Online Module 1: Gaming in Education

[Pat Brennan]

Design the outline of a scheme (3 to 4 lessons) that uses Minecraft in the classroom. The Scheme should tie into a number of subjects and should involve collaboration amongst the students.

Use the slides provided and the projects already made in Mindrising 2016 to give you some guidance.

Sample layout of assignment (150-250 words)
Title:
Lesson 1 : 25-50 word
Lesson 2 : 25 – 50 words
Lesson 3 : 25 -50 words
Lesson 4 : 25 – 50 words
Review : ( 50 words discussing subjects covered and how collaboration is integrated )

Post your assignment as a reply to this post.

[Pat Brennan]

Title: Titanic

Lesson 1: Introduction
• Explain learners will be completing a project on Titanic which will finish with a build of the ship (plus maybe separate features such as cross sections of the watertight compartments, lifeboats) in Minecraft, and inclusion of important information (e.g., chalkboards) for anyone visiting their build.
• Brief activity to stimulate interest such as KWL.
• Show some photos and provide basic information on Titanic story on IWB. Learners take notes in groups of 3 (assign one in each group to be the recorder) of anything they think to be of particular importance for their project, anything they would like to find out more about in their own research, any further questions they want to find answers to).
• L section of KWL completed.
• Group discussion and reporting back of where to go from here, i.e., what areas project should be broken into, how learners can find out more.

Lessons 2 and 3: Group Research
• Learners complete own research in small groups using tablets or laptops, downloading photos, watching videos, recording information in writing, drawing diagrams etc.
• In older classes, different groups could be assigned a particular area of research, e.g., structure of ship (how many levels, features such as swimming pool etc), the building company White Star Line.
• Groups report back to class.
• Photos can be printed and information put together on chart paper for display.

Lessons 4 and 5: Practise Build In Preparation For Minecraft
• Having spent a lot of time sourcing and gathering found materials at home, learners bring these to class to share with their small group.
• Groups plan how they will use the materials available to them to build the ship, and plan the build by drawing diagrams for example.
• Learners construct the ship from the found materials.

Review and Notes:
• Research phase of project may comprise more lessons to include activities such as a trip to local library, a visit from a guest speaker/historian, a trip to the Titanic Museum in Belfast.
• There is a Titanic Lesson available on Minecraft Education website https://education.minecraft.net/Y1SYV
• Curricular Subjects Addressed: History, Geography (e.g., intended journey mapped, location of accident found on map), Maths (e.g., based on passenger numbers, dimensions of ship), Literacy, Art, SPHE.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Vanessa,
great ideas and approach to the delivery of your scheme. The titanic is always one to generate interest and building it would be brilliant. Having a lesson or two where the students work on their group rules is something that could make the collaboration and teamwork run smoothly throughout the project. It is brilliant that you are using some pre-made lessons on the Minecraft Education website too well done. Having the research lessons and the design lessons are key. If they go straight to build mode they will have many problems and they have missed out on much of the learning. It could be a good idea to assign different parts of the build to different groups, this way the students do not end up arguing with one another and/or build in each others areas.

[Pat Brennan]

Croom Mill

Lesson 1
Introduce concept of project to pupils and inform them that we are going to do a project on Croom Mill.
Bring the pupils on a walk to the village to look at the Mill.
Bring the pupils to The Museum in the Old School to look at pictures of the Mill.

Lesson 2
Discuss The Mill with pupils and introduce them to the the idea of using Minecraft to build The Mill.
Ask pupils to draw pictures of the The Mill focusing in on details that they might use when building in Minecraft.
Go through pupils designs with them and encourage them to make changes if required.

Lesson 3

Assign pupils the tasks of designing The Mill on Minecraft.
Introduce them to the different Features of Minecraft Education.
Introduce them to coding and commands and allow them time to ptactise these new skills.

Lesson 4

Set the Pupils an assignment to build The Mill on Minecraft using any new skills they may have learned.
Encourage the pupils to look at each others builds as they are building and to question each other on methods they have used.
Take pictures of builds and place in portfolios.

