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FOR TEACHERS, AFTER-SCHOOL DIRECTORS, SCOUT LEADERS, LIBRARIANS, HOMESCHOOL FAMILIES

MR. TWISTY'S COMEDY CLASS

A 4-week stand-up comedy curriculum from Mr. Twisty — 45 years performing for kids, taught in real after-school classes, free to run. Kids walk in. Four weeks later they have a real comedy show.

📅 4 weeks ⏱ 50–60 min / week 👨‍🏫 Grades 5–8 👥 6–15 kids 🔒 Nothing uploads. No accounts.

What this is

A four-week comedy class kids actually want to come back to. By the end of week four, every kid has either performed a stand-up set live in front of friends and family, or recorded a video they can share — their choice.

You're not teaching joke-writing. You're teaching joke-telling. That's the load-bearing distinction in this curriculum. Kids who haven't done comedy before don't start by writing their own jokes — they start by picking jokes they love, performing them, and discovering their voice through delivery. The original-joke writing comes later, once the kid is hooked.

Quick framing for week 1. Mr. Twisty's intro line that sets the whole class up: "There's a difference between TELLING jokes and PERFORMING comedy. By the end of this, you'll be performing." Use this. It works.

The four principles

If you remember nothing else from this page, remember these.

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TELL FIRST. WRITE LATER.

Kids start by picking jokes from the library. Original writing is bonus, not core.

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KINDNESS BY CURATION

You only let kids pick from a kind-humor library. Don't lecture — just curate.

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PERFORMANCE IS THE LESSON

Reading out loud, with pace and pause, IS the curriculum. The video/live show is the payoff.

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LOOSEN UP FIRST

Improv games aren't deep skill-building — they're how you get kids unstuck.

Week-by-week

Use the website's Make A Show wizard as the kid's homework between weeks. In class, you're the live energy. Online, Mr. Twisty walks them through it.

WEEK 1

The Hook

First week. Strangers. Get them laughing in the first 5 minutes.
⏱ 50–60 min 👥 Whole group 🕒 First class

What you do

  1. Mr. Twisty walks in funny. Open with a 2-3 minute bit of your own. Don't introduce yourself first — just start. They'll be hooked when they realize THIS is the teacher.
  2. The frame. "There's a difference between TELLING jokes and PERFORMING comedy. By the end of this, you'll be performing." Set the goal: in four weeks, every kid has their own show.
  3. Kindness contract. Two-minute conversation. The deal: in this room, we never punch DOWN. Punch UP (the strong) or punch yourself (the comedian). Never punch sideways at someone in this room. Lock this in early.
  4. Loosen up. 15-20 minutes of improv-style warm-ups. Tongue twisters. Funny face stretches. Yes-And in pairs. Three-word jokes (give them three random words, they make a joke). The goal isn't to teach improv — it's to break the awkwardness.
  5. Tell a joke. Each kid picks ONE joke from a curated handout (or the website) and reads it to the room. That's it. No prep. No script. Just stand up, read it, sit down.
  6. Send-off. "Homework: at mrtwistyscomedyclubhouse.com, do Step 3 — find 5 jokes you love."
🎤 MR. TWISTY SAYS

Week 1 is about laughter, not learning. If you can get every kid to laugh out loud at least twice before they leave, you've done the job. Skip the rules slide. Skip the syllabus. Just be funny.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
  • "What's a joke YOU heard recently that made you laugh?"
  • "What's the difference between a funny KID and a kid being MEAN?"
  • "Who's a comedian you watch?" (Use this to learn what kind of comedy each kid is drawn to.)
IF A KID IS STUCK

Shy kid won't read out loud in week 1? Don't push it. Let them watch. They'll join in by week 2 once they see the others survived. Forcing it creates a comedy-trauma kid.

