Running Head: HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN THE CLASSROOM

Humor and Laughter in the Classroom

Taylor Wees
College of Saint Mary

HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN THE CLASSROOM

Humor in the Classroom

Abstract
This article is based on the research in several articles about humor and its use in the classroom
setting. The most comply used types of humor in the classroom are puns, irony, spontaneous
humor, visual humor, content based humor and sarcasm. The benefits of using humor in the
classroom are, reduction of stress, relief of anxiety, as a sense of belonging and as a way to
express personality. Laughter and humor are shown to lower blood pressure and release
chemicals into the brain that promote alertness and euphoria. Teachers and students play equally
important roles in the use of humor in an academic setting. Teachers that use humor during
instruction were said to be more liked by students and have a higher level of effectiveness,
according to independent polls. Students were shown to have higher engagement and enjoyment
levels when involved in a learning environment where humor is integrated. There are negative
consequences of humor when it is not used appropriately for the age and maturity level of the
student. Intended bullying happens often, while using humor as a disguise. Knowing to avoid
negative forms of humor and how to promote a positive leaning environment is key to successful
use of humor in the classroom. Lastly, special needs and ELL students are shown to have great
use for humor in the classroom for social instruction and inclusion purposes.
Keywords: English Language Learners (ELL), learning environment, inclusion

Introduction
Classrooms are the setting for the magic of learning that takes place around the country
every day. This article will delve into research for using humor in the classroom. First, this article
will talk about the research on humor and its many possible uses in the classroom setting. Next,

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it will discuss types of humor, benefits of using humor, and the function of humor use in
improving the academic achievement in the classroom. Humor must be appropriate and the
teachers and students should know when and how it should be used. Teacher and student play
equal roles in classroom humor. While many articles suggest humor has its importance in
creating a positive learning climate, some contrary articles will describe negative consequences
of humor and improper uses. Student can benefit from learning to laugh at failures and there is
much research in using humor in exceptional learner and English Language Learner (ELL)
classrooms. The goal of this article is to provide educators with a greater understanding of using
humor in their classrooms, explain the positive and negative consequences of humor and to
provide resources to facilitate its use when appropriate.
Research
Research on use of humor in the classroom setting has been discussed for over 40 years
(Grubbs 2015). While much research is still needed to confirm preliminary findings and
hypothesis, there are several hundred published articles that look at humor in the classroom in all
types of situations and for all kinds of uses. While many articles talk about possible negative
consequences and warn of incorrect use of humor in a classroom setting, the majority seem to
support humor. They claim that humor makes classrooms better and more productive learning
environments. There are many articles where teachers describe scenarios where humor was used
successfully in their classrooms. Mainly, success has been measured by achievement, positive
environment which influence positive attitudes, and high levels of genuine relationships among
teachers and their students. According to Grubbs in 2015,

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The use of humor in educational settings has been researched for over 40
years Positive, non-aggressive humor has been associated with a more
interesting and relaxed learning environment, higher instructor evaluations,
greater perceived motivation to learn, and greater enjoyment during educational
experiences.
Generally speaking, there are specific kinds of humor used by mostly females, and
mostly by males respectively. These jokes range from humor towards the opposite sex and to
other cohorts that use similar products or have been involved in similar situations. For example,
women may joke about their boyfriends, and men may joke about their girlfriends. However,
when examining if more male or females are identified with appreciating a sense of humor, it
seems that there may be no difference. In fact, according to questionnaire results conducted in
the Multi-Dimensional Sense of Humor Scale, referred to as MSHS, there appears to be no
significant difference among genders regarding a sense of humor (Moran, Hughes 2006). The
most commonly misunderstood form of humor is sarcasm. Interestingly, according to English
language proficiency skills designed by World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment
(WIDA) in 2004, expressing and responding to humor or sarcasm in conversation is a skill that
6-8th graders are expected to show (Lems 2011). This means that humor is considered an
important skill that should be developed in this age group. It is also suggesting that
understanding sarcasm is used instructional assessment and design.
Laughing is an experience all its own. Does laughter actually have a benefit for students
during their school day, or is it important that they are not distracted by nonacademic activities?
There are hundreds of articles that highlight the importance of laughter for maintaining good

HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN THE CLASSROOM

mental, emotional and physical health (Hummell 2015). Prominent theorists, such as John
Morreall (1983, 1987,2009) have looked at the history of philosophy and humor and laughter,
especially looking at forms of humor that should be avoided, as an expression of superiority, or
functioning as a relief. Historically, most philosophers from Plato to Hobbes have focused on the
negative, rather than the positive associations of humor (Gordon, Mayo 2014).
Types of Humor
First, it is important to understand that there are many different kinds of humor. In this
research article review, types of humor identified as being used in the classroom are:

Irony; implied and explicit

Puns, look-a-like and sound-a-like word play

Imitation; impressions, look or dress-a-like

Subject related; which could be many forms but are related to specific
topic

Stand-up, spontaneous humor

Visual cues, pictures, photos, or video

Riddles, puzzles and tongue-twisters

Gender-related humor, positive or negative

Body language including facial expressions or physical humor

HUMOR AND LAUGHTER IN THE CLASSROOM

Sarcasm; both cynical and ambiguous

Self-disparaging, or self-deprecating

The use of stand-up comedy or visual kinds of humor are easily found in movies and in
videos. Even if the subject is not directly related to class, off the cuff humor is a valuable tool to
get kids to simply laugh without even thinking. Once you engage the students neurological
system by releasing the feel good chemicals that occur naturally from laughing, their brains and
bodies are awake and ready to learn. They are more likely to be ready to learn and more likely to
retain the information presented (Ivy 2013). A cute video of a puppy or a funny video of people
failing attempts of activities may not seem worth the wasted minute of class time they take up,
but you might be wrong. In fact, sacrificing a minute or two for students to get out some energy
on laughter, or to allow them to relax from a demanding day may just make all the difference. An
Illinois English teacher, Tracee O said, You can find so many examples on the Internet: cakes
with misspelled words, advertisements or signs that use improper punctuation, etc. on how she
uses visual humor to make her classroom about more than just writing mechanics.
Visual humor from photos, videos and movies are often easy to find. Sources like You
Tube are invaluable sources of funny material. Teachers can search for videos matching their
content, or even generic videos of cats to create a moment for laughter. Cartoons are often used
as satire in History lessons to describe the political climates of times during history. Comics can
be used for social lessons or a way to get students interested in reading the newspaper (Jones
2015).

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Using puzzles, riddles and tongue twisters, are fun activities to elicit student engagement.
These forms of humor have higher usage in the elementary grade levels, since they are more age
appropriate for younger children. Making a funny story about an acronym can allow students to
make connections and learn new vocabulary or concepts. Tongue-twisters are good practice for
students who need help annunciating and finishing work can be an incentive for solving a riddle
on a worksheet (Lundberg Thurston 2002).
Subject based humor is also a great way to get students to remember vocabulary and
general concepts. An example is What did the tectonics plates say to each other after the
earthquake? Its not my fault man! You could use this to introduce a science lesson, and while
the joke is simple, students could have an easier time connecting the concepts of tectonic plates,
their movement and vocabulary terms. You could also use music, and play I feel the Earth Move
Under My Feet, along with some silly dance moves to reinforce how tectonic plates move and
make a connection with the concepts to humor, movement and music (Jones 2010). One teacher
who posted on the NEA Face Book page gave this example, In Health class, we learned the
cerebellum is responsible for balance and coordination. When I trip over their backpacks, I might make a
joke that my cerebellum is taking a nap.
Deirdre Sexton

The use of puns, a type of word play, has been shown to benefit students in the English
classroom. There are three major types of puns in the English language, they are sound-a-like,
look-a-like, and close-sounding puns. Sound-a-like puns are based on homophones, where two
words sound similar, but are spelled different or have different meanings. Many high-frequency
words in the English language are homophones, so even someone with an intermediate level of

