Holiday: April Fool's Day

Learn when April Fool’s Day began and why it is celebrated. Read about some famous April Fool’s Day jokes, including the story that Taco Bell was going to buy the Liberty Bell. Includes some common pranks for kids that are intended to be funny and not hurtful. There are recipes for unusual April Fool’s Day dishes. Includes a link to an eThemes Resource on jokes and riddles.

Grades

• 3,
• 4,
• 5,
• 6,
• 7,
• 8

Links

• America's Story: April Fools' Day

  Learn about different aspects of the holiday known as April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day. Includes vintage video footage of April Fools' pranks.

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• April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day

  Read a short description of the history of this holiday.

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• Fact Monster: April Fools' Day: Origins and History

  Here is another description of the origin of April Fools' Day. Click on "The Hoax Files" to read about famous practical jokes and hoaxes. NOTE: The site includes banner ads and sponsored links.

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• Wonderopolis; How Did April Fools' Day Begin?

  Read about some of the theories on the origins of April Fools' Day. NOTE: This site includes ads and sponsored links. NOTE: This site links to social networking sites.

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• Snopes.com: April Fools' Day Origins

  Snopes investigates the claim of the origins of April Fools' Day. What did they find? Read the article and see. NOTE: This site includes banner and other ads. NOTE: This site includes links to social networking sites.

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• The Museum of Hoaxes: Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time

  Read about some of the greatest April Fool's Day hoaxes of all time. NOTE: This site includes banner ads, other ads, and sponsored links.

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• The Drama Pod: April Fool's Day 2011

  Listen to a podcast about the top 20 April Fool's Day hoaxes. Click on the "Play" icon to hear the podcast. NOTE: This site includes a message board. NOTE: This site includes links to social networking sites.

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• NPR: Post Office Calls for Portable 'Vanity' ZIP Codes

  Listen to a podcast from April Fools' Day 2004 about portable zip codes. Click on the "Play" icon or "Listen" to hear the story. NOTE: This site includes ads.

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• NPR: Universal Pet Health Care

  Read this story claiming the American government was creating universal pet health care. This story actually aired on National Public Radio on April 1, 2002.

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• Baby Blues: April Fool's Day Switcheroonie

  Learn about the comic's page switcheroonie from April Fool's Day 1997, in which cartoonists drew each others comics.

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• Lesson Plan: April Fools' Day

  This lesson plan has teaching ideas for the holiday.

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• Enchanted Learning: April Fool's Day Joke

  Students can write an essay about a prank they would like to do. NOTE: This site includes banner ads and sponsored links.

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• April Fool's Day Word Search

  Try this interactive word search that uses April Fool's Day words. NOTE: This site contains banner ads, other types of ads, and sponsored links.

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• eThemes Resource: Jokes and Riddles

  This is a collection of sites with kid-friendly humor. Includes jokes, riddles, and brain teasers. Some sites let you submit your own jokes to be published online.

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Education Standards

• AR
  • G.2.4.1
  • G.2.5.1
• MO
  • 1
  • 1.10
  • 1.2
  • 1.9
  • 3
  • 6
  • 6
• NV
  • C.5.3.3
• UT
  • 2.2.a
  • 3.1.b
  • 5.1.c
  • 5.3.c

Request State Standards

Created: March 10, 2004 at 02:32 | Updated: February 06, 2013 at 18:03