Telling Jokes in Class, plus a Joke

To start a class with a joke can liven up the atmosphere. I used to tell my students, "A joke a day keeps the doctor away." Although I didn't tell them a joke every day, I did it once in a while. And they loved it!

"Laughter, the Best Medicine" in Reader's Digest is a good source of jokes. I often picked from it those I thought would bring out laughter. Most of the time, I brought the magazine to the classroom and read  a joke from it, hoping students would find it interesting to read authentic English in magazines.

Here is a joke about blondes. Before telling it, we'd better let students know why jokes about blondes are part of American culture. Also, I would write the new words on the blackboard and pre-teach them.

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The joke:

Three women are about to be executed for crimes. One's a brunette, one's a redhead, and one's a blonde.

Two guards brings the brunette forward, and the executioner asks if she has any last requests. She says no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready...Aim..."

Suddenly the brunette yells, "Earthquake!!" Everyone is startled and looks around. She manages to escape.

The angry guards then bring the redhead forward, and the executioner asks if she has any last requests. She says no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready...Aim..."

The redhead then screams, "Tornado!!" Yet again, everyone is startled and looks around. She too escapes execution.

By this point, the blonde has figured out what the other did. The guards bring her forward, and the executioner asks if she ahs any last requests. She also says no, and the executioner shouts, "Ready...Aim..."

The blonde shouts, "Fire!"