Laugh Lines

Teaching Pre K-8, Aug/Sep 2005

Every Teacher Has Them

An Artful Question

I introduced color theory to my first grade elementary art students by holding up a prism to a white light so they could see the spectrum: red, orange, yellow, blue, green, indigo and violet, or ROY G BIV. They were very excited to see a real rainbow with the glass prism. That night, I ran into the mother of one of my students at a grocery store. She proceeded to rave about how much her daughter looked forward to my art class each week. Just when I thought I would burst with pride, the young parent asked with concern, "But who is Roy G. Biv, and why is he in prison?"

Kathryn L. Frisco

LaGrangeville, NY

Writing Wit

When teaching penmanship, I asked a third grader where the cross for his "t" was. He answered, "It's still inside the pencil."

Irene Hrycenko

Allentown, PA

Details, Details

I teach seventh grade beginning band. I could tell one of my new trumpet students was having difficulty. He stated he couldn't get a sound out of his flute. I said, "Don't you play the trumpet?" He answered, "Oh, yeah. Well, I can't get a sound out of that, either."

Vickie Treadway

Kennett, MO

Spaced Out

One of my first graders approached me before class and said, "Ms. Brady, please don't be mad at me if I fall asleep in reading today. I have allergies and I'm taking astroids, and they make me really sleepy."

Cathy Brady

Wake Forest, NC

Laugh Stripes

A group of kindergarten students and I read a book about stripes, then discussed things in the room with stripes. One child noticed that the floor had stripes. Another saw stripes on some tiles. Then one little boy said that I had stripes. I thought he meant the stripes on my shirt - until he pointed to the stripes (wrinkles) on my forehead!

Peg Liebmann

Fort Atkinson, WI

A, E, I Do

The day of our wedding my husband heard his son, Kevin, then 7, mumbling to himself in the church basement. He approached to see if there was a problem. As he drew closer, he heard "AEIOU, AEIOU..." When asked what he was saying, Kevin explained, "The pastor said we would say our vowels, so I knew I better practice them."

Susan Spears

Gardner, KS

Wiser with Age

During a discussion about time, I asked my students for examples of things that take various lengths of time to complete. When I asked for something that takes between a year and a decade to accomplish, one of my students smiled and answered, "To turn 10."

Sara Chaya Burton

Brooklyn, NY

Have you had a good laugh in your classroom? Write it down and send it to Laugh Lines, Teaching K-8, 40 Richards Ave., Norwalk, CT 06854 or e-mail it to Associate Editor Jessica Rae Patton at Jessica@TeachingK-8.com Remember to include your complete mailing address so we can send you $10, plus a $25 gift certificate from Learning Resources. Be sure to visit their website at www.learning resources.com