Table of Contents

Contents: Acknowledgements Foreword Intro Section I: The World of Humour and Comedy 1 Funny Business is a Risky Business 2 What is a Sense of Humour and How to Define It 3 Humour, Curiosity and Playfulness - Being Seven All Over Again 4 The Sciencey Bit - It's Brain Jim, But Not As We Know It 5 Your Funny Bone is Connected to Your, Er 6 Only Joking 7 Please Be Seated for the Secrets of Stand-Up 8 Making It Up As You Go - Improvisation and Teaching Section II: Thirty Exercises to Build Rapport, Encourage Spontaneity, Get Their Creative Juices Flowing, Improve Learning and Make Everything Better ... 101 Gagging for More? ... 131 Outro ... 141 Bibliography ... 143 Index of exercises ... 145 List of lists ... 147

About the Author

Dave Keeling has been a professional actor for 20 years and a 'stand-up' educationalist for 18 years working the length and breadth of the country with teachers, pupils and parents. Since establishing Independent Thinking 25 years ago, Ian Gilbert has made a name for himself across the world as a highly original writer, editor, speaker, practitioner and thinker and is someone who the IB World magazine has referred to as one of the world's leading educational visionaries.The author of several books, and the editor of many more, Ian is known by thousands of teachers and young people across the world for his award-winning Thunks books. Thunks grew out of Ian's work with Philosophy for Children (P4C), and are beguiling yet deceptively powerful little philosophical questions that he has created to make children's - as well as their teachers' - brains hurt.Ian's growing collection of bestselling books has a more serious side too, without ever losing sight of his trademark wit and straight-talking style. The Little Book of Bereavement for Schools, born from personal family experience, is finding a home in schools across the world, and The Working Class - a massive collaborative effort he instigated and edited - is making a genuine difference to the lives of young people from some of the poorest backgrounds.A unique writer and editor, there is no other voice like Ian Gilbert's in education today.

Reviews

Reviewed by Professor Marion Wynne-Davies, School of English and Languages, University of Surrey
Dave Keeling takes the old saying 'Make 'em laugh, make 'em think' and transforms it into a clear, informative and enjoyable guide that shows teachers of all age ranges how to use humour in education. The Little Book of Laughter combines analysis of different forms of comedy with a handy DIY guide as well as providing a series of 'seriously funny' jokes that will make both teachers and pupils laugh aloud.
Reviewed by Dean Goddard, Deputy Head Teacher, St Martin's School, Brentwood, Essex
David Keeling is the Patch Adams of education. As the pressure and accountability on schools and teachers continue to rise this book represents a much needed reality check on what schools, childhood and growing up is all about.
Reviewed by Dr Katharine Low, Royal Central School of Speech & Drama
Dave Keeling's 'The Little Book of Laughter' is a delightful book that concisely brings together some of the key ideas and facts about the impact of laughter on a person in order to make the case for the use of humour in an educational setting. Keeling engages with a range of different perspectives on humour, from the scientific views on the impact of laughter and our brain's processing of humour, to the use of improvisational theatre techniques, and offers a resounding argument for incorporating play and laughter into the classroom.
Indeed, it is an engaging read, full of comic examples and interludes, which Keeling then takes care to unpack. Indeed, through his humorous and engaging writing, Keeling is modelling his suggested practice for the reader.
Keeling offers a useful distinction between laughter and humour, and the discussion on humour as a way of seeing and processing the world, as a cognitive process, is particularly relevant for the reader and he makes a strong case for the inclusion of humour in learning, emphasising its essential role as a communicat