I can testify how teaching with humor has transported me many times from a chaotic classroom environment to one that is composed. My experiencs as a K-12 art teacher desperate to maximize order in the classroom helped me to effectively displace teaching exhaustion with productive whimsy.

FYI- I do not include praise as a strategy energizer because I assume praise for students is ubiquitously operational in thriving teachers’ classrooms. Instead, I add practical devices to redirect misbehavior and consequences students can expect if they are determined to misbehave: 

• 1. Rules (to inaugurate behavior expectations)

• 2. Consequences (to equitably deter misbehavior)

• 3. Routines (to guide student activities in the classroom)

• 4. Devices (to redirect misbehavior) 

• 5. Engagement (to gain student attention)

Read more about how these are implemented The Art of Teaching with Humor.