As teachers, we are always in danger of getting pranked by our students. Elementary students, middle school kids, and high school students love playing jokes on one another, as well as innocent adults in their lives, so now it’s time for us and our fellow teachers to have a little April fool’s fun!
From light-hearted pranks to innocent tricks teachers can set up in minutes, we have all the April Fool’s day prank ideas you’ll ever need. So get ready to shock and awe with our list of 33 fun pranks for teachers.
1. Computer Ghost
This April Fool’s Day joke needs a little assistance. Ask a fellow teacher to send messages to your home screen when you give them the signal (via text or email). The messages could say “This is the ghost of Room __” “Get out while you still can!”. Your curious students will be surprised and eager to uncover the mystery of the ghost in your computer.
2. Classroom Switch
For this morning prank, move your materials and personal items into another teacher’s classroom so yours is empty. Don’t tell your students, and see how long it takes them to realize you’re not coming to the regular class.
Another variation for this prank is to switch classes with another teacher, so when the ever-texting high school crowd walks into your class, they look up and see another teacher. They will think they walked into the wrong class and will turn around!
3. Turning the Tables
As teachers, we sometimes have to confiscate things from our students that may be distracting or inappropriate. One sure-fire way to drive your kids mad is to use their gadgets and toys in front of them. This works well with most grade levels. Some objects you can try this with are phones, small games, and toys.
4. Little Lies
Tell your class it’s the perfect time for sharing and you want to tell them some personal information about yourself. Think of some creative lies to tell about yourself, your heritage, and your hobbies. See their reactions as you say “your brother went to the moon.”, “you have a pet goose.” or “you’re actually 18 years old.”.
5. Name Swap
If your classroom uses name tags on the desks, go in early and switch all the students’ names. See if they notice when they come in, and if not when they raise their hand, call them by the name on their desk. When they make a weird face, point to the name and shrug. They will think one of their classmates switched their name until all the students notice everyone’s names are mixed up.
6. Brownie “E”
This delicious classroom prank involves some baking. First, use a cookie cutter and a brownie mix to make some capital letter “E” brownies. Then cut out some “E” shapes with paper and use leftover brownie pieces to make two fake brownie plates. Cover all three of the plates and when your students go to grab a brownie they will first uncover paper, then tiny pieces, then finally the actual brownies.
7. Mute Yourself
This harmless prank is great for elementary school kids! Once all the students come into the classroom and sit down, begin the lesson like normal, but when you open your mouth to say words no sound comes out. Move your mouth in the shape of the correct words so your students think their ears are plugged or something is wrong before they realize it’s you being silly!
8. Tongue Twister Time
Write down a long list of tongue twisters and use them instead of regular sentences for as long as possible. Your students will giggle and try to understand what you are saying. This funny prank works best if the phrases you use are related to your lesson plan. If you can incorporate relevant information into your riddles your students will be even more eager to figure you out.
9. Costume Change
This April Fools joke is simple but classic. Bring a change of clothes to school, it can be similar to the clothes you’re wearing or drastically different depending on the reaction you want from your students. Halfway through the class, excuse yourself to use the restroom and go change outfits. When you come back see which students notice and what they say.
10. April Fool’s Day Word Search
This fun holiday word search is filled with prank-inspired words like “hoax”, “mischief”, “jest”, “hoodwink” and more! See if your students know all of these words and how they can be used to talk about the holiday and jokes.
11. Lirpa Loof Bird
These mysterious birds actually don’t exist! “Lirpa Loof” is actually “April Fool” spelled backward, but your students don’t know that. Give them a description of what this bird species looks like, what they eat, (you can make it absurd like they only eat mini marshmallows), and what they sound like. Take your class outside and have them look for these non-existent birds with food and bird calls. When none can be found, tell them the joke and see their unamused faces!
12. Krispy Kreme?
This simple donut prank is a favorite for teachers. Watch as your eager students rush to grab some delicious donuts and open the box to find healthy snacks! Oh no! You can put any foods inside you think your students will be shocked to see.
13. Fool’s Gold
If you’re an Earth science teacher this one is perfect for you! If you’re not, you can also go ask the science department if they have any pyrite laying around. Place the piece on your desk where all your students can see it. Tell them you were trekking over the weekend and you found this rare mineral, and it’s worth a ton of money! Tell your students you are rich now and this is your last day teaching….April Fools Gold!
14. Faux School Lunch Menu
If you or someone you know is in charge of printing the lunch menus for the week, get ahold of the original print and make some creative changes for this lunch menu prank. For Monday’s lunch, say it will be “fried frogs and grasshopper fries”, and Wednesday can be “salted fish biscuits and onion ice cream”. Leave some of the days normal so it looks more believable. Your students will panic and call home for their parents to bring them food.
15. Math Mayhem
If you are a math teacher, you can have some numbers fun for April Fool’s Day. Spend the class confusing your students with incorrect answers to basic problems, strange new concepts, and rules that don’t work. Your students will try to follow in the beginning, but it shouldn’t take long before one of them calls you out.
