March 16 - Show & Tell
I encourage the kids who raised their hands to get up and tell their jokes.
You’ve been asked to do a five-minute presentation to a group of young schoolchildren on the topic of your choice. Describe your presentation.
“Who likes to tell jokes? Who is the class clown?” I ask the kids. Based on their answers, I encourage the kids who raised their hands to get up and tell their jokes.
Then we discuss what comedy is. Why did those jokes make them laugh? What makes them funny? Next we talk about the basic structure of a joke. Using some of the jokes the kids told we dissect them into setup and punchline.
Then I’d talk about being a stand up comedian.
“Some people are doctors and some people are activists and some people are gender affirming therapists. Some people are comedians and they tell jokes for a living,” I’d say. “So if you have the meanest parents—guess what that means?”
Crickets.
“It means you’ll probably be a stand-up comedian!”
It’s funny that this is the prompt for today, because I am actually involved in a story time at my library. No, we do not have Drag Queen Story Hour here.
My story times last about a half hour and I usually get in about 4-5 books. My colleague and I pick a theme and find books around that theme. For this week, I have picked the ocean.
The kids will hear stories about sharks, whales, and pufferfish. I would argue that this is a presentation that we have every week. This is something that I am well acquainted with.
I have done presentations on calligraphy and essay writing for teens. Most of the time, it lasts about 15-20 minutes. You teach them about resources or the technology that you need to use.
So, it’s funny that you ask that question, because today is the day that I need to present to children.
I would love to hear the kids' jokes - my little nephew is around two, and told his first joke the other day - he held up a curved piece of bread and kept saying 'banana' and nearly choking with laughter. Kids are such incredible weirdos. I love them.
Below is script/lesson plan...
Start with a song (in this instance one with greetings from around the world). If we had time, I'd play it twice, encouraging them to sing along the second time, and do the gestures indicated on screen.
Gesture for everyone to sit down.
What was that song about? Good job, Johnny! Yes, it was about how people say hello in different countries.
Which countries do we know? Excellent Joy - Russia, China, USA... anyone heard of the UK? No? Briefly introduce the concept of continents.
- I would choose 4-5 countries with different greetings, perhaps USA, Japan, Brazil, France, Kenya, and teach the kids briefly how to greet in each. I would show where each country was on the map.
- Musical chairs, but instead of the person without a chair being 'out', I say the country, and they greet me accordingly (obviously if teaching the UK, we would learn 'Wotcher, guv' - only useful language here!).
- Using cards with the countries names on them, I would have two students at a time take a card, then do the greeting - the class has to say the country.
- Finally, we would focus on one country (probably Japan), and I'd ask the kids what they knew about that country - what do they eat there? Have they ever tried their food? Did they like it? What festivals do they have? What do they wear? We would brainstorm some vocabulary, and I would show pictures of the relevant words.
Ideally, I'd have a snack from the country of focus for the class to try, and we would finish with a craft, and music from the country of focus being played in the background.
I realize this is more than 5 minutes, don't judge me! I miss teaching. Sitting behind a desk and dealing with frustrated principals and uncommunicative district staff does not bring me the same joy.