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language prophecy could benefit from the use of this type of word play. An example is bells and
belles, they sound the same, but the word belles can mean a beautiful woman in English as
well, so a store owner may use this pun for advertising. Look-a-like puns, are words that look
and sound similar, but have different meanings. An example would be, asking what is the highest
form of animal life, to your students. Highest could easily mean the most advanced form of
life, or could refer to the tallest height of an animal. Another example is the word catch. You can
say, catch a cold or catch a ball and the word catch has two different meanings between the
two phrase. Finally, close-sounding puns use words that have different spellings and meanings,
but sound similar. They may still have one or two small sound differences. Knock-knock jokes
use this type of word play most often. You could use the word lying, to mean reclining in bed
or to mean not telling the truth. Associating words with the use of puns, is a good way for
students to learn different meanings to similar words and become familiar with common word
sounds. The biggest problem with word play in the form of puns would be, that it will not
transfer between languages. So, if you were doing interpretation of a lesson, these puns would
not make sense without an explanation of the English language context. So, it would be
important to make sure that a student is able to understand English well enough to understand the
double word and double sound word meanings before their use would be appropriate (Lems
2011).
The use of irony is popular in many literature classes. Irony is most simply put, the
difference between reality and the appearance. Tragic irony and dramatic irony are used in
Shakespeare plays, such as Romeo and Juliet. Irony can be situational, where actions or verbal
where word meaning is contrasted with the literally meaning and implied meaning. Situational

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irony is often spontaneous and not planned. Irony is a higher level category of humor, and is
often introduced in junior-high or high school years (Rogers 2000).
Another type of humor comes from a typical classroom scenario. Oftentimes, there is a
class clown whose relationship with peers often disrupts the flow of class and often hinders
classroom instruction. These characters often use mimicking forms of humor, where they imitate
another class member or the teacher in order to make others laugh. While sometimes, these
clowns use non-threatening or whimsical humor to point out silly things at inappropriate times,
they can also be hurtful when a person is at the wrong end of their laughter. It is important that
these characters behaviors remain positive and do not disrupt the class, but often times, they can
bring a sense of lightheartedness to the classroom and ease the mood. The best tool for regulating
such characters and their chosen humor, is to make sure there are strict boundaries that are
enforced and monitored by the teacher or supervisor at all times. If there is no tolerance for
negative or disruptive behavior, it is less likely to happen (Fovet 2009). Learn to appreciate
class clowns. They are your greatest ally when it comes to laughter and can brighten even the
grayest of days (Walter 1990). (Other types of humor are discussed in the Negative Effects of
Humor section).
The Functional Benefits of Humor
The functional benefits seem to be extensive. According to Ivy, 2013, they include;
Capture and retain students attention, may reduce stress and anxiety,
improve attitudes, self-esteem, and moral, increases motivation and engagement,
promotes acceptance in classroom setting, causing students to think creatively and

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in divergent ways, and can set up less adversarial relationships between teachers
and students.
There are many effects that laughter has on the body, researchers have found. This information
may offer some insight as to why humor can benefit the classroom. For example, blood flow was
monitored on two groups of people, one group was shown a comedy movie, the other was shown
a suspenseful thriller movie. Blood flow functioned normally for the group of people who were
shown comedies, and blood vessels were restricted when watching stressful or suspenseful
movies. Immune response is benefited from humor as well. Studies have shown that humor may
raise the level of infection-fighting antibodies in the body and boost the levels of immune cells
in the body as well. Lower blood sugar levels have also shown to be a benefit of people exposed
to comedy and laughter. Relaxation and better sleep have long been associated with laughter and
humor as an outlet for stressors (Hummell 2015). A Speech Communications teacher, Kaywin
Cottle, said Because I know that a good laugh eases tension, increases creativity, I will do
almost anything to get the class rolling with laughter voice inflections, exaggerated facial
expressions and movements, hilarious personal stories (of which I have way too many),
ridiculous examplesand I encourage my students to do the same.
Laughter is a trait that is unique to human beings. Its sound helps to lower heart rate, increase
oxygen levels in the body and builds bonds with others. In the present environment of high
stakes testing, budget challenges that increase demands on educators, and competition for
students attention, everyone in the school can benefit from the use of humor as part of the
pedagogy. Humor builds a learning relationship through the joyful confluence of head and heart
(Jones 2015).

