Eeep! I teach middle school. Tomorrow is April Fools Day. Yikes! I want to make a preemptive strike. What can I do??

I don't want to give a monster test, because then I would have to grade the blasted thing. (besides that, i would also have to create it, and that is a pain.)

Anyway, I need harmless April Fools Jokes that don't require too much setup.

Whoo hoo, another fellow soulmate! The middle school dynamic. Last year, I had my students do what was called a "dialectic movement and eccentrism" test. They had no idea what any of the made-up words meant, so it worked great. I had them do a series of movements and acted like I was walking around with the gradebook and seriously testing each one of them. They absolutely could not move their mouth muscles - they had to keep it in a straight line. (This kept them from laughing during the "test".) I told them it was a test from p.e. that had to take place in the classroom. By the end, I had all of them in weird positions around the room, some of them with their shoestrings tied together, some with a jacket or backpack on another person, etc. By the end, I just started laughing and said "April fools"!

I love them, but I'm getting out of it at the end of this year. I suck at classroom management, and that means every day is a huge trial. I have tried everything, been to classes, ect. But none of it has worked.

I'm hoping to find a job where I don't spend my entire time making people do things they hate.


But anyway, I still have 2.5 months to go, so I need to survive. Hence: the April Fools Jokes. Maybe if I can get them laughing, I can engage them...

Maybe you can find them something fun to work on. How about a crossword puzzle something. Or just let them talk quietly or draw or whatever.


One of my teachers for class she would give us a crossword puzzle. But it had to do with (Applied Biology the class I was taking) and it was better than taking her tests!!

tell the kids the economy has collapsed and they are all being sold into child slavery...actualy, don't tell them that...the way things are going in this country,they will probably see it in their lifetime be seeing you

i have similar issues at a call center..kids...but older...
managing them can be just as fun..but i have found when i get to know them, ask them about their lives...go round the room at meetings and ask what they are doing for the weekend, holiday, etc..it keeps them engaged, gets them talking as a group, and they have more of a buy in and act better..just a thought...

Of course on certain holidays our teacher would bring snacks. we would watch a really good movie and eat popcorn or whatever.


And when I got to high school before like spring break or whatever some of our teachers would let us watch movies too. because they knew that alot of people would be traveling for spring break. and alot of people would leave school early too.

I do do that....problem is, a lot of times, someone will say something, and another kid will make a rude comment about it, and I've lost them all again.

They treat each other so horribly, and they don't understand why it matters.



Not allowed to bring in snacks unless they come from a certain list, all of which are boring or expensive.

Movies have to be approved by the board, and have to be connected to the standards and what we are currently teaching (and yes, they know what we are teaching, because we are on pacing guides)

And it's middle school, so they can't leave early.

I can't blow off the day with games and such because state testing starts after Easter break.

I bet we have watched movies that werent approved first before we have watched them!! I mean they werent sexcular movies if I remember correctly some of them might have has some cussing in them. I dont remember I haven't been in school for several years now...

Whatever you decide, just be careful when picking up the chalk.

As kids, we'd get to the classroom before the teacher and replace all his/her chalk with appropriately-sized, cylinder-shaped strips of toothpaste.

I also work with middle school children and so many things have changed over the years. Everything has to do with standards and pacing guides. No more field trip(no money) and the kids treat each other horribly. I've been at it for 11 years and there are days that I hate getting out of bed.

Kids can be cruel but a teacher with a great attitude can make a difference. You can reach them all (some kids DO get left behind Hillary) but you sure can reach some....dont give up. You are making a differnce unless you quit!