Review

Bring in a guest from the Village to look at completed projects.
Share projects with other classes.
Ask pupils for suggestions for other projects they could complete in the same way.
The pupils will need to collaborate when doing their building projects.
There is integration with History as pupils examine the Mill and its function in the village.
Art and design is used as pupils draw up their plan of The Mill.
Pupils work together on their designs , SPHE.
Guest Speakers form a link between the past and the present

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Anne,
This sounds like a brilliant local History project. I think the idea of the on site visit and the Museum trip is great. It would give the children a real life connection to the history. It is very important the the students have time to complete a number of lessons and hours using the Minecraft Education app before doing this project. They will need to be comfortable and competent in the technology. Group work is essential throughout the project and I would suggest the groups are decided upon before the project even begins. Mixed ability small groups tends to work best for these projects. I really like the Idea of having the guest speaker and visitors in to explore the project on completion. this will give the students the opportunity to share what they have built and to reinforce what they have learned. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

Title: The Romans

Lesson 1:

Explain to the children that they are going to be completing a project on the Romans. They will be split into groups with each group having a specific focus e.g. Homes/transport/Games & Entertainment/Food. They will be informed that they will be constructing a Roman town together on Minecraft. During this lesson, all prior knowledge about the Romans will be discussed on the IWB and the children will complete a Spider Diagram.

Lesson 2:

In groups, they will complete research on their project. They will use a iPads, laptops as well as information found in the library. The children will self-nominate to take on roles within their own group e.g. researcher, architect, note taker.

Lesson 3:

During this lesson, they children will take the knowledge gathered to plan and design their structures/area for construction. The children will have access to maps, photographs and sketch paper.

Lesson 4:

Today the children will construct their structures/plant their crops in Minecraft. The teacher will host the world with each group having a designated zone in which to build.

Review:

The children will work collaboratively in their groups to decide on roles within the group and in the construction on their zone.

The finished project will be shared with the other classes in their year group.

The children will script, narrate and film a video to accompany their project to be shared on the school website.

Subject areas covered: Art, English, History, Geography, Maths.

[Pat Brennan]

To build a scale model of Kilmainham Gaol

Lesson 1:
Children will read about the events of 1916. Teacher will display a map showing locations of various buildings that were significant to the rising. Old photos and videos will be shown.

Lesson 2:
Children will focus on Kilmainham Gaol and the events that unfolded there. In particular the story of the executions and the marriage of J.M. Plunkett and Grace Gifford. Children will learn the song “Grace”.

Lesson 3:
Children will view Kilmainham Gaol in Google Earth. On their laptops they will have the opportunity to fly around overhead and virtually visit the location.
Teacher will demonstrate how to measure a distance in Google Earth using the ruler tool.
Teacher will explain that the class will be building a scale model of Kilmainham Gaol in Minecraft.
Children will be split into small groups and assigned different areas of the Gaol to build.

Lesson 4:
Teacher will assist with the initial footprint of the building in Minecraft. Teacher will place photos to help with the build on the walls of the classroom. Children start to build. The build may take a few more sessions.
One Group will dramatise the wedding of J.M. Plunkett and Grace Gifford for later inclusion in review video.

Review:
Children will write a paragraph on what they learned while building Kilmainham Gaol. They will include a sentence about teamwork and collaboration.
The teacher will record some of these for inclusion in a review video.
A small group of children will put together a video using clips recorded during the build and using the audio recordings mentioned as a soundtrack.
The children will add audio of themselves singing “Grace” to the section of this video dramatising the marriage in the Gaol Chapel in Minecraft.
At a later date, children will have the opportunity to create a slideshow of their journey through this project.
Children will visit classes throughout the school to present the video of the their project and take questions.

Subjects taught include: English, History, Maths, Music and Drama.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi John,
Fantastic scheme and well thought out lessons here. The idea of teaching them scale and how to use the google earth ruler is great. The students would love the story of Grace and there are numerous videos in the Mindrising website that show similar projects. These could be used to inspire the children. I like the idea of the students presenting their world to other classes and in doing so reinforcing what they have learned. The building process will take quite some time and i think it would be advisable to have specific examples of what rooms and parts of the jail are must haves and what other parts could be added later. This will ensure that the students get the basic part built and those who are extra savvy on in Minecraft can add in the extra features. Well done

[Pat Brennan]

Title: Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile

Lesson 1
Introduce the children to the planned project, which will recreate the historical buildings along Kilkenny’s Medieval Mile. Brainstorm with the children the historical buildings along this route and note all to be included in the project eg. Kilkenny Castle, Rothe House. Discuss the resources we could use to help in recreating the buildings in Minecraft eg. photos, maps, paintings. Put the children in their working groups.