WEEK 2

Get Loose, Get Picking

More improv to loosen everyone up. Start curating their joke list.
⏱ 50–60 min 📂 Joke library access ✏️ Printable joke sheets handy

What you do

  1. Warm-up (15 min). Two improv games of your choice. Recommended: Yes-And Story (two kids build a story by alternating sentences, each starts with "yes, and"), and Last-Word Story (kid says a sentence, next kid starts theirs with the last word).
  2. Joke library tour (15 min). Open the Workshop on the website or hand out printed joke sheets. Categories: knock-knocks, one-liners, animal jokes, school jokes, food jokes, dad jokes, puns, sports. Each kid picks ONE category they like most.
  3. Pick five (15 min). Each kid scrolls or scans and picks 5 jokes they love. The rule: "If it doesn't make YOU laugh, it won't make anyone else laugh."
  4. Try one out (10 min). Each kid stands up and reads ONE of their picked jokes to the group. No prep. The class judges — thumbs up or thumbs sideways. If thumbs sideways, the kid picks a different joke.
  5. Send-off. "Homework: aim for at least 5 jokes in your saved set. We're building your show next week."
🎤 MR. TWISTY SAYS

Week 2 is the recruiting week. The kids who were shy in week 1 will start to come out. The kids who were ON in week 1 might overdo it. Praise pickers, not performers. Whoever picked the best joke that week gets the "Comedy Eye" award.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
  • "What category of jokes do you like best? Why?"
  • "What's the difference between a joke that's a little funny and a joke that's REALLY funny?"
  • "When a joke bombs — whose fault is it? The joke's or the comedian's?"
IF A KID IS STUCK

Kid can't find 5 jokes they like? Sit with them. Read them out loud yourself in different voices. Sometimes the joke lands once they HEAR it — reading it silently doesn't always work for kids.

WEEK 3

Build the Set

Order matters. Strong first, strongest last. Practice out loud.
⏱ 50–60 min 📋 Set-list cards or website 🗣️ Lots of reading aloud

What you do

  1. Quick warm-up (5 min). One game. Just enough to shake off the school day.
  2. The set-list rule (5 min). Teach it explicitly: STRONG joke first (hook the audience). STRONGEST joke last (close strong, leave them wanting more). Middle is for jokes you're not sure about — the audience is settled in by then.
  3. Build your set (15 min). Each kid arranges their 5+ jokes in order. They WRITE THEM DOWN in order. Numbered. Hand-written on a "set list" card — comedians actually do this.
  4. Practice out loud (20 min). Pair kids up. Kid A reads their full set to Kid B. Kid B gives ONE specific note (slow down on punchline / louder at the end / look up between jokes). Switch. Then switch partners and do it again.
  5. Quick share (5 min). Volunteers do their set to the whole room. Three volunteers MAX. Save the showcase for week 4.
  6. Send-off. "Practice your set OUT LOUD three times before next week. Three times is the magic number. The website's teleprompter helps."
🎤 MR. TWISTY SAYS

Three times out loud. That's the line. Once is reading. Twice is memorizing. THREE times is when the rhythm starts to feel like yours. Mention this on every break.

DISCUSSION PROMPTS
  • "Why does the LAST joke matter so much?"
  • "Why do comedians pause before the punchline?"
  • "What's better — saying a joke loud or saying a joke slow?"
IF A KID IS STUCK

Kid hates their order? They might have the wrong jokes. Send them back to the library for 5 minutes — sometimes the set-building reveals which jokes don't actually land. That's the point.

WEEK 4

SHOW DAY

Live performance OR video recording. Their choice. Their show.
⏱ 50–60 min (more if you can) 🎥 Phone/tablet for video kids 💃 Families invited (optional but recommended)

