Finding Your Funny Bone: 'Jokes for Kids' Classroom Activities!

Written by Cassie (Teach Starter)

Updated 5 years ago | 3 min read

Q: Why did the teacher cross her eyes?

A: Because she couldn’t control her pupils.

You see? Laughter is the best medicine! There are many reasons why you should incorporate a little bit of laughter into your and your students’ day. Using jokes for kids in the classroom makes a great icebreaker game, brain break or buddy program activity. We’ve created a set of printable Joke Cards for Kids and a fun Jokes for Kids Powerpoint that you can use for the activity ideas below, or in whichever way you see fit!

Why is Laughter Good for Us?

kids laughing with their teacher in the classroom

We all know that teaching is about so much more than just getting through all of the things. And, that teachers are always in need of quick, easy ways to break up the workday with something that is beneficial to students in a more holistic way. We’ve written a fair bit about how mindfulness is great for students both physically and mentally. Well, you’ll be glad to know that laughter is too!

Laughter helps our bodies to relax by triggering chemical responses in the brain that lead to feelings of pleasure and a sense of well-being. When school is feeling a little stressful, playing a game or engaging in some good belly laughing can be exactly what your students need. Laughter can help them hit ‘reset’ and get more out of the learning to follow.

Jokes for Kids

To get you started, we’ve created a few new resources to make including jokes in the classroom easy. We started out with 20 great jokes for kids and turned them into printable Joke Cards for Kids and a simple Jokes for Kids PowerPoint Presentation.

Printable Joke Cards for Kids

The Joke Cards for Kids are designed to be printed, folded in half, laminated and trimmed for use again and again.

Jokes for Kids PowerPoint

Both of these resources are also available as blank templates so you and your students can create your own joke cards or jokes PowerPoint.

Funny Classroom Activities

Here are some ways you could use these resources in the classroom:

The ‘No Laughing!’ Game – Students can play in pairs, each with an equal number of the joke cards. They take turns to read the jokes to each other, with the aim of the game being to keep a straight face.
Hilarious Homework – Add the joke cards to your Homework Activity Baskets and have students read the jokes to their parents or another family member. They could also use the blank joke cards to write out some of their own jokes as a fun homework writing task.
Brain Break – simply go through the Jokes for Kids Powerpoint as a fun brain break activity.
Find Your Funny IceBreaker Game – Cut up the joke cards so that the questions are separate from the answers, ensuring you have one card for each student (i.e. if you have 20 students in your class, cut up 10 of the jokes so you end up with 10 separate cards). Mix up the cards and hand out one to each student in the class. Students need to read the card that they have and then see if they can find the person who has their matching question or answer card!
End of the Day Giggles – Keep the joke cards in a basket and have a student read out one joke at the end of each day!
Make Your Own Joke Cards – Provide students with the Blank Joke Cards Template or the Blank Jokes for Kids PowerPoint and get them to create their own jokes to share with the class.