Lesson 2
Take the children on a walking tour along the Medieval Mile with drawing pads and camera. Take lots of present day photos or video and encourage them to sketch the buildings their group will be working with and draw the Medieval Mile route. A visit to the Medieval Mile museum and the library to look at old maps of the city will also happen. Have as many visual aids as possible for the next part of the project.

Lesson 3
In a class group, the children will create a map of the route, decide on size and sections and agree where their buildings will be placed. When they are happy with how this looks, they will then disperse into their project groups. Here they will look at the style of their building and any notable features; the material used in building, the type of windows, doors etc. and draw their model. When the group have decided on the final design, they will then assign specific areas of the build to each member. (In this part of the project, time would be given to allow those not familiar with Minecraft experiment with building. I would pair them initially with a student who is confident with the platform.)

Lesson 4
As the build progresses the children will work together to develop a full story of their building (Who lived and worked in their building?) including at least one non-player character (NPC) who can interact with a visitor to their world. They must also decide what to include inside their building and what items of information to write at Info points. While some may not want to build in Minecraft, they can be responsible for the insertion of points of interest on chalkboards or creating conversations with the resident.

Review
The children will be asked what they have learned about the historical building in Kilkenny. Did they see features in the buildings they pass every day that they had previously never noticed? What worked well for them and is there anything they would do differently in their next project? In this project, the children work in the areas of History, Geography, Maths, Art and English. They would develop investigative and research skills, computational thinking and the skill of working collaboratively with a group of their peers. To mark completion of their work, pupils could present the finished project at a school assembly.

[Pat Brennan]

Greystones Harbour

Lesson 1:

Engage in talk and discussion on Greystones Harbour. Discuss what it looks like and its location. The children will be shown pictures of the Harbour before it was redeveloped. The teacher will show a brief PowerPoint on the harbour, explaining its former features and functions. The children will engage in reflection and compare and contrast the current harbour with the previous harbour. The children will be informed that they will be researching the harbour and that they will be constructing the 2 harbours in Minecraft as a whole class.

Lesson 2:

The children will work in groups to research the greystones harbours before and after. The children will note the changes that were made. The class will be told that they will be going on a walking tour of the harbour.

Lesson 3:

the teacher will demonstrate marking out the previous harbour on a map on the IWB using co-ordinates. The children will then be provided with their own maps to map out the current harbour. The children will do this in pairs.

Lesson 4:

For this lesson the children will be introduced to minecraft. The children will be reminded that they will be building both the previous and current harbours of greystones. The children will be put into groups (with children who are familiar with minecraft in each group if possible). This lesson will be a chance to become familiar with minecraft and to source the materials that they will need in order to complete their builds.

The children will go on to build the harbours in future lessons.

Review:

The children will be working as a whole class, in groups and in pairs. Peer tutoring will take place where possible (if some children are more au fait with minecraft).
The children will work collaboratively to explore the resources and materials available to them and how they will use them.
The children will also be able to present this project to other classes in the school.

Subjects covered include: History, English, Maths, Art, SPHE, Geography

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Sarah,

Excellent Local history project. The students would absolutely love this and I can see how it could be divided among groups nicely. Something that you could include in this project is the explicit teaching of group work and collaboration skills. I have found it very beneficial to get the students into their build groups and ask them to write up a set of group rules. they can then have this to hand during all future parts of the project and it will be very beneficial when it comes to resolving problems.There is a Minecraft introduction world that is preloaded in the App. I always use this when i am starting with a new class. It guides them through the basics and is very helpful. You will probably need to give the students 3 hours worth of “free play” and learning time with Minecraft before rolling out the build. Well done, a great idea for a project.

