Back to School 2024

There's no question that telling jokes in your classroom can help build that pupil-teacher relationship. Are you hoping to incorporate a few kid-friendly (and seriously silly) puns into your planning?

Here are a few that have a school theme and are appropriate to share with the younger primary students:

1. Why did the maths worksheet look sad? It had a lot of problems.
2. How do bees get to school? They take the buzzzzz.
3. What did the crayon say to the pencil? You're pretty sharp.
4. What did the pencil say to the sharpener? Get to the point!
5. What's a teacher's favourite type of music? Class-ical!
6. What's a vampire's favourite kind of test to take? A blood test!
7. What is a snake’s favourite subject? – Hiss-tory.
8. What did the bus driver say to the frog? Hop on.
9. Why are fish so smart? They spend a lot of time in schools.

Going back to school comes with mixed emotions for teachers and pupils. Excitement to see friends and learn new things can be mixed with apprehension — especially for young primary students who may have never ridden a school bus or been in a school setting before. You'll want to set a positive tone from day one to help students start the school year off feeling energised and excited.

What better way to motivate your class and pump them up than playing songs perfect for back to school? You can play them quietly as pupils filter into the classroom in the morning on their first day, use them for a dance party brain break mid-day or add them to a classroom playlist for those times when you need to turn on some jams while kids work in small groups.

Here are a few favourite kid-friendly back-to-school songs from the teachers on the Teach Starter team:

1. Welcome Back to School by Dwayne Reed — It doesn't get more on target than this fun tune from an American educator. You might also want to check out Reed's Welcome to Kindergarten for a song that's more specific to your class.
2. Happy by Pharrell — This song about not letting anything ruin your happy mood is perfect for establishing a positive vibe. You can also use it as an example of using repetition as a persuasive device in writing.
3. Can't Stop This Feeling by Justin Timberlake
4. We're All in This Together by the High School Musical cast
5. ABC by The Jackson 5
6. School Days by Chuck Berry — This is an oldie that most students will have never heard before, but it's still a goodie!
7. The Educate Song — This is a cover of Bruno Mars' Grenade that's all about education, and it's sung by a group of pupils!