7 Resources For Using Star Wars In The Classroom

21-04-2021
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I had a 'Star Helpers' chart where we kept track of everyone's weekly classroom 'chores.' I'm searching for ideas now and I found one to display student work called, 'A Galaxy of Stars.' You decorate the bulletin board with black paper and make cut-out stars (laminated) with each child's name. The original article from the Guardian can be found here, and my adapted version is below. Star Wars The Force Awakens (The Guardian) As a gist question, you can get students to read the article in 90′ and say if they think it’s positive or negative towards the film. Star Wars STEAM Challenges for Kids. I worked with my resident Star Wars mega-fan to make sure these activities were truly Star Wars worthy. Here are a couple of my daughter’s (i.e. My husband, the Star Wars Geek’s) favorites First step is to download the cards HERE and print them out. Then the STEAM force will be with you;). Pull out your lightsaber (or flashlight) for some shadow fun & learning with these Star Wars shadow puppets. (Childhood 101) Star Wars Building Activities. Building & Star Wars seem to go hand-in-hand these days, so here are a few new things to try. Kids can build spacecraft, droids and more with these fun invitations to play and learn. I teach 3rd grade acceleration (3rd & 4th grade math together) and I do a zoo map for area and perimeter. They have to create buildings for different animals using rectangles (but they can add multiple rectangles together to make odd shaped buildings and then have to determine perimeter (pretty easy) and area by finding the area of each rectangle and then adding them together.

Looking for some fun Star Wars™ activities for your young Jedi? You’ve come to the right side of the Force! From making your own finger puppets to fun trivia questions, we’ve got you covered for plenty of fun times in this galaxy … and the next!

  • Star Wars LEGO Coloring Page

    How will your LEGO Star Wars minifigures turn out? Pick up a crayon and find out!

    Ages 2 – 5

  • Star Wars Finger Puppets

    Create your own Star Wars stories with the help of these finger puppets.

    Ages 2 – 5

  • Star Wars Matching Activity

    Can you match each character to his shadow? Draw a line from the picture on the left to the corresponding picture on the right.

    Ages 2 – 5

  • Star Wars Maze Activity

    Solve the maze to help Luke rescue Princess Leia.

    Games for writing and representing two. Ages 2 – 5

  • Master Yoda Puppet Stick Craft

    Judge a puppet by its size, will you? Make up your own stories about the Jedi Master’s adventures with this fun Yoda puppet.

    Ages 3 – 6

  • Bith Band Spoon Puppets Craft

    The Mos Eisley Cantina may not be the safest hangout, but Figrin D’an and his Bith band—the Modal Nodes—sure make it hoppin’!

    Ages 3 – 6

  • Star Wars Battle of Yavin Maze

    Luke Skywalker has just joined the rebel fleet! He’s on a desperate mission to destory the Death Star. Help him fly through the maze to his target so he can win the battle!

    Ages 4 – 7

  • Star Wars LEGO Trivia

    Test your knowledge of LEGO Star Wars with these fun trivia questions. Answer them correctly and consider yourself a Jedi Master.

    Ages 4 – 7

  • A Glance into Yoda's Past Word Search

    More than 900 years old, Yoda has met many people and traveled to countless worlds in the Republic. Search the grid below to see if you can find just some of the people he’s met and places he’s seen over the years.

    Ages 7 – 12

  • Star Wars Creative Writing Prompts

    Inspire young Jedi to travel to a galaxy far, far away with these writing prompts created by the authors who’ve written Star Wars novels!

    Ages 12+

7 Resources For Using Star Wars In The Classroom Game

With the release of the new Star Wars trailer I thought this would be a great opportunity to use the film franchise to inspire learning.
Star Wars Scene Maker (this app is rated 9+ on the App Store so you're looking at upper KS2)

First things first, this app does have a great deal of potential but at a cost. For me, I will make the most of the free elements before deciding whether to purchase extra scenes, characters and weapons etc. I think that there is enough to play with initially without having to purchase these extras.
Basically the app allows you to create and direct your own scenes by selecting characters and giving them commands. This links nicely to creating algorithms and instructions and allows the children to watch their action unfold straight away.

7 Resources For Using Star Wars In The Classroom Games


As you can see above, there is a great deal of flexibility in terms of the commands available and a lot of freedom for children to create their own scenes.

You can also add dialogue by recording your voice for each of the characters and one of the most exciting parts of the app for me is the ability to add effects to your voice, such as making it sound like a Stormtrooper or Darth Vader! It's such a simple idea and works really well.

When you have decided what is going to happen in your scene and have made sure all of the characters and vehicles etc know what they are doing, you can record it.

This gives you the chance to be a director as you can choose your camera angles and change between them very easily. Again, this freedom makes the whole process very engaging and forces you to think carefully about how you want to show your story. George Lucas watch out.
Classroom
Once the scene has been created you can now add the finishing touches, like the classic Star Wars opening crawl, soundtrack and end credits.


What you are left with is a really polished, professional looking movie, which can then be used to inspire writing! Asking the children to write the story of the scene they have created gives them ownership and also guidance in that the storyline itself has already been decided. This means they can concentrate fully on their descriptive writing and they can even watch and rewatch their scene to help them.

I will be trying this with my Year 5 class after half term and we will see what they come up with!
Thanks for reading.
Tom