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According to research and observations, laughter seems to counteract a lot of negative

feelings that are associated with the kinds many school-age children face, such as, fear,
nervousness, shame and confusion. It also seems to enhance positive emotions like joy, delight,
interest, and relief. Laughter seems to be more than just a release of nervous energy, but often it
can turn into a communal process that connects members of a group and leaves them feeling as
equals. It seems that laughter can also help erase other negative feelings that children are
struggling with at home or in other classrooms (Gordon, Mayo 2015). Laughter is used as a way
to avoid the negativity that occurs naturally in day to day life. Many students struggle with
coping with feelings, especially negative ones. Laughter may be a good tool to help relieve that
negativity and ease their nerves. According to Doctor Paul E. McGhee, Your sense of humor is
one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional
state support good health.
Humor, research shows, has a large influence on classroom environment. Humor creates
kind of a safe space, it is not free of dramatic shifts and emotional responses, but makes conflict
resolution easier. It builds classroom communities and creates bonds that are lasting (Mayo
2010). Seeing educators use humor gives students permission to laugh and focus away from the
seriousness of things for a while. Teaching about humor may bring humor into the classroom
which enhances learning. There have been several connections to humor and reduction in burnout from teachers and students alike as well as a great way to reduce stress and anxiety that keeps
student from learning and achieving. In many cases, humor can be used as a way to cope with
things out of your control. If you are able to see the funny side of falling down, you are more
likely to find humor in other dysfunction that occurs. You learn to take things less serious and

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with less weight. Laughter is a coping strategy that all students should know about. Students
who used humor to cope were less lonely, less depressed, and this suggests humor just may assist
in social bonding. School can be a tough place for children. They bring in so many things that
are out of the teachers control, if humor can take some of that away, even temporarily, that is
significant in itself (Morgan, Hughes 2006).
Student and Teacher Role in Humor
Teachers role in humor is very large. Many sources agree that The use of humor makes
teachers more likeable to students (Ivy 2013). Students show appreciation for effort teachers put
into using humor. Some articles suggest that teachers find their jobs more enjoyable when using
humor, as well. There has been increasing attention on teaching quality and effectiveness and
there is also a greater focus teachers self-reflection to become better and more effective teachers
(Huang, Lin 2013). There is also a new rise in teacher evaluations given to students. Often,
humor is noted as a reason for higher satisfaction with respective teachers (Grubbs 2015).
Teachers are said to be more likeable when they use humor, in fact. The NEA (National
Education Association) offers suggestions to teachers to increase their effectiveness as a teacher,
Create, a comfortable learning environment, fire up their brains, bring content to life. In all of
these suggestions, the explanations include building positive relationships with students and a
positive environment overall. They suggest also, to try using humor, jokes and laughter to engage
students brains in content and instruction (Hummell 2015). Some articles will even suggest that
teachers should use humor to reach a common ground with students to help them feel
comfortable and to relax. They suggest that building rapport with students through humor is not
entertainment, instead, that it triggers imagination and creativity in them (Cantu 2015). Several

