Uses trademarks that are calculated misspellings, bumper sticker slogans, the strained and pretentious language of Howard Cosell, and governmental jargon to illustrate how to attune students to the magic and power of language, while poking fun at language abuse. (RL)

Discusses how metaphors are most effective at generating readers'"epiphany" or insight. (HTH)

Notes the unintentional humor so often found in directions. Describes an assignment on writing directions carefully--and the humorous results. (RL)

The theory and practice of analyzing jokes, with implications for class discussions. (RL)

Describes how one high school English teacher uses puns on a regular basis to augment his vocabulary reviews. Argues that doing so aids in developing students' vocabulary, since it compels students to pay closer attention and gives many students a chance to display their creative-thinking skills. (SR)

This teaching guide is built around a method (called the "Caught'ya" method) of teaching grammar and mechanics with humor. The guide contains story ideas and three sets of 100 Caught'ya sentences, as well as a chapter which discusses specific ways to use the Caught'ya at home. Following an introduction, the guide is divided into the…

This book transforms William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night,""A Midsummer Night's Dream," and "Much Ado about Nothing" into adaptable "Caught'ya" sentences that appeal to high school students at any level--from basic skills and dropout prevention through high honors and advanced placement. The book makes…

Four activities for language learning are presented, including: class completion of incomplete dialogues excerpted from major literary works; games for learning vocabulary and civilization using words beginning with the same letter; a lesson using cartoons to elicit description and dialogues; and a unit on appropriate and inappropriate…

Appraises the results of an exercise in which students in a composition class attempted to write detective stories. Concludes that many of their syntactic errors result from their intentions exceeding their level of writing skill. (RBW)

Describes the use of advertisements in language instruction, with particular attention to the language of advertisements, including the conative and emotive functions, linguistic shock, translation, humor, and cultural information. (AM)

In developing critical reading, humor may contribute to three broad categories of skills: discerning the author's purpose, inferencing, and evaluating content. Passages from children's books such as "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" or "The Great Brain" can help to illustrate the need for teachers and students to thoughtfully…