F-07.12 Appreciate & Share Various Kinds of Humor (in Print)

What’s the Point? Book One: Beginning to Read for Meaning. Part 6: “The Point of Humor: Comic Strips, Anecdotes, & Jokes,” pages 97-108

12 Pages    

Who It’s For: Language & Reading Teachers & Students; Those Who Enjoy Playfulness or Wit; Those Who Want  the Challenge of Understanding Humor in Print & Beyond

Why You Need It:  Nearly everyone likes to laugh.  It’s tension-relieving —and thus constructive—to find humor in all kinds of (written) material.  Yet especially in new or unfamiliar cultures or contexts, it may be hard to “get the joke.”  How satisfying & beneficial to language development it is to learn to do so!                                    

What You’ll / They’ll Do:  

[1]  Check out the 12-page Part 6: The Point of Humor.  Notice that its material is divided into sections: Comic Strips; Anecdotes; Other Kinds of Humor

[2]  Read and absorb the pedagogy of explanations. Look at activity instructions. Learn to “Get the Point of Humor” from Sidebars that answer your questions.   Gain understanding of “What makes a joke funny?” but don’t  let analysis compromise your sense of humor.  

[3]  Interpret & sequence the frames (panels) in six Cartoon Strips. Match them with the points of their jokes. Summarize them. Look at and enjoy other cartoons in newspapers, magazines, or wherever they appear. 

[4]  Read nine (classic) Anecdotes. Use hints in Sidebars to help explain why they’re funny.  Can you recall any such stories from the past that used to bring forth a chuckle? Or can you look up (newer) amusements that make people laugh? 

[5]  Read & enjoy examples of “formula jokes,” riddles, quips, puns.  Answer questions and follow instructions in these pages to contribute your own “Other Kinds of Humor.” 

[6]  With a light heart, keep on smiling, laughing, and sharing whatever else “tickles your funny bone.”