LearnEnglishKids Magazine April Fools Day

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April Fool’s Day

What do you know about April Fool’s Day? Read this article to find out what people do on
this funny day!
Instructions
Do the preparation exercise first. Then read the article and do the other exercises.
Preparation
Match the definitions (a–h) with the vocabulary (1–8).
Vocabulary Definition
1. f a practical joke a. a very brave person who people admire
2. jelly b. the organ inside your head that allows you to think
3. a hero c. something you notice through your nose
4. a tradition d. a strip of plastic or material that you put around your head
5. a penguin e. a soft, sweet, brightly coloured food with a fruit flavour
6. the brain f. a joke that involves a physical action rather than words
7. a headband g. a black-and-white bird that can swim but not fly
8. a smell h. something people usually do at a special time, and have
done for many years
© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

April Fool’s Day
April Fool’s Day is celebrated on 1 April in many countries around the world. On this day,
people play practical jokes on each other and have fun trying to make other people believe
things that are not true.
Jokes with your friends and family

In the UK and many other places, people play any kind of practical joke, but it’s important
to remember that the joke should be funny for everybody and not make the other person
feel bad. Some jokes you can play include these.
• Make some fruit jelly in a glass. Then ask someone if they want some juice. Give them
the glass and watch them try to drink it!
• Have you got a toy plastic spider? Put it in someone’s shoe! Then, when they get
scared, you can be the hero who takes the scary spider away!
• If you have a clock in your kitchen, get up early and change it to show it’s one hour
later. Then, when your family is having breakfast, they’ll think that they’re late for
work or school!
Then shout ‘April Fool!’ so that everyone knows it was a joke!
In France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and French-speaking areas of Canada and
Switzerland, the 1 April tradition is known as the ‘April Fish’. A common joke is to try to stick
a paper fish onto someone’s back when that person isn’t looking.
In many Spanish-speaking countries as well as the Philippines, there is also a special day
for playing jokes, but it’s in December instead of April.
Jokes in the news

On April Fool’s Day, there are often jokes in the news, on TV or on websites.
In 2008 the BBC made a short video which showed the ‘news’ that some penguins had
learned to fly! Two big UK newspapers wrote about the ‘important story’ on their front
pages.
One year in the UK, a children’s news programme said that scientists had invented a ‘Brain
Band’. It was a coloured headband that you put on your head and it helped to make you
more intelligent!
Another famous joke is ‘Google Nose’. Google said it was a new app you could use to search
the internet for a smell. For example, if you searched for ‘flowers’, you could click a button
and smell them!
Of course, every day we need to think carefully about what we believe when we read or
watch news and other stories, especially online. But on 1 April, be extra careful!
Happy April Fool’s Day!

Tasks
Task 1
Circle true or false for these sentences.
1. April Fool’s Day is on 1 April every year. True False

2. It’s good if a joke makes the other person feel really bad. True False
3. The jelly joke is funny because you can drink juice, but you can’t drink True False
jelly!
4. You should put real spiders in people’s shoes. True False
5. In some countries, like France, a common joke is putting a fish in True False
someone’s drink.
6. In other countries, like Spain, there's a day for jokes in December. True False
7. One year, some newspapers said that pigs could fly. True False
8. You should always think about whether things you see online are
true. True False
Task 2
Complete the sentences with words from the box.
smell clock spider headband fish jelly
1. Put some jelly in a glass and ask someone to drink it!
2. Put a plastic in someone’s shoe!
3. Change the time on the so that your family think they are late!
4. Put a paper on someone’s back!
5. Put a on your head to make you more intelligent!
6. Use an app to search the internet for a !

Write and draw
Can you think of a funny joke to play on someone? Write about it and draw a picture.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
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Answers
Preparation task
1. f
2. e
3. a
4. h
5. g
6. b
7. d
8. c
Task 1
1. True
2. False
3. True
4. False
5. False
6. True
7. False
8. True
Task 2
1. jelly
2. spider
3. clock
4. fish
5. headband
6. smell

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April Fool’s Day

© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

Jokes with your friends and family

Jokes in the news

© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

1. April Fool’s Day is on 1 April every year. True False

smell clock spider headband fish jelly

1. Put some jelly in a glass and ask someone to drink it!

2. Put a plastic in someone’s shoe!

4. Put a paper on someone’s back!

5. Put a on your head to make you more intelligent!

6. Use an app to search the internet for a !

© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

© British Council 2023 www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglishkids

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