Room transformations are so much fun and raise the level of student engagement. Who wouldn't want to participate in a light saber "fight" during English class?
To wrap up our unit on adjectives, we had a Star Wars day. I bought blue and red pool noodles from Dollar General. I cut them in half and used black electrical tape
and grey duck tape to create the handle. I made 26 for around $16 bucks. Not bad!
The other thing that I bought to make this activity come to life was fabric from hobby lobby. I bought tan and cream fabric and made sheaths for the students to wear. I also bought twine to wrap around their waists. The twine did not work. I shred and ended up all over the floor. I will choose something else for next year. This purchase was more expensive. To me, it was worth it, but it is definitely not something you have to purchase.
The important thing to remember about room transformations is that you must tie it into your content. If you don't, it's just fluff and no one has time for that.
With Star Wars music playing in the background, I flashed a topic on the white board like color, size, shape, emotions etc. The students worked with their partner to create a list of adjectives for the given topic. After the list was checked, the number of adjectives they got correct was how many times the students could use their light saber. There was a time limit and when the next topic was presented all "fighting" came to an end.
Step 1: Brainstorming
Step 2: Action
When the kids are engaged, it makes the learning stick! Even the Assistant Principal wanted in on the action.
Star Wars was an easy room transformation and one of the kids favorite we did this year. If you have done a Star Wars lesson, I would love to hear from you!
May the force be with you,
Tricia
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