In this article, we explore the idea that comedy, with its often unorthodox ways of looking at, experiencing, and responding to the world, offers untold possibility for classroom literacy instruction. The article focuses on the potential of Improv comedy as socio-materialist literacy in the classroom. It provides an account of Improv as a form of…

A principal and two teachers of a local elementary school were interviewed to establish a shared definition of humor in the classroom. A multidimensional definition emerged with intellectual, spiritual, and physical aspects. The teachers were observed to determine if specific uses of humor would be evident in their classrooms. Four types of…

Research has indicated that many teachers are not using teaching methods that work best for spelling; humor may be either a negative, neutral, or positive influence on learning, depending on students' intelligence and anxiety level. (Author/MLF)

Kindergarteners and first and fourth graders watched an educational television program containing three types of humor. Information acquisition and funniness were assessed. Compared with distortion-free humor, irony resulted in overestimates of properties of novel objects introduced in the program. Age did not diminish perceptual distortion.…

Argues that round robin reading is valuable because it prepares students for "the real world" by exposing them to boredom, teaching them to look alert when they are not, teaching the skills of oneupmanship, and teaching inference skills (since it often obscures the story line of a work). (FL)

Discusses the comedy in Eudora Welty's only children's book, "The Shoe Bird," and ways the book may be used in the elementary grades. (SR)

Described is a "joke center" where elementary school students not only learned about various kinds of humor and practiced language skills but had a terrific week of laughter as they shared favorite jokes and made up new ones. (Author/KC)

Discusses ERIC documents pertaining to oral reading instruction. (FL)

Discusses the techniques used by an author and illustrator of children's books in visits to elementary school classrooms. The techniques use humor in the form of words that have great sounds but do not necessarily mean anything to encourage children to write and illustrate their work. (BB)

Four major teaching strategies for linking humor and learning are identified: (1) to perform as models of humor; (2) to select learning materials that foster the expression of humor; (3) to elicit expressions of humor; and (4) to be responsive and appreciative. (LB)

Elementary school students can learn to write creatively if the teacher offers stimulation through informative and enriching experiences and provides daily opportunities for writing experiences. Enrichment can involve books, field trips, radio, television, guest speakers, maps, and sense experiences--anything that broadens the knowledge of the…

Focusing on reading comprehension instruction at the word, sentence, paragraph, and larger unit levels, the articles in this volume were drawn from a variety of sources. The three articles in the first section deal with theoretical bases and conceptual concerns. Specific topics covered include the argument for a discourse analysis model, the…