16. Leap Year Prank
For this sneaky prank, tell your students that this is a leap year, so for the month of April, your classes will be 2 hours long instead of 1. This works better with younger students who will believe something like this. You can give your students a humor lesson while also seeing which students are happy and which are sad about the news they are staying an hour longer in your class.
17. Pop-Up Folder
Here’s a super-fun prank your kids will flip over! Connect your computer to the projector and create some folders on the top of your desk named “teachers who might be spies” or “names of my students who have superpowers”. These will be displayed on the big screen and your students will freak out thinking you have classified information about everyone at the school.
18. Tiny Chairs
This harmless joke works in an Elementary school where you have younger and older students in classrooms and there are different sized chairs. Coordinate with another teacher (maybe preschool or kindergarten) and switch out your students’ normal-sized chairs for tiny ones. They will come into the class to take their seats and laugh at how short they are.
19. No Food, Sorry
To cause a little middle school mayhem, before your students come into class, write on the whiteboard that the cafeteria ran out of food so there is no lunch break today. Tell your students that class will continue through lunch and you have additional work/assignments for the extra time. Hehe!
20. Surprise Test
We love to see the look of panic in the eyes of our students (when it’s part of a joke!). When they come into class tell them you have a surprise exam prepared for them. Tell them this exam will be worth half of their grade and see them sweat before you shout “April Fools!”.
21. Speak in Code
A cryptic challenge awaits! For one day, only communicate with your students using a specific code. Scribe encrypted messages on the board and provide instructions whilst exclusively using your newly created cipher. Observe as your ingenious codebreakers solve the puzzles. Finally, reveal that it was all an April Fool’s Day prank!
22. The Impromptu Field Trip
Surprise! A last-minute change in plans as you embark on a spontaneous expedition with your students! At the start of class, announce that you’ll be venturing somewhere extraordinary, like the moon or Antarctica. If a student tries to call your bluff, act serious about the trip. After a while, admit that this was for April Fools!
23. Suddenly Left-handed Day
Using fabricated studies, convince your students that new research shows that left-hand writing enhances brain power! For this day only, task your learners with using only their left hand. Sit back and enjoy the show as they try to abide by this silly rule. At the end of the day, announce that it was only a joke, and wait for the chaos that is sure to ensue.
24. Room Flip
Keep your students on their toes by completely flipping your classroom layout! Shift desks, rearrange posters and charts, and change up the location of classroom essentials. As your scholars walk in and begin to talk about the changes, don’t acknowledge anything they say about the new layout. Wait until the next day to put the classroom back to normal and tell them it was all a prank!
25. Bug Invasion
Get ready for chaos! Secretly spread fake bugs around your room before your students arrive. Feign horror at the “discovery” of the infestation. As your kids join the urgent “extermination” process, play up the drama! Then smirk – gotcha!
26. Missing Homework
Get a few of your students in on this one! Talk to your chosen bunch before class about your plan and give them copies of an assignment to turn in. When class begins, casually mention a large assignment that was never actually assigned, that’s due that day. Then, have the students that you talked to beforehand turn it in. Sit back and watch confusion set in among the rest of your students! After a few minutes, reveal that there was no assignment. April Fools!
27. Color Changing
Bask in curiosity’s colorful glow with your students! With colored bulbs, transform the classroom ambiance overnight. As your students enter your now vibrant space, cite imaginary policies about lighting in the classroom. At the end of class, let your kids in on your secret- that it was nothing but a hoax!
28. The Nonexistent Student
Imagine this: An imaginary classmate causes real confusion for your actual students! Repeatedly call on a faux student during lessons, and pause for dramatic effect as your kids insist that said pupil doesn’t exist! At the risk of sounding crazy, once the trick is exposed, act like you were certain that the student was present the whole year. Wait until the end of class to admit the prank.
29. Alarm Bells
This one will get the attention of your students for sure! Without warning, sound an alarm. Respond with exaggerated urgency; miming some covert emergency procedure, and then, just as quickly, resume normalcy. When questioned by your students, deny it all!
30. Ghostly Sounds
A mysterious whisper lingers in the air. Covertly play eerie noises and maintain obliviousness as your students react- responding with disbelief at mentions of supernatural sounds. When you are ready, halt the haunting and wink. Only your most observant students will ever know that it was you playing the noises the whole time!
31. Watering Plastic Plants
For this one, you will need a plant that is obviously fake. During class, make a big deal about watering it every day. Your students may think you’ve gone crazy or may not even realize that the plant is fake! Eventually, end the farce and chuckle together with your class
32. The New Class Pet
Gather your students round to welcome the new “class pet”! Present a stuffed creature as the newest resident. Beam as your students squeal with delight until realizing that it’s not alive! Confess your trick as they catch on to the ruse.
33. The Missing Chair
Take a seat…if you can find one! Covertly remove a chair before your students arrive. Feign confusion as one searches in vain for their “missing” seat. Once the cat is out of the bag, replace the chair and reveal that it was all an April Fools’ Day joke!
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