April Fool’s Day lesson plan

Objectives: *Children will learn to appreciate the different beliefs as to the reason why April Fool’s Day is celebrated. *Children will be able to write a mythical story of their own on how they believe April Fool’s Day began. *Children will comprehend the difference between a hurtful joke and a good natured prank. *Children will learn about other cultures and how they celebrated April Fool’s Day.

Time Allotment: Approximately 3-4 class periods plus some homework.

Resources needed: A Calendar Examples of myths Interview Letter

Procedures: A. Brainstorm. Have the children Brainstorm several different ideas they have about how the holiday of April Fool’s Day began. Write answers on the board.

B. Mini-Lesson. Children will learn the true reason why April Fool’s Day is celebrated. Explain and discuss the Gregorian calendar and how it changed the beginning of the new year. Discuss how the day originated in France. Tell the children some of the traditions that countries celebrate and participate in during April Fool’s Day. Talk about the "cuckoo" hunt that began in Scotland. Tell the children what a person in France is called if a trick has been played on him (April Fish). Talk about the differences between a good-natured joke and a hurtful one. Make sure the children understand that playing jokes should be fun for all people involved. Make sure to ask the children questions during the discussion to see if they understand the information. After discussing, ask the children to write three things they have learnt about April Fool’s Day.

C. Interview. The children must interview a family member about a prank or joke that was played on them perhaps on an April Fool’s Day. The children must bring back the results of their interviews and read them in class. Discuss which jokes might have been fun for everyone involved and which jokes may not have been so good.

D. Writing Exercise. After telling the children about the ancient Roman myth about how April Fool’s Day began, allow them to write and create their own individual myth for how April Fool’s Day originated. Encourage them to be creative in their writing. When they have completed their myths have them share them with the rest of the class.

E. Cuckoo Hunt. On April Fool’s Day, the class must prepare a Cuckoo Hunt for one of the other classes to go on. The children set up a kind of treasure map for another class. Send the other class around the school in search of some kind of hidden surprise. Let the surprise be something awkward (weird, not real) that your children will find funny when the other class finds it. For example, a stuffed bear, or a puppet. Have your class make a list of notes to be placed around the school for the other children to find. Have one clue lead the other class to someplace else. It will seem that they have been trailing the item as it supposedly moves throughout the school. When the children find the surprise, they should come back to the room and have some type of treat waiting for them, perhaps some cookies, etc. This gesture will show your students that the joke was good natured and no one was hurt. Your class will get the laugh and the other will get some kind of treat, thereby showing that both sides had fun.

F. Writing. The children write about the Cuckoo Hunt experience. They describe how they felt and if they enjoyed playing this little prank. They should decide whether the joke was a good one or not.

G. Open discussion. After all previous activities have been completed. Ask students what they have learnt about April Fool’s Day. They must write down their response.

Assessment: *Responses to discussion questions will be assessed through the children's written assignment. *Interview comments will be assessed as to whether the child completed the interview. *The children's myth papers will be assessed.

*The writing on the Cuckoo hunt and the discussion questions will be assessed. *Responses to discussion questions and cuckoo writing will be assessed to see if the students understand the difference between a hurtful joke and a good-natured prank.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-21