What you do

  1. Final practice (15 min). Last run-through. Same pairs as week 3. One last note each.
  2. Pep talk (5 min). Your own version. The standard Mr. Twisty pep talk: "Walk on. Look at one friendly face. Take a breath. Say your first joke. Pause. Smile. Keep going. If you forget a line, look down at your set list. Done. You're a comedian."
  3. The show (25 min). Two stations — LIVE STAGE for kids performing in front of the group, and VIDEO BOOTH for kids recording to camera (the website's Step 6 handles this). Kids pick their station.
  4. You host the live stage. Big intro for each kid. Bigger applause after. Mr. Twisty energy. Kids love being introduced by name — "Coming to the stage… Jordaaaaan!"
  5. Closing ceremony (10 min). Every kid gets a "Charter Member of Mr. Twisty's Comedy Clubhouse" certificate. Take a group photo. Their video downloads with Mr. Twisty branding baked in — they can show it to grandma immediately.
🎤 MR. TWISTY SAYS

The first kid up always struggles. Pick the kid you KNOW will land it as your opener. They set the energy for everyone else. Don't pick the kid you're worried about — let them go third or fourth, when the room is warm.

AFTER THE SHOW — QUICK CIRCLE
  • "What did you do today that scared you before this class?"
  • "What's something a different kid did that you're going to steal?"
  • "Are you going to keep doing comedy? Where?"
IF A KID FREEZES MID-SET

Walk over. Stand beside them. Whisper their next joke. Smile at the audience. Once they restart, walk away. NEVER let a kid leave the stage having "failed" — you walk them through to the end. This memory lasts forever.

Optional Week 5: Encore

If you have a fifth week available, or a kid wants to keep going, run an "encore" week. Same structure as week 3 + 4: they swap in NEW jokes, build a SECOND set, perform it. The second show is where kids start tweaking jokes, varying delivery, adding their own bits. Original-joke writing belongs HERE, not in week 1.

Running this with different groups

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After-school program

Default setup. 50-60 minutes works perfectly. Run weekly.

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Scout troop

Compress to two long sessions (90 min each). Week 1+2 in session one. Week 3+4 in session two with the show.

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Summer camp

Run as a week-long daily class. Same structure, 4 days, show on day 5.

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Library program

Run as a 4-session series. Add a family-show finale — libraries love bringing in caregivers.

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Homeschool / Co-op

Run weekly with 3-8 kids. Use the website's Make A Show wizard as the structured part; live sessions are for performance practice.

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Classroom (ELA/Drama)

Ties to speaking/listening standards. Run as a 4-day enrichment unit. Set show is the assessment.

Frequently asked

Do kids need to write their own jokes?

No. That's the whole pedagogy. Real beginners start by TELLING jokes (Mr. Twisty's curated material), not writing their own. Original writing comes later — weeks 5+ — once the kid is hooked. Skip the writing-first trap.

What about kids who say "this is dumb" in week 1?

They're scared. Don't push them. Let them watch. They will ALWAYS join in by week 2 once they see the others survived. Forcing it backfires.

How do I handle a kid who tells a mean joke?

You don't lecture — you curate. The website's joke library is already filtered for kindness. If a kid brings in a mean joke from outside, just say: "That one's not in our toolkit. Pick a different one." No shame. No big deal. Move on.

Can I run this without the website?

Yes. Print joke sheets (use the website's Workshop, print individual jokes). Run it entirely live. The website mostly helps with practice (teleprompter) and recording. The pedagogy works on paper too.

What if I'm not funny?

Doesn't matter. You're not the comedian — the kids are. You're the coach. Your job is to be warm, energized, and to introduce each kid like they're headlining at Carnegie Hall. The rest takes care of itself.

Can I record the live show on my phone?

Yes, with parent permission. Standard release form. Be careful sharing — never post a kid's full name with their image without explicit consent. The site's "Record" path keeps recording private to the kid's device, which is cleaner.

How do I motivate a kid to keep practicing at home?

The video. Knowing they'll record a real show in week 4 that they can show grandma is the motivator. Reference the show. Talk about it weekly. "Three weeks until your show. Two weeks. One week."

Ready to run this?

The Make A Show wizard takes a kid through the whole thing online. Use it as your in-class demo, or send it home as homework between your sessions. Free, forever.

Try the kid wizard →