[Pat Brennan]

The great James Fox

1. This scheme of work started when our former school principal visited the sixth class to give a talk on a former pupil of the school James Fox who was killed in action during the 1916 Easter Rising. The principal initiated the talk by asking the pupils what they knew about the 1916 Rising. He worked on their knowledge and instead of basing his talk on a national level he focused on how the Rising played out in Meath by looking at the Battle of Ashbourne and finally at the life of James Fox.
https://www.storiesfrom1916.com/1916-easter-rising/james-fox

2. After the talk the class teacher split the class into groups and asked each group to work together in first retelling the story of James Fox. The teacher then discussed how they could recreate the scene of the shooting in St. Stephen’s Green. Old OS maps as well as old and new photographs of the area were distributed to the groups to discuss how they could incorporate this into Minecraft Education. A presentation of the GPO built in Minecraft was shown to the class at this stage. Each group were given a specific side of St. Stephen’s Green to design while another group were asked to design the Green itself.

3. Lessons 3 and 4 involved the children designing the build of the scene for St. Stephen’s Green in April 1916 on the Minecraft Education server. The teacher walked around the computer room ensuring all children were engaging in the build and giving help where needed. At various stages during the lesson the teacher paused the children on the server and asked them to view the overall work on the IWB screen. Each group was asked to share their work and how it was advancing. Feedback by the groups and teacher was also given.

4. Review

The children went back into their groups and asked them to dramatise the story of the killing of James Fox and how this could be incorporated into the build of St. Stephen’s Green. The former principal was invited back to the school to view the work and asked for feedback on the projects. The class also visited other classrooms to showcase their work in Minecraft Education.

Integration
English (Oral Language Development) Drama (dramatising the shooting of James Fox) History (Eras of great change and conflict) Geography (Using maps) Maths (Co-ordinates)

Collaboration
Collaboration was used during lessons 2-4 as the children worked in their groups retelling and dramatising the story of James Fox as well as their work in Minecraft where they were constantly giving feedback and problem solving their way through their work in building the finished scene in St. Stephen’s Green.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Barry,
This sounds like an excellent project. It is very relevant to those children and fits perfectly with their local history curriculum. The time that the teacher allocated for students to give feedback and assess each others work is an excellent idea. It allows the children to learn from one another. The idea of inviting the former principal back to review the work is also very good. It is important to have a motivation for the children and i think that if they new the principal would be coming back it would give them something to work towards. well done.

[Pat Brennan]

Title: Amelia Earhart

Lesson 1:
Introduce the topic to the class through Drama methodologies such as teacher in role. Hold a classroom discussion on the times in which Ameila lived and why it was such an important moment for women when she crossed the Atlantic. Allow the children to go into role as someone from this time.

Lesson 2:
Distribute resources ie. Books or devices to allow the children to collect research on Ameila, her history and Aviation. Split the class into groups and assign a role to each student. The students must then compile the information and explain how they could build this out using Minecraft. Block coding will be introduced to the class if they are unfamiliar and they will be given time to explore the MakeCode.

Lesson 3:
Complete a Science lesson on aviation and aerodynamics. Experiment with a number of different materials and discover what material would be best to build a plane (or parachute) out of.
Allow the children to build out their worlds in Minecraft, taking into account what they have learned over the past number of days. The children will take turns working in the world and will note what they build in the world.

Lesson 4:
The children are to prepare a presentation for the class. The presentation is to include a fly through of their world in Minecraft. In their world they must use blackboards and the portfolio to explain the builds and the history of Ameila. They must also show the code that they used to assist with their building and explain how coding helped with their project.

Review:
The children will be working in groups/pairs throughout this process. While building their world, they will also be using multiplayer and will be given the opportunity to work in the world at the same time.
The students are learning through a thematic approach integrating technology, history, science, drama and more. These lessons could also be brought forward more by allowing the children to build out an aeroplane using paper mache.

[Pat Brennan]

Theme – ISS – International Space Station (Space theme)

Lesson 1: Explain to the children that we are going to learn all about the ISS and brainstorm. Show the children a video of the recent SpaceX launch to the ISS on the IWB. Explain to them the History of NASA and how a commercial company have made a rocket that will travel to space! Talk and Discussion with the class. Why do we have an ISS? Does it rotate around Earth or just hover? Split the children into working groups.