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great innovators of their times including, Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, and Steve Jobs, have
failed several times before making successful strides in their fields. It is important to learn how
to use mistakes as a learning tool, instead of something to be ashamed about. If you dont fail,
you cannot fully appreciate the experience of success. If you learn not to take yourself seriously,
you will be at ease and more relaxed. The less tension and anxiety you have, the more responsive
your brain is to new concepts and development of new ideas. Laughing at failure does not mean
accepting failure or giving up because of it. It simply means that you know what does not work
and may now have a narrower approach to the solutions you seek.
The most challenging role of teachers in the use of humor in the classroom will always be
supervising it. It is always the job of the teacher to ensure that humor is being used appropriately,
and with good intentions. It is important that teachers know their students and the situation well.
Teachers should provide intervention when humor turns negative or is interpreted in a negative
light. Teachers can have control in their classroom when humor is being used, but only if they
make every effort to monitor it and know their students. One way that is suggested to keep
humor in the control of the teacher, is to use the teachers personal stories and jokes that relate
directly to content. If the jokes are simple enough to not be misunderstood, that is the best form.
The more fun students have, the more they will retain information presented in the classroom.
Enthusiasm, overall positive attitudes, and smiles from the teacher, are all important in making
sure humor is not perceived by others as hurtful or even unnecessary (2012).
Humor is either intentional or unintentional. Sometimes, a teacher or student will plan on
using a joke or a funny piece of material as part of a learning strategy or tension reliever. An
example, is when you give a multiple choice test and add an extra letter with a very outrageous

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and silly choice. This can make students laugh and lower test anxiety, or provide them with a
little break in a monotonous activity.
Humor doesnt have to mean quick wit. Teachers can bake laughs into their lesson plans
by incorporating funny materials like silly word problems, political cartoons or satirical
literature. Barbara N. Miller, who teaches graduate classes and professional
development sessions about humor in the classroom, says that patents for seemingly
absurd inventions can help students learn more about different eras of the past. She
points to one patent from 1869, for a device to prevent people from peeking into the next
outhouse stall. Its a funny way to jumpstart looking into something, Miller says. You
get an idea of what the culture was like.
Other times, humor happens when you least expect it. Maybe a teacher trips during their walk to
the chalkboard, maybe a student gets tongue-tied and says a strange sounding word. In both
cases, laughter can come from these everyday experiences. As a teacher, student or person in
general, you need to decide how to deal with situational humor. Do not be afraid to roll with
spontaneous humor and let it work to the advantage of the situation. The teacher becomes more
approachable when they make mistakes, kids are likely to loosen up and let their guard down
when they feel safe to make a mistake and laugh at it, rather than feel embarrassment. Embracing
humor in the moment is an important tool, that can be used when needed, as a way to relieve
tension. Spontaneous humor could even brighten up a stiff lecture or boring unit in your
classroom. So- We nurture a sense of humor by encouraging ourselves and our students to
become more flexible, more spontaneous, more unconventional, shrewder, more playful, and

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humbler. In the process, we contribute to the development of healthier, happier, human beings
(Rogers 2000).
The student role in humor use in the classroom is multi-faceted. Their needs for
friendship, attention and belonging are usually at the heart of their needs for use of humor during
the school day. While some students may use humor as an escape from their problems at home or
other aspects of their lives, others will use humor as a way to escape from staying on-task and
completing homework in the classroom. Many times, students use humor with peers or teachers
as a way to build relationships and enjoy their time in the classroom. Friendships can often bring
about light-hearted humor, where both sides can give and take some joking, but still have respect
and trust for one another. Ralph Waldo Emmerson says that friendship is almost equally about
civility as it is incivility. He said that often, friends used jokes at each others expense as a way to
show their level of comfortability and unguardedness. He also goes on to say, that it is a true
friends role to challenge one another into new experiences and to disagree rather than be
extremely similar (Gordon 2014). Studies have shown that humor enhances intimacy in
friendship, and it is the number one thing noted in surveys of relationships lasting longer than 10
years (Gordon, Mayo 2014).
Resources for Humor in the Classroom
Resources for humorous material are jokes, stories, cartoons, videos, photos, books,
comics, memes, poems, music and even students (Ivy 2013). Resources for finding humor to use
in the classroom and ways to use it are many. Sharing personal humorous events and stories is a
great way to encourage sharing and trust in the classroom environment. You can ask your
students to find humorous stories, pictures or video clips to share with class that relate to subject

