Monday, April 1, 2013

April Fools' Cobras

Monday morning is a great time for April 1st.  Students are not quite on their game, especially after an extended break.  That's why it worked so well to use the end of Monday morning announcements to fool the students from grades 2 and up.  I can't take credit for the idea (thanks go to Mark and Emma) but I did execute it by telling the students we had been requested by the school gardener to help with a continuing pest problem as the small lawn at the back of the school had been inhabited by a nest of baby cobras.  The students are aware that the gardener's small flock of turkeys were originally brought in to deal with a cobra problem so it was a surprisingly believable scenario.

I had the students line up on one end of the small field and instructed them to walk slowly in a steady line with loud stomps to scare the baby cobras up out of their new burrows under the grass.  We equipped a few students with badminton racquets and instructed them to flick in baby cobras that emerged towards me as had a garbage can in which I would collect the snakes.  The students slowly stomped in a nice line from one end to the other as a backed up with my empty garbage can.

No cobras.

A few students seemed to be catching on as we turned around for another go but most were still following directions closely.  I then said that we should try stomping and shouting.  We started walking back and I told them to shout, suggesting that a chant of "April Fools" would be best.  The stomping quickly stopped, the line broke up, and the students laughed their way back to class.  A great start to the week.

Unfortunately my iphone died last week so I didn't get a picture but I wonder if any of the students were picturing this?

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