Lesson 2: Recap on prior knowledge and show the children a video of the inside of the ISS. Explain to them that a human crew lives on board and conducts various experiments in space. Think, pair and share – why might astronauts conduct experiments in space? Research facts about that station using various websites. Record in groups using A3 sheets. Present to the class.

Lesson 3: Recap on all prior knowledge. In working groups begin the design process of building a new module for the ISS. The children must label their work. Shadow groups as they embark on this task.

Lesson 4 +++: The children will be introduced to Minecraft and Mooncraft specifically. I will model and explain to the children how to navigate through. The children will have to bring their design to life and ‘build’ a new module for the ISS. Differentiation for higher achievers might include an area to conduct experiments. To ensure assessment all children will have a portfolio in which they will take pictures and notes of their finished work. A blackboard will also be required to showcase their finished module.

Review: The children will work as a class but where possible I will split the class into groups of three and have children who are proficient using Minecraft scattered across the different groups. This will ensure collaboration and peer-teaching. A visit to DreamSpace as a school tour will reinforce their learning. The children will present their Minecraft ISS modules to the school as part of ‘Science Week.’ The children will complete their learning with a walking debate – what worked well with your group? Would you do anything differently?

Subjects covered: Art, Science, History, Geography, SPHE, English, Maths.

[Pat Brennan]

School Setting: Special School for children with autism and complex needs (MGLD)

Lesson 1: Introduction of directions that will need to be used to navigate in Minecraft through P.E Games-Forward/backwards/up/down. The warm-up, main body and cool down would incorporate games to teach students directions list. These directions would be assisted with visual aids. An example of this game would be “Simon Says”.

Lesson 2: SESE lesson on Houses and Homes. Introduction video explaining houses and homes. Labelling different parts of a house and materials used to build a house. Sorting game of houses vs other places in the environment.

Lesson 3: Art lesson to create a house. Using a variety of different materials and textures students can copy a sample house or design their own house.

Lesson 4: Introduce Minecraft for Education on laptop. Allow students to explore by themselves. Give students the task of placing blocks down and finding items in inventory.

Review: Students participating in different lessons mentioned as a group together as a group. Students can collaborate though simple tasks such as giving other students in the class equipment or materials that they will need. Subject areas covered; PE, English, Maths, Art, SESE and SPHE

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Sandra,
what a fantastic scheme idea. You have really managed to differentiate this lesson to suit the needs of your children. It is a great idea to split the scheme into very specific lessons that build towards the end result. Using P.E and directional language is an excellent start point for your class. The lesson on housing and characteristics of homes is also a great idea. It will get the students to think about what their home should include. There is great structure and development in this scheme. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

World War II.
WWII theme may span 4/6 weeks.
Lesson 1(/2): Introduction to WWII
Class discussion regarding prior knowledge of WWII. KWL chart completed on PP to record the children’s new knowledge afterwards.
Explain to children that we will be researching facts about WWII, completing draft pictures of areas/places involved in WWII and recreating these places in Minecraft Education. The children will be working in small groups to recreate the following places (but not limited to these. The children may suggest other places of interest to them) using Minecraft Education:
1. Liverpool, England: Anderson shelters in gardens, bombed houses.
2. Cornwall, England: Houses with black out blinds and showing rationed goods (food, make & do, repurposing items http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/categories/c1168/ ) including gardens growing vegetables/keeping chickens and cows.
3. France: The battle of Ramelle, saving a bridge from the Germans.
4. Paris: During WWII, Eiffel tower and surrounding area.
5. Berlin: The Brandenburg gate during military review including tanks and solders
6. Amsterdam: Anne Frank’s house during WWII
7. Normandy, D-Day landing: Tunnels and command posts, tanks, shooting towers, zeppelins, amphibious tanks.
Additional Minecraft Education work: Éiremarkings.ie,
Children will use notice boards/speaking parts and book and quills to populate their world with information and facts about their build and WWII.
The children will research and learn about the timeline of WWII and the major key events. We will discuss Ireland’s involvement in the war and what it means to be neutral.