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of instruction. This is a great way to also promote involvement in class activities. Talking about
funny movies youve seen may be another way to find a common ground with students and
break-the-ice of a new school year. Reading a funny book to your students could double as a way
to promote literacy and reading enjoyment by modeling and bringing the humor out to relax and
put the classroom at a higher level of readiness to learn (Walter 1990). Simple jokes can set a
positive tone in the classroom. Stories, both personal and borrowed, are very engaging for
students and are a great way to lead into a lesson. They are most often used in anticipatory sets
by teachers to increase interest or attention before the instruction begins. The internet is an
abundant source for video clips, photos and cartoons. As long as copyrights are followed, they
are easy to be reviewed for appropriateness and connection to content before class, and can be
used to refocus students after the lesson reaches stale moment (Ivy 2013).
The following list of resources are intended for humor and its applicable use in
classrooms across the content areas:

For specific content areas, www.betterlesson.com, keyword, make-us laugh, has

mathematical humor problems for students

For English/Language Arts, www.edsitement.neh/gov is a great resource, and so is

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/, where you can find examples, articles and games
relating to irony, puns, and other uses of humor through language

For character education, www.learningtogive.org/lessons is also an abundant resource of

ideas that are engaging and humorous, yet relevant to content (Hummell 2015).

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www.nea.org has many general articles and ideas on how to incorporate humor into
classrooms at all levels, as well as teachers examples
Laughing at Failures
Laughing through failure has been a reoccurring theme in the use of humor in the

classroom (Grubbs 2015). In Creating Innovators: The making of Young People Who Will
Change the World (2012), Tony Wagner said that students should fail early and fail often. He
states that such experiences will foster students ability to recognize their mistakes and use it as a
compass for learning. He states that it will also increase their self-efficacy and self-concept and
drive their motivation to learn new concepts. Previously, he noted that students reactions to
failure had been linked to their attitudes in learning (Wagner 2012). Resilience to failure is
almost a prerequisite in the field of technology and design based learning. It is important that we
teach children failure is needed in the process of learning, and that learning to laugh at
themselves is just as important (Grubbs 2015). One source says to teach students to Commit
yourself to developing a humorous outlook on life. Take yourself, life and school less seriously.
Laugh at stressors in the day. Your laughter will help to eliminate the dreaded tunnel vision...
(Walter 1990) Making learning more human is always the goal. Good teachers, then, are
prepared to laugh at themselves, to share their own mistakes, to help children understand that
teachers, too, are human. Good teachers also encourage their students to laugh at themselves, to
relieve tension by allowing themselves to see the occasional absurdities, inconsistencies, and
sometimes just plain foolishness in their day-to-day behavior (Rogers 2000). In a time where
standardized testing is so strongly emphasized and academic achievement is important towards a
successful future, learning to take things a little less seriously seems to be a great piece of advice.

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Teachers and students can benefit from learning to laugh through struggles and to persist despite
their difficulties.
Negative Effects of Humor in the Classroom
While the majority of information on humor use in the classroom seems to be mostly
positive, there are many articles that show negative impacts or at least warm of the possibilities
of humor impacting the classroom negatively. In many articles, humor is associated with
harassment and bullying of students and even the teacher. Humor that is associated with sexual,
racial, or gender-role as a subject are the most common (Sherman 2013). Humor has been shown
to cause disruptions in classrooms and is associated with a loss of control by the teacher in some
circumstances. In many situations, humor can be self-deprecating and can have impacts on the
moral and self-esteem of students and teachers, alike. In fact, Socrates said that using humor is a
way to throw people off and point out their inability to control and fully handle the subject in
which they are speaking of. He associated the use of humor with poking holes in someones
arguments, lowering their confidence, and making it easier to win an argument against them. Putdowns and sarcasm are most frequently noted as being hidden in humor as a way for groups to
control or police its members. In some cases, humor can start out as positive, but then it can
negatively effect members outside of the group to show elitism and exclude others who are not
involved in the joke. Teachers that use sarcasm to draw attention to students faults, are often the
teachers that have issues with classroom management (Sherman 2013). Humor has been noted to
be a means of control among romantic partners in adolescence, which can also effect student
achievement in a classroom setting. Social anxieties have also been identified as links to the
improper use of humor. Students with social awkwardness and even mild paranoia may feel that

