For students, theory is often one of the most daunting aspects of sociology--it seems abstract, removed from the concrete events of their everyday lives, and therefore intimidating. In an attempt to break down student resistance to theory, instructors are increasingly turning to active learning approaches. Active learning exercises, then, appear to be an effective mechanism for overcoming the fear and resistance students often exhibit with respect to theory. In this paper, the author describes one exercise that she has successfully used in an introductory, first-year sociology class. The activity, which she calls "The Irrigation Exercise," is designed to reinforce, in a concrete way, the tenets of functional and conflict theory, which have been previously introduced in class lectures and readings. The author's goal in this exercise is to help students see functionalism and conflict theory as more than scholarly abstractions.