Teaching with Comedy: A Guide For Using Humor in the Classroom

Evan Hoovler uses his decades of comedy experience to engage students in the classroom--and now he's sharing all his secrets in Teaching With Comedy. Any teacher can become more effective and engaging by laughing along with these simple exercises.

Instead of using "look-at-me" tactics to get students' attention, Hoovler wants to do the opposite--he uses humor to focus attention on the lesson (not the instructor) and guide a distracted class back on track.

With anecdotes and explanations, Hoovler walks you through how to use certain jokes to keep students engaged and on task. You'll get prompts and ideas for exercises to use in your own classes, from an expert with decades of experience.

Even those who aren't teachers will enjoy this seasoned educator's Dave Barry-esque takes on public schools, the history of teaching, educational philosophy, and what exactly makes a joke-telling teacher good versus unbearably corny. Teaching with Comedy is the perfect gift for any teacher or comedy fan seeking light-but-meaningful reading fare.

Evan Hoovler has written online comedy articles read by tens of millions of people or, possibly, exactly one person who clicked ten million times (thanks, Mom!) He has written for National Lampoon, Syfy, Cracked, and dozens more comedic institutions. He did all of the environmental storytelling for the 2019 experimental interactive movie, Splinter. He is currently editor-in-chief of the hit National Football League advice & comedy website FootballAbsurdity.com (twitter.com/fbabsurdity) and wants to be your Facebook friend.