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laughter is directed at them or at their expense, if they are not understanding the humor or its
context. Social anxieties can cause low achievement and lower student self-esteem and selfperception. Teachers must recognize their role in the appropriate use of humor by students and
other teachers in order to ensure the emotional safety of all students (Barnes 2012). Racial humor
is extremely high in the 6 through 12 grades. Often, students use stereotypes to tell jokes that
favor one race as superior to the other. Sometimes the stereotypes seem positive, when really,
they can hurt or humiliate students. For example, saying all Asian students are good at math, may
cause self-efficacy issues for a student who is not good at math, that is also Asian. This time,
students are starting to see differences in their peers, and often humor is used to talk about or
discuss these differences. The dangers of these jokes range from self-esteem and bullying issues,
to misconceptions about other races that will turn into prejudices (Sherman 2013).
Humor Use in ELL and Special Need Programs
There are some important implications, keeping in mind all the benefits of humor and
laughter. One of the implications is the use of humor to promote social skills and appropriate
social cues. The obvious use would be in a special needs classroom. By incorporating humor
daily, special education students could learn to use humor appropriately and how to respond to
the use of humor by others. The exceptional high-achieving learner could also benefit from using
humor in the classroom. Some high understanding is needed in order to understand jokes in
advanced subject matter, like chemistry or physics based jokes and humor. Being able to explain
why a joke is funny could be an appropriate challenge for someone to challenge their mastery
and understanding of content in advanced classes (Barnes, 2012). Lastly, the English language
learner (ELL) students could also benefit greatly from humor and its use in the classroom setting.

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For understanding basic word meanings, ELL students could benefit from being able to explain
jokes and why they are funny. Teachers could use puns, as previously explained, to challenge
their understanding of double meaning and similar sounding words which would benefit a
language learner immensely. (Lems 2011).
Conclusion
This paper has looked at over 20 articles or books, that have talked about the use of
humor in a classroom setting. This paper has discussed the most common types of humor and
when their use is appropriate. Benefits of humor are extensive and shown by many different
educators to improve student learning and achievement. There are kinds of humor that are
negative and can cause problems with students and the classroom climate, teachers and students
have an important role in minimizing these possible consequences. The role of the teacher for
using humor in the classroom is the most important piece to the puzzle, they ensure humor is
worthwhile, age and grade appropriate, and adds to a positive and safe learning environment.
Humor can have a place in all kinds of classrooms, for all kinds of content, and with all levels of
ability. ELL classrooms and special education classrooms can use humor to improve language
and social skills for students. Learning to laugh at yourself is important to coping, staying
healthy mentally, socially and physically for students and teachers. While more research is
needed to confirm the use of humor in a classroom has a positive benefit over a controlled group,
there seems to be some strong accounts of the correlation from classroom teachers. Humor must
be used in the classroom, joke, laugh, dance, sing, shout. I do it all; I think every teacher should.
It helps kids stay focused on the lesson, and sometimes it even helps them remember ideas and

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motivates them to learn. They are more motivated when they feel that they are integral parts of a
happy, safe, exciting, relevant, and rigorous learning environment (Hummell 2015).

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References
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Hummell, Laura. (2015, May). Humor. Childrens Technology and Engineering, 5, 5-7.

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Rogers, Vincent. (2000) Laughing with Children: Humor Belongs in the Classroom for what it
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