
Whatever you're into, there's probably a Funko Pop! series dedicated to it. Harry Potter, Star Trek, Doctor Who, NFL, Golden Girls, NBA, NHL, Ghostbusters, Adventure Time, Indiana Jones...look, just go here and see for yourself. It's astounding how many there are. And at $10.00 (or less) a piece, they're incredibly easy to indulge in. It's kind of a problem.
With as ubiquitous as Funko Pop! has become, for me it was an easy enough jump from the action figure strategy I explain in Play Like a PIRATE to having students design Funko Pop! figures as simple biographies of characters they're learning about in class. Historic figures, great inventors, characters in novels -- anything in your curriculum that has a human in it would work. Or sometimes not human... In any case. Not as much research is required for the Funko Pop! figures as the other action figure strategy, and the Funko Pop! style is stylized and simplified enough that even young students can design characters they're proud of.

Funko Pop! is one of the biggest toy lines around, and your students have seen them. Most of your kids probably have a few of them. You might have a few looking you with their creepy-cute dead eyes RIGHT NOW. Find a way to take that appealing toy and make it work with kids. They'll love it.
The template for the Funko Pop! assignment is free, under my Action Figure Templates in the sidebar.
Some examples of student work:
Just in case you thought I was kidding about the Golden Girls...
If you like this idea, check out a hundred more ways to use toys in the classroom in my book Play Like a Pirate: Engage Students with Toys, Games, and Comics -- available on Amazon and at Barnes & Noble. It's fun. It's funny. It will change your life. It will make me a few bucks. To go spend on more toys. It's the circle of life. And now that song is in your head.