Funny Literacy

Funny Literacy: The Certified Laughter Reader Literacy Program

Using Humor to Help Kids Enjoy Reading

“Almost all children love funny books, it's what helps hook them into the reading habit.”

~ Michael Rosen, U.K. Children’s Laureate

Learning, Humor, Laughter, and Health

      • Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly impact psychological
        and physiological processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved functions that are shared by
        all humans.

• Health care providers and educators may take advantage of powerful emotions to improve health and
enhance learning.

• In the classroom, laughter promotes genuine learning, discovering, and creativity by motivating students
to engage with new and puzzling events.

• Humor also develops a more constructive relationship with students and encourages positive feelings about
teaching and learning.

• Humor can initiate social interchanges and conversations with difficult students and inspire them to respond
in a positive way both socially and academically.

• By creating a positive emotional and social connection, humor may lower defenses and establish rapport,
and students may be better able to focus and attend to the information being presented.

(B.M. Savage et al, Advances in Physiology Education. 2017 Sep 1;41(3):341-347. doi: 10.1152/advan.00030.2017.)

CERTIFIED LAUGHTER READER ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Don Baird

Psychology & Humor Literature

Paul McGhee, PhD

Psychologist, Researcher & Author

www.laughterremedy.com

Mary Kay Morrison

Humor & Education

www.questforhumor.com

Mary Mullen

Beth Park, PA, Library

Dr. Joel Schwartz

Child & Adolescent Psychiatry

www.stresslessshrink.com

Wendy Shepherd

Children’s Literacy Expert,

Strategic Advisor

www.alfabservices.com

Everything that has to do with children, including this project, must have room to grow. The purpose of this project is to encourage children to read by introducing them to the naturally attractive phenomena of humor and laughter. Children can grow in significant ways through opportunities to explore their own humor, laughter, and mirth. These topics bring variety and freshness to the classroom and the school culture, promoting eager interest, emotional resilience and self-confidence. The FUNNY LITERACY project capitalizes on the observation that effective teaching techniques must be balanced with humanity and spirit in the form of “a radical performance indicator, namely, laughter.”

Goals:

To provide incentives for kids to love reading by having them complete activities based on reading humorous

books; to encourage kids to embrace their own sense of humor and laughter; to promote positive expressions

of humor.

To promote laughter and humor as a feel-good factor when reading, by encouraging reading together and to

discover the pleasure of funny books in families, schools and libraries. This in turn will reinforce the message

that reading together promotes family well-being, and that embracing one’s sense of humor promotes

personal well-being.

To draw attention to funny books as readable and enjoyable books. We hope that the FUNNY LITERACY

project will enable these books to gain a profile that makes them more credible and accessible to children

and young people. The FUNNY LITERACY Project will work to achieve this through a range of activities

supported by libraries, teachers and parents.

Kids who complete a prescribed reading activity, e.g., 1 hour per week of funny books, in fifteen minute intervals, during April, plus a follow-up-activity, e.g., tell a joke, write a poem, or draw a picture, will receive the designation of Certified Laughter Reader. Qualification requirements will be decided locally.

Studies by neuroscientists and psychologists have shown that laughter increases the release of endorphins — those awesome chemicals in the brain that make us feel good. But laughter isn't just about feeling good because we find something to be funny. Laughter actually boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces tension and can improve cognition.

Reading funny books together is always a great way to spend productive time together, but who would have guessed how many benefits laughter can really bring to our lives? No time like the present to get started.

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Learning, Humor, Laughter, and Health

      • Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and
        laughter, profoundly impact psychological and physiological
        processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved
        functions that are shared by all humans.

• Health care providers and educators may take advantage of
powerful emotions to improve health and enhance learning.

      • In the classroom, laughter promotes genuine learning,
        discovering, and creativity by motivating students to engage
        with new and puzzling events.

      • Humor also develops a more constructive relationship with
        students and encourages positive feelings about teaching
        and learning.

      • Humor can initiate social interchanges and conversations with
        difficult students and inspire them to respond in a positive way
        both socially and academically.

      • By creating a positive emotional and social connection, humor
        may lower defenses and establish rapport, and students may
        be better able to focus and attend to the information being
        presented.

(B.M. Savage et al, Advances in Physiology Education.
2017 Sep 1;41(3):341-347. doi: 10.1152/advan.00030.2017.)

Learning, Humor, Laughter, and Health

• Human emotions, such as anxiety, depression, fear, joy, and laughter, profoundly impact psychological and physiological processes. These emotions form a set of basic, evolved functions that are shared by all humans.

• Health care providers and educators may take advantage of powerful emotions to improve health and enhance learning.

• In the classroom, laughter promotes genuine learning, discovering, and creativity by motivating students to engage with new and puzzling events.

• Humor also develops a more constructive relationship with students and encourages positive feelings about teaching and learning.

• Humor can initiate social interchanges and conversations with difficult students and inspire them to respond in a positive way both socially and academically.

• By creating a positive emotional and social connection, humor may lower defenses and establish rapport, and students may be better able to focus and attend to the information being presented.

(B.M. Savage et al, Advances in Physiology Education. 2017 Sep 1;41(3):341-347. doi: 10.1152/advan.00030.2017.)

Goals:

To provide incentives for kids to love

reading by having them complete

activities based on reading humorous

books; to encourage kids to embrace

their own sense of humor and laughter;

to promote positive expressions of humor.

To promote laughter and humor as a

feel-good factor when reading, by

encouraging reading together and to

discover the pleasure of funny books in

families, schools and libraries. This in

turn will reinforce the message that

reading together promotes family well-

being, and that embracing one’s sense of

humor promotes personal well-being.

To draw attention to funny books as

readable and enjoyable books. We hope

that the FUNNY LITERACY project will

enable these books to gain a profile that

makes them more credible and accessible

to children and young people. The FUNNY

LITERACY Project will work to achieve this

through a range of activities supported by

libraries, teachers and parents.