Younglings of all ages will have hours of fun learning and making with these free Star Wars resources from Disney and Lucasfilm.
Part Two in a series of posts to highlight resources that support at-home learning....
There is no denying that Star Wars is one of the most popular franchises in history, with an extensive line of films, books, comics, toys and more that have inspired multiple generations through its powerful portrayal of the iconic struggle between heroes and villains that so many have come to know and love. While these stories are highly entertaining, they are instructive and educational as well. For nearly thirty years, I've used these exciting tales as a means of teaching a wide variety of topics across a multitude of subjects to students of all ages. The results of this work has been both exciting and inspiring and since Wes Dodgens and I launched Star Was in the Classroom in 2012, has had an impact on classrooms around the world. In a later post, I'll share some of that story for you but for now, I wanted to quickly pass along some terrific resources from Disney and Lucasfilm that you can use with your children as they are learning at home.
Star Wars Kids launched in 2018 with the debut of the highly acclaimed animated short series, Star Wars Galaxy of Adventures, a kid-friendly entry point to the Star Wars universe that depicts the major characters and pivotal moments of the saga in a bold and fresh new way. Since then, a variety of additional animated and live action content has been added to the site along with numerous games and activities. What follows is a brief description of each and a few suggestions on how to use them in learning.
"Welcome to Let's Make Star Wars, the craftiest show in the galaxy!" Join Marissa and Sean as they use simple household items to create exciting toys, games, and more. From Clone Wars Tic-Tac-Toe to Cardboard X-wings, you and your little maker can enjoy hours of creative crafting with these 15 (and counting) humorous and fun-filled shorts.
Do you have a youngling who likes to draw? Then be sure to check out this instructive and entertaining series that shows budding artists of all ages how to draw some of their favorite characters, creatures, and vehicles from the Star Wars universe. So grab your drawing supplies and your desire to learn and join the cadre of Lucasfilm's Art Troopers as they lead you step-by-step through the process of creating a fantastic work of art worthy of recognition in the archives of the Jedi Order...or at least good enough to be hung on the fridge.
Episodes include:
How to Draw Kylo Ren
How to Draw Darth Maul
Life Day Holiday Special
How to Draw Porgs
X-wing Drawing Tutorial... and more!
In this series, you'll follow students from a variety of FIRST Robotics Competition teams as they visit with droid builders, animation supervisors, toy designers and Imagineers at Lucasfilm, ILM, Hasbro and Disney World's Galaxy's Edge as they discover potential careers connected with the skills they are learning as members of successful robotics teams. These students are representative of thousands of young programmers and engineers who take part in FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Tech Challenge programs around the world. If your Padawan loves to build, design, or learn how things work, then participating in a FIRST Robotics program may be of interest to them. By watching these shorts, students will not only gain a basic understanding of what FIRST teams do, but also learn of some exciting potential careers that relate to things that they enjoy.
One of the most uniquely original takes on Star Wars to date, Star Wars Roll Out is a fun and fanciful series that depicts all of your favorite characters as rolling spheres just like BB-8. These imaginative stories, comprised of two to three "chapters" each, present completely original adventures that will entertain fans of all ages in your home. Since these stories contain no dialogue, kids can write their own "scripts" detailing what words they believe the characters would be saying based on the action and emotions they portray. Have them use descriptive language that includes as many adjectives and adverbs as they can. Afterward, ask your kids to summarize the story in their own words and explain to you what moral they believe is being conveyed.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
Beyond these video series, Star Wars Kids includes a few additional activities to entertain your little ones.
With these sheets, you have the option of using the online tools to provide color to your pages or can download and print a blank page to use with your favorite crayons, markers or pencils.
Star Wars Reads is an annual initiative sponsored by Lucasfilm, Disney, and a multitude of their publishing partners to promote literacy by engaging young readers with exciting stories and activities found in a wide variety of books and comics. Each activity found within the kit relates to a different title but you don't need to have these to enjoy the fun. To access the 2019 Activity Kit, different from the one found on the Star Wars Kids page, click here.
Over the next several days, we'll bring you more exciting ways to incorporate Star Wars into your home learning experience so be sure to subscribe to our page so as not to miss out on a single installment of this series. Good luck, and May the Force be with Us All!