Happy Spoonerism Day!

William Archibald Spooner
1844-2930

Today marks the birthday of Reverend William Archibald Spooner. He was born in London in 1844, and is especially remembered for the famous and often funny slip of the tongue named after him. A spoonerism was originally the accidental switch of the initial consonants or vowels of two or more words, but has also since become a popular wordplay game. Read more about Spoonerism Day at Mentalfloss.com

Here are a few Spoonerisms:
"tons of soil" for "sons of toil"
"I'll sew you to your sheet" for "I'll show you to your seat"
"It is kisstomary to cuss the bride" for "It is customary to kiss the bride"

William Archibald Spooner studied at Oxford and became an Anglican priest. For decades he was a respected member of the faculty at Oxford, lecturing on Christianity, philosophy, and ancient history, but he is mostly remembered for unintentionally transposing letters or syllables as he spoke.

The term 'spoonerism' comes from Spooner's name, but actually,  spoonerisms were rare. His fame for such comments was fueled mostly by students at the college. These students amused each other by creating many intentional spoonerisms that were undoubtedly funnier than the Professor's occasional accidents. Read more at www.nndb.com

Laughter is one way to engage students in the classroom. Excel Math lessons are another. With Excel Math, students learn practical ways to apply mathematical concepts to their everyday lives. The unique spiraling system and spaced repetition in Excel Math helps children become confident math students. Read the glowing reports from teachers and administrators who have seen it in action.

Do you have a favorite Spoonerism? Click on the word "Comment" below to share it with us. You may want to have your students make up a few of their own.

You might also like these articles:

Staying Fit Over the Summer Break

Helping Students Excel During the Transition to Common Core
Listen Up! Keeping Students' Attention
Summer: A Season of Math Learning

New to Excel Math? Preview elementary math lessons that really work for Kindergarten through Sixth Grade on our website: www.excelmath.com. Also find math resources for teachers, parents and students and download a sample packet at excelmath.com.