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Actualizado 31/03/2022 - 11:07 CDT
April is coming and we are ready to prank students.
We gathered several testimonies -by teachers about the best April Fool's day jokes that they ever made.
If you are feeling April's mood, check the jokes that you can apply to your classmates.
April Fool's Day and the best (harmless) pranks to pull on teachers:
- Switching teachers
I've done this one a couple of times. You and a teammate walk out and grab each other's students and take them into your classroom and start teaching like it is any regular day.
Students usually just stand there and stare at me like I've lost my mind.
N/A
- The test
My best was 20 years ago when I taught 5th grade. I borrowed standardized testing booklets from the office (we had taken them a couple of weeks prior).
They questioned why I was bringing them back and I told them their answer sheets had been destroyed during the grading process and we needed to do the whole battery of tests over.
It was a Friday. I told them we couldn't give up a whole week again so they had to be finished that afternoon and Monday Morning.
I started in on the official script, but when they got to the part about opening the test booklet to page 3, I had tucked in a note "April Fools."
Miss Deborah P.
- Donut seeds
I brought in a "glazed donut" bouquet and after we ate the donuts, I asked my students if they wanted to grow their own donuts with the donut seeds.
I gave each student a baggie of Cheerios and told them to plant them at home if they wanted to have their own donuts.
This got me a few emails regarding what the heck I told the kids.
Miss Wendy H.
Fool the partents
I don't play one on my students, but we play a prank on their parents.
They all get a giant, red sad face in their folders (if they want to participate) and take it home.
I tell them to act really sad and when their parents open it up they have to say April Fool's.
Miss Kate B.
- Destroying the phone of the texter
This next joke is hardcore and aims at high school students.
Find an old phone that no one uses, those non-working Nokias. Pick a student who is a good actor to be in your prank.
Give your student the old phone and tell your student to pretend texting during your class.
After a heated argument, grab the phone and smashed it on the ground. Everyone will stare at you in shock.
For some, April Fools' Day is the scariest day of the year. For others, it’s the most anticipated. For teachers, it’s a chance to give students a taste of their own medicine and play some pranks on them! It’s a totally acceptable and fun way to get a little jokey with students while being creative.
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Of course, reassigning seats all day long, doing classroom switches, or even planning weird candy food pranks are commonplace school pranks. For this year, let's take a look at some other April Fools' jokes that we love for the classroom. Don't worry, we've covered both virtual and in-person options, so there's a way for every educator to take part!
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April Fools' Joke No. 1: Fake Pop Quiz (Remote or In-Person)
Source: Getty Images
This joke can be done remotely or in-person, and it’s a classic. Basically, give students a super long pop quiz, and instruct them to read through the entire quiz before doing it. In the last question, make it say something along the lines of, “Don’t answer the questions. Write your name and turn this in.”
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April Fools' Joke No. 2: Assignment Due (Remote or In-Person)
This joke is better in-person, but can definitely be modified for a remote classroom. Regardless, you’ll need to tap about half the class in advance. Midway through your class, you can “remember” that they had an assignment due. For the students you told in advance, they’ll turn in a fake assignment, leaving the other half of your class totally perplexed!
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Source: Getty Images
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For remote learning, you can just thank specific students for handing in the assignment (let these students know in advance what the joke is), which will leave the rest of the class wondering what assignment you’re talking about.
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April Fools' Joke No. 3: Speak Silently (Remote or In-Person)
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This is a great remote prank, as your students will begin to think something is wrong with your sound or with theirs. Basically, just talk without making any sound, it’s very simple! In person, this will go over better with younger students, and can be especially funny during story time.
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April Fools' Joke No. 4: Final Exam Answers (Remote)
Thisjoke was first played by Gabi Martorell, a professor of psychology at Virginia Wesleyan University. Basically, when sending out a homework assignment, “accidentally” include a link that says “Final Exam Answers.” It might even help to send a follow-up email saying, “please disregard the link in the last email,” to really get your students to click it.
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Professor Martorell linked to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up,” but you can link it to anything! Maybe an early-2000s YouTube video like Charlie the Unicorn, is ready for a comeback.
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April Fools' Joke No. 5: Upside-Down Computer (Remote or In-Person)
This is a super fun joke to play on students this year. Even if you cast a screen in the classroom to a SmartBoard or some other device, it’s still totally doable. If you’re in a remote classroom, it’s even easier to do while sharing your screen. Basically, flip your computer screen upside down, and pretend nothing’s wrong when sharing the screen with your students.
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Source: Getty Images
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Here’s how to flip a computer screen: If it’s a Windows, type CTRL + ALT + Down Arrow. On a Mac, go to System Preferences and hold down Command + Option while clicking on Display. There should be a new field for “Rotation” and then click the 180 option. Beware, it may take a few tries to get the “Rotation” field to show up!
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April Fools' Joke No. 6: Backward Classroom (In-Person)
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This joke can only be done in person, and may be the only way to do a classic desk-change April Fools' joke in COVID times. Before the beginning of the day, flip everyone’s desks to face the back of the classroom! That’s it!
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April Fools' Joke No. 7: Paper Props (In-Person)
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This is another in-person April Fools' joke that will surely receive some giggles. Basically, make a bunch of paper versions of classroom items. For example, instead of real scissors, draw scissors and cut them out of paper. You can take this one really far and replace crayons, colored pencils, books, and more with paper versions of the objects. It’s a bit creepy and very funny!
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April Fools' Joke No. 8: The No-Prank Prank (Remote or In-Person)
Source: Getty Images
Some of us don’t have time to come up with and plan elaborate schemes for April Fools' Day. So instead, hype it up with your students and talk about the upcoming April Fools' Day a bunch to keep them on the edge of their seats. Then, when April Fools' Day finally arrives, you can watch them nervously wait for a joke that’s never coming.
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April Fools' Joke No. 9: The Robert California List (Remote or In-Person)
While many of us have never watched The Office after Michael Scott's departure, there are still some great scenes in the last couple of seasons. Plus, what better television show to find pranks in than The Office, which is full of pranks between Jim and Dwight that range from a Pavlov’s dog joke to cooking items into meatballs.
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Source: Peacock
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In one later episode, the new CEO, Robert California (James Spader), has a random list with the names of everyone in the office in two columns. Andy finds the list, and the entire office tries to figure out what it means. To translate this to the classroom, simply put all your students’ names into two columns at random, and "accidentally" show it to them. They’ll be wondering what it means the entire class.
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April Fools' Joke No. 10: The Fake Spelling Test (Remote or In-Person)
This one is super cute. Give a spelling test of made-up words, and then, read aloud the correct answers that can have any number of silent letters. Teacher Joey Dee pulled this one off in 2017 and it’s hilarious.
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Bonus April Fools' Joke: A Joke for Students to Play on Teachers (Remote or In-Person)
Source: Getty Images
This is a great joke for students to play on the unsuspecting teacher. Basically, one student will ask to go to the bathroom. When the teacher says yes, all the students should stand up together at the same time and walk out into the hall. This may be difficult to do in-person in COVID-19 times, but can definitely be done remotely if everyone has their cameras on and simultaneously leaves the room.
Happy pranking, everybody!