Lesson Plan #4
April Fools
Duration: 3
to 4 days
Objectives: Students
will:
Materials:
A Calendar
Examples of myths ( Myths, Fables and Legends)
Interview Letter
Key Vocabulary:
pranks, culture, myth
Procedures:
Have the children brainstorm several different ideas they have about how the holiday of April Fools' Day began. Write answers on the board.
Children will learn the true reason for why April Fools' Day is celebrated. Explain and discuss the Gregorian calendar and how it changed the beginning of the new year. Discuss how the day originated in France. Tell the children some of the traditions that countries celebrate and participate in during April Fools' Day. Talk about the "cuckoo" hunt that originated in Scotland. Tell the children what a person in France is called if a trick has been played on him ( April Fish). Talk about the differences between a good natured joke and a hurtful one. Make sure the children understand that playing jokes should be fun for all parties involved. Make sure to ask the children questions during the discussion to see if they are comprehending the information. Have the children write down three things they have learned about April Fools' Day. After the discussion.
After telling the children about the ancient roman myth about how April Fools' Day began allow them to write and create their own individual myth for how April Fools' Day came about. Encourage them to be creative in their writing. When they have completed their myths have them share them with the rest of the class.
After all previous activities have been completed. Ask students what they have learned about April Fools' Day and have them write down their response.
Responses to discussion questions will be assessed through the children's written assignment.
Interview comments will be assessed as to whether the child completed the interview.
The children's myth papers will be assessed.
The write up's on the Cuckoo hunt and the discussion questions will be assessed.
Responses to discussion questions and cuckoo write-up will be assessed to see if the students understand the difference between a hurtful joke and a good-natured prank.
Home Learning:
Have the children go home and interview a family member about a prank or joke that was played on them perhaps on an April Fools' Day. Have the children bring back the results of their interviews and read them in class. Discuss which jokes might have been fun for everyone involved and which jokes may not have been so good.
Extension Activity:
Cuckoo Hunt. On April Fools' Day have your class prepare a Cuckoo Hunt for one of the other classes to go on. Have your children set up a kind of treasure map for another class. Send the other class around the school in search of some kind of hidden surprise. Let the surprise be something awkward (weird, not real) that your children will find funny when the other class finds it. For example a stuffed bear, or a puppet. Have your class make a list of notes to be placed around the school for the other children to find. Have one clue lead the other class to someplace else. It will seem that they have been trailing the item as it supposedly moves throughout the school. When the children find the surprise have them come back to the room and have some type of treat waiting for them, perhaps some cookies etc. This gesture will show your students that the joke was good natured and no one was hurt. Your class will get the laugh and the other will get some kind of treat, thereby showing that both sides had fun.
Have the children do a write up on the Cuckoo Hunt experience. Have them describe how they felt and if they enjoyed playing this little prank. Have them decide whether the joke was a good one or not.