Plate tectonics is the unifying theory of modern Earth science, but many university students have misconceptions about it that introductory geoscience classes often fail to correct. We developed a 5-to-12-hour-long hands-on active-learning curriculum for an introductory geoscience class for education majors. The curriculum includes: (1) A simulation of plate boundaries; (2) A world map onto which the students plot past earthquakes or volcanic eruptions; (3) A presentation answering one of five typical exam questions about plate tectonics; and (4) A pop-up book answering all those questions created by each student, which the student gets to keep. The effectiveness of this curriculum was measured using the Geoscience Concept Inventory, a standardized test with several questions about plate tectonics. The proportion of correct answers to questions addressing plate tectonics increased significantly and substantially between the pre- and post-test, indicating that this curriculum improved student understanding of plate tectonics and could be used to teach students the basics of plate tectonics in an introductory geology or geography class.