“The force is strong with this one.” – Darth Vader
May 4th is Star Wars day and what better time to teach and learn with the Force as you end the school year! Students of all ages enjoy Star Wars. The movies and books teach us about being heroes, complicated relationships with family, being brave, and picking ourselves up after failing or making mistakes. Below, find over 15 Star Wars themed STEM and literacy activities. You will also find Star Wars themed professional development tips for integrating technology, building a Personal Learning Network, and classroom management. Below is one of these resources, Bill Nye explaining the science behind Star Wars holograms using emoji.
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The Force for Students
- Find numerous resources and lesson ideas for teaching history, robotics, STEM, mythology, fine arts and more on the Star Wars in the Classroom website. Follow the Twitter account, @StarWarsinClass, to find some really great Star Wars themed resources for teachers.
- Inspire hands-on storytelling with Star Wars Shadow Puppets
- TED Lesson Plan- The Birth of the Lightsaber. Follow this up by building a lightsaber and learning some science, engineering and math as you do!
- 8 Jedi Math Practices Posters
- Find awesome Star Wars themed handouts to teach math on the Mathematic Shed blog.
- Star Wars themed coding a galaxy activity for ages 6 to 100
- Learn basic geometry (children) by drawing R2D2
- Star Wars Engineering Mission Cards for Children– use these to inspire children to build with Legos, recycled parts (makerspace), or with a 3D printer
- 18 things we learned from the Star Wars trailer has many ideas for teaching with this video trailer
- Tons of different Star Wars themed origami projects for hands-on learning
- Check out the Star Wars Kidcast podcast with great ideas and information. The podcast hasn’t been updated in awhile, but the blog is still current.
- The presentation, 15 Legendary Lessons from Master Yoda, can be used as writing or discussion prompts
- Find additional Star Wars writing prompts here and here
- Sound as wise as Yoda with the Yoda-Speak Generator
The Force for Teachers
- Everything I Needed to Know About Tech I Learned From Star Wars by Nick Provenzano
- What Would Yoda Do? A Jedi Approach to Professional Development by Rodd Lucier
- Jedi Like Classroom Management
- Slide presentation- Jedi Productivity! Get more done!
- Slide presentation- What Yoda Can Teach Us About Collaboration
- Slide presentation- Become a Presentation Jedi
- If Yoda Was a Good Teacher by John Spencer
Challenge: Try one of these ideas to teach with the Force or help your students learn with the Force!