Lesson 2: Research towns/cities.
Group work. Children work in mixed ability groups of three and begin their research. The children will use maps/google maps to find the towns/cities they are researching. The children will use primary sources of evidence (photos, written accounts) and secondary sources (stories and history books) to build their knowledge of WWII and its effects on the people in these towns/cities. They will use a rubric to help further their knowledge (e.g. number of people living in the town, city taken or managed to fight off the German advance, effects on the city/town,.) While the children are researching, teacher will pay music from the era of WWII (youtube/Spotify)

Lesson 3 Plan build
Continuing to work in their small groups and using the information gathered in the previous lesson, the children will begin to plan their Minecraft build on paper. The children will be given graph paper to help them plan the birds eye view of their project (teacher to give ratio of graph paper to Minecraft map) Further build details can be drawn on A4 paper. Groups will discuss what elements they will include in their build and conduct more research if needed (rubric will be provided by teacher to ensure children include all important aspects of their project such as buildings, chalkboards, people etc.) The group will plan Minecraft notice board arrangements and what facts and information will be written in them. Teacher will approve all drawings before they are finalised.

Lesson 4 Build in Minecraft Education
The teacher will host a Minecraft world and assign the children a section to begin their construction/building. Using their graph paper plan and drawings, the children can build their WWII buildings. Teacher will helicopter.

Review
By completing the Minecraft project, the children will have learned to work collaboratively and further their communication skills and school-work relationships. The class will have discussed working collaboratively and what this entails. They will work collaboratively throughout the project, working on the rules of engagement, respect and encouragement.
Teacher will review the complete process with the children and listen to suggestions as to what worked and what didn’t work.
After this project the children will be encouraged to present their Minecraft constructions to other classes and teachers. Opportunities for integration include English (oral, written & reading), Maths, Geography, History, Art, Music. Further integration comes in the form of Drama (air raids, using rations/make and do) Gaeilge (tíortha eile) and maths (ratio, length, area), History (lives from the past), Art (WWII posters to encourage recycling & make and do), Science (sound, electricity).

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Sharon,
What an excellent and detailed plan for a Minecraft Project!I have found that with some groups you may need to provide them with the list of “Builds” so that they can divvy out responsibilities.Having a large amount of ideas can sometimes overwhelm some groups who struggle to assign roles. For example, in a group that is struggling you might have to assign the specific buildings to the children. I like your use of WW2 music within the lessons. The students would really enjoy this project. I think it is fantastic how much ownership and responsibility you are giving them in each different lesson. It is so important to emphasize to them prior to each lesson that they need to work together in order to get through to the build phase. Including a lesson that specifically focuses on group work skills might help. The students could work in their build groups and design a group work policy with rules. they can then use this throughout each stage.

[Pat Brennan]

Creating an Ancient Roman World in Minecraft (Fourth Class)

Lesson 1: Introduction to the project.
Explain to the children that they are going to create an Ancient Roman World in Minecraft which will teach visitors to their world about Ancient Rome. Then start the research about Ancient Rome.

Lesson 2: Continued research about life in Ancient Rome
Children will continue to learn about more aspects of the lives of Ancient Romans, including: origins, homelands, Roman army, work and technologies, weapons, cultural or artistic achievements, leisure and pastimes

Lesson 3: Brainstorm of Buildings and other ideas to include in the Class’ Minecraft Ancient Roman World
The class will work together to brainstorm the buildings and other ideas that they will include in their Minecraft Ancient Roman World. They will then draw up a plan of the world and divide it into sections, assigning responsibility for each section to a different group.

Lesson 4: Building of the Minecraft World
The children will build their Minecraft Ancient Roman World. Each group will have responsibility of building their own section. They will also include a blackboard to explain to their visitors about that particular aspect of life in Ancient Rome.

