.
4.     What did the math book tell the pencil?….I have a lot of problems.
5.     Where can you find an ocean without water?….on a map!
6.     Why do fish swim in salt water?….Pepper makes them sneeze.
7.     What is a robot’s favorite snack?….Computer chips!
8.     How did the soldier fit his tank in his house?…It was a fish tank!
9.     Why did the computer go to the doctors?…It had a virus.
10.  Why did the man throw a clock out the window?…He wanted time to fly.
11.  Where do cows go on dates?…MOOOOvies
12.  What kind of snack do you have during a scary movie?…. I scream (ice cream)
13.  How can you tell the ocean is friendly?…It waves!
14.  How do small children travel?…In mini-vans
15.  What has  wheels and flies?…a garbage truck!
16.  Why didn’t the skeleton go to the party?…He had NO BODY to go with.
17.  What kind of witch likes the beach? …  a SAND witch (sandwich)!
18.  What kind of key does not open a lock? … a mon – KEY!
19.  What always falls and never gets hurt?……..rain!
20.  What letters are not in the alphabet?…The ones in the mail.
21.  Why did the boy throw the butter out the window?… to see a butterfly!
22.  What room is a dead man most afraid of?…The living room!
23.  What did one wall say to the other?… Hey, let’s meet in the corner.
24.  Why do birds fly south in the winter?…Because it’s too far to walk!
25.  Why is six afraid of seven?… Because  7 ATE 9




And here we have the quite easy!

26.  Did you hear about the dog at the flea circus? …He stole the show!
27.  What did the stamp say to the envelope?…Stick with me we’ll go places!
28.  How do hens stay fit?….The “egg-ercise”
29.  Why did the tomato turn red?….It saw the salad dressing!
30.  What is the best thing to put into a pie?….A fork!
31.  What is a cat’s favorite color?….PUUUUURple
32.  What travels around the world and stays in a corner? ... A stamp. 
33.  What do prisoners use to call each other?…Cell phones.
34.  What dog keeps the best time?…A watchdog.
35.  Why is a traffic light red?...You would be red too if you changed in front of people all day.
36.  What did the ocean say to the other ocean?…Nothing. He waved.
37.  Why was the strawberry sad?…His mother got into a JAM!
38.  What did a cannibal say to another after eating a clown?… Does this taste FUNNY to you?
39.  What is orange and sounds like parrot? ...Carrot. 
40.  What section of the paper does a ghost always read?…the HORRORscopes
41.  What did one eye say to the other eye?….Something between us smells!
42.  What did one math book say to the other?…You think you’ve got problems.
43.  What is a knight’s favorite fish?… Swordfish
44.  What did the picture say to the wall?… I was framed!
45.  Why do fish swim in salt water?… Pepper makes them sneeze.
46.  What is a robot’s favorite snack? … Computer chips!
47.  When does “B” come after “U”? … When you disturb its hive.
48.  What did one candle say to the other candle? … Are you going out tonight?
49.  What did the blanket say to the bed? … Don’t worry. I got you covered.
50.  Why did the turkey cross the road? … To prove it wasn’t chicken.


I'm sure you have had a laugh and have even imagined yourself telling some of them to your students. Am I right? 




I share here some ideas of activities you can do with jokes: 

Tell them during circle time, when changing activities, or by the end of classes

Have a booklet in which they draw and copy the jokes 
Have them in cards with question and answer and play different games
Surprise students with a different one per week on the bulletin board
Students draw and record the jokes and we make small movies
Make posters and display them around the school
Tell the joke with different intonations
Change part of the joke with the students
Rank the jokes in a championship involving parents
Go to other classrooms and tell the jokes to more advanced classes
One student tells a joke and other mime it (After they all know it) 
Students create stories about what happened before or after the joke

I am sure there are endless possibilities for jokes in classes with young learners!


How did your students like these?
     Do they have a favorite one? What about you? 
            Tell me about your experience with jokes and make my day. 


Send you a frog hug!

Juan











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7 comments:

  1. HI!!! Thanks for the jokes! I really laugh at some of them as they are very funny :)
    Now... seriously speaking, do I have to translate them to my students? If I do so, the real fun will be lost... what do I do?
    It's always a pleasure reading your posts!
    Smiles, Maria :)

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    1. Hi Maria!

      It's always a pleasure to meet you here. I really enjoy our dialogue!

      The ideal world is to choose jokes they can understand without any help. Then you can choose jokes that are accessible if you pre-teach some words, which you can do in a class previous to the one you tell the joke.

      If they don't get it, I would try to explain it in English or even get a student to explain it in English to the others. It is really useful for you to think beforehand how you would explain it in case nobody gets it (learned that in the CELTA I just finished). I would only translate the jokes as a very, very last resource. As you mentioned, this probably would ruin the joke.

      Thank you for being my number one commenter in the blog!

      Wishing you and your students funny moments in class,

      Juan

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  2. Totally agree. Jokes in class is a wonderful idea. The only caveat I'd have is to make sure that they are acceptable to the culture you are teaching in. This might be useful: http://tinyurl.com/btbm2pr - it's our take on using jokes in the classroom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's very true! Thank you so much for pointing it out. One has to be very careful about how we touch certain topics, specially in multi-lingual classes. After your comment I have even changed some of the jokes.

      Wish you great classes,

      Juan

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  3. Hola Juan,
    I enjoyed your jokes but I think young learners would struggle with them as they rely so much on puns. You may like to have a look at some of my jokes for language learners: http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/category/ebooks/joke-books/

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    Replies
    1. Hi Jeremy!

      Thank you for your comment. I visited your link and you are really into jokes! Wow!
      I will certainly read your material thoroughly and work on my jokes.

      Wish you great laughter with your students,

      Juan

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  4. Nice day, Juan! I really love your post!! keep moving!

    ReplyDelete

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