Mountains of Jokes about Rocks, Minerals, and Soil

“The idea for Moun­tains of Jokes About Rocks, Min­er­als, and Soil and the oth­er books in this series was hatched dur­ing school vis­its. It’s no secret that stu­dents learn best when new con­cepts are pre­sent­ed as part of a fun activ­i­ty. And jokes are fun. That’s why I often use them at key points in my school vis­it programs.

“What’s more fun than hear­ing a joke? Retelling it to oth­er peo­ple. And what’s the most fun of all? Writ­ing orig­i­nal jokes and shar­ing them with class­mates and fam­i­ly mem­bers. That’s why this book fea­tures a 7‑page sec­tion with clear, sim­ple direc­tions that will guide stu­dents as they cre­ate their own jokes.

“Writ­ing jokes is seri­ous busi­ness. It requires crit­i­cal think­ing skills, encour­ages chil­dren to exper­i­ment with word play, and teach­es stu­dents to write tight­ly and pre­cise­ly. As young come­di­ans craft sci­ence-themed jokes, their knowl­edge of sci­ence con­cepts is rein­forced. So writ­ing jokes about dinosaurs and oth­er pre­his­toric crea­tures is a great way to inte­grate sci­ence and lan­guage arts.”