Summary: Curricular areas which will be covered in this project will include: History (Early People and Ancient Societies ~ Romans), English (oral language – discussion and feedback throughout the project; Writing – Explanation writing for inclusion on the blackboards); Geography (developing map and graphical skills); Visual Arts (drawing of buildings and plan of Ancient Rome); Maths (estimating and measuring); SPHE (developing self esteem; collaboration skills)

Collaboration will involve the whole class deciding on what to include in their world and planning on where the different buildings should go. Once broken up into groups of 3 each group will work collaboratively to build their part of the world, dividing the building up into parts, or taking turns as is appropriate.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Nicola,
This is a great scheme With a well designed development towards the building of Ancient Rome. Your particular focus on collaboration is great as students will gain a lot from working with one another and it is a key skill that we as educators should try to consider more in our teaching. Be conscious that build day 4 will probably turn into build days 4,5,6, and 7 unless you are going to be building for the whole day. The building soes take considerable time,but it is time well spent. It would also be great to see some explicit lessons on group work skills being taught during the lead up to the project. this will greatly enhance the collaboration within the groups. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

Lesson theme: Island settlement
Curriculum areas: Drama; Science (Design & make); Visual art
Class: 6th
This scheme of work is targeted towards a class who have already some experience in the basic functions of Minecraft.
The scheme would be a follow on from the class novel Kensuke’s Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo.
Lesson 1:
Research/investigate: Children are arranged into groups of 3. The groups are set up to ensure there is a mix of experience levels. Each group is assigned a coastal destination/country and then uses World Book online to research their destination/country (e.g. location, language, food, culture, customs, daily life, economy, government) using World Book.
Introduce scenario: Inform the groups that on their way to their destination, their plane has had to make an emergency landing on an uninhabited island (fictitious/imaginary) near their destination.
Lesson 2
Map: Using flipchart paper, groups should then draw their fictional island in more detail (on large flipchart page) using local countries as a guide for creating landscape/ flora and fauna for it. They might name the island and have a key for the map.
Lesson 3:
Creating plan for building a village Each group is then tasked with building their village on the island. They will need to discuss what services their village will need, for example, homes, shops, a school, etc.

Lesson 4:
Creating blueprints: Following discussion and agreement, each group will need to create set of blueprints for each structure they plan to build. These blueprints should be as detailed as possible, using squared paper. Children should clearly label the various elements of each structure.

Lesson 5-8:
Build in Minecraft: Prior to the build in Minecraft, teacher will set up a world using an ocean or warm ocean biome.
The group will need to decide who is responsible for building each feature in their village. Groups begin to construct their chosen village in Minecraft. Advise group members to report back and check in with each other periodically.

Review:
Children create a fly through of their village using screen record. They can then present these to the class.

Follow on activities/ Integration:
• Language (Creative writing) – create journals of their time on the island
• Science – create mini rafts
• Art – create travel posters, t-shirts, postcards for tourists to the island

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Mairead,
This is an excellent idea. The stimulus of Kensuke’s Kingdom is fantastic and is sure to bring about creative ideas and engagement. You have also covered the subject of mapping in geography in your scheme. The students will find mapping their own islands very interesting and fun. I think that this project lends itself to the students having great ownership and creative control in their builds which is fantastic. These projects should be Child led and this is clear here. The idea of a fly through video is also very good. I think the students would really enjoy this. they could use the fly through to then create a voice over script discussing the reasons for each building. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

Lesson 1
This project would be based on History for third class. Strand; Local Studies, Strand Unit; My School, and Buildings, Sites or Ruins in my Locality.
Our school is a new Gaelscoil, in a new building reaching its first sixth class this coming year. It would be exciting to show, how, in the last twenty years the road that the school is built on, has changed and the introduction of the luas. Often, it is difficult for children of this age to make a connection with history of long ago but I think that this would be a project that would be discussed at home with interest, because it is so recent.
Brainstorm with the children on what they know about the school and the area. What resources we could use – perhaps parents have photographs of the school being built, what was on the land before the school. This would all be approached as a class effort to begin with.
We could walk around the perimeter of the school and down the adjoining road and chat about what they think was there before the luas and the school.
Talk about Minecraft, get feedback from users and non-users. Tell them that we are going to design our school and the luas in Minecraft and give them a buzz about what the project will entail.

Lesson 2
Introduce Minecraft. Explanation on the educational version versus the version they would have at home. Demonstration to the class on how it works, walking, flying, inventory, placing blocks etc. Put the children in pairs, allow them to work together and take turns on what has been explained.

Lesson 3
Put the children into mixed ability groups according to the information they retrieved from home from lesson one