7 Hilarious April Fools’ Pranks to Pull on Your Students
If you think about it, April Fools’ Day comes at a perfect time. Maybe you’ve spent the past few weeks working diligently on test prep and your standardized test dates are just around the corner. A good laugh might be the perfect remedy for you and your students to unwind.
Laughter is shown to have a multitude of benefits in the classroom beyond shaking off a little stress. It can also:
- build a sense of community
- help students feel more comfortable in their environment
- light up more areas of the brain and enhance retention
So, in honor of celebrating April Fools’ Day and adding a little light-heartedness to your day, try out these simple pranks to pull on your students.
Word Search with No Answers
This is an easy way to celebrate April Fools’ spirit. Create a word search activity page that doesn’t include any of the words your students are meant to find. After the class has found you out, supply them with the real list of words to find.
Talk, But Say Nothing
This is another fun prank to pull on your students and it doesn’t take a bit of planning. Just start moving your mouth, but don’t make a sound. To really keep them on their toes, let your words come out for a while, then go back to mouthing the words. When they look confused or start to laugh, act like nothing is out of the ordinary.
Bilingual Morning Greeting
If you can speak a foreign language fluently (Pig Latin counts!), start your morning routine in your second language. When your students question it, tell them—in English—that you don’t know what they mean. Then revert back to your second language.
Ghost in SMART Board
If you use a wireless computer mouse with your SMART board or interactive whiteboard, this prank is for you. Connect a second mouse to the board and enlist another teacher or aide to take control of it. He or she can make the cursor go crazy on the screen and open programs, documents, websites, or videos at random. With a wireless keyboard, your “ghost” can also add cryptic messages.
Snack Pranks
There are so many snack pranks to pull on your students! Remove the cream filling in Oreos and replace it with minty toothpaste, fill a donut box with a vegetable tray, or serve Jell-O in a juice glass (with a straw stuck inside!).
Speak to Operate
Create a “speak to operate” sticker and adhere it to your classroom paper towel dispenser, water fountain, or pencil sharpener. Then tell your class that the equipment has been upgraded to the latest voice-activated version.
Tech Tricks
Use these simple tricks to fool students at their computer stations on April Fools’ Day.
- Turn the images on the computer screen upside down. On a Windows computer, click ctrl+alt+(arrow key). On a MAC computer, hold down the Option + Command keys while you click on System Preferences and then Display.
- Students will be stumped when they can’t click their home screen icons. Take a screenshot of the home screen on an iPad or other tablet and open the image.
These fun, month-by-month booklets feature artwork and illustrations to engage young students. Activities reinforce curriculum in reading, social studies, science, math, and more.
View Product →