Minecraft Revisited.

The last time I looked at Minecraft was before Microsoft bought them out.  So I thought it was time to revisit it.  Minecraft is still a program that captures student imagination as they play and design things. 

So they have created lessons using minecraft so students can put their knowledge together.  The site has a new look and the lesson plans are organized according to subject and age grouping. 

I chose math when I went to the front page of the web site.  As soon as it landed on the math page for lesson plans, the page had suggestions for lessons to look at for beginner lessons, featured lessons, lessons for fractions or area and volume.  At the bottom of the page is a see all lessons buttons.

I looked at a few different lessons to see how they were set up, what they contain and such.

1. Velocity time graph and displacement designed for students aged 11 to 18.  It is labeled as being for math, economics, and science.  The lesson its self has the learning objective, guiding ideas, student activities, performance expectations, and an extension. 

The lesson begins by having students read velocity-time graphs to learn more about what they look like.  Then they are asked to create  a velocity- time graph on graph paper to represent what it would look like in Minecraft before actually building it in Minecraft.

Once its created and the student makes sure it's correct, they then use the mathematical equations provided in the guiding ideas sections to prove the displacement from this new velocity-time graph.

2. The Prime vs Composite lesson is designed for ages 8 to 13 but could be used for older students if they need remedial lessons.   At the beginning of the lesson, they are asked to create a 4 by 4 array in Minecraft to see it takes 16 blocks to create it.  Then they are asked to create a few other arrays out of the blocks.  Once they are comfortable with this, they are asked to create arrays for certain prime numbers such as 13, or 23 but they can't do it except for a 1 by the prime number.

After a discussion on how composite numbers can be placed in arrays and prime cannot, students are given a task to complete to show they understand the difference.

3. Minecraft Slope for ages 14 to 18 years old.  This lesson is designed to introduce students to
the idea of how slope effects the effectiveness of a roller coaster.  Students are divided into groups to represent companies who are going to create a roller coaster for a new amusement park.  The ride will have three levels of slopes and needs to work.

After they've done the design, they are going to conduct an analysis of the project and the finished product. 

If you haven't been there recently, check it out to see if there is something you'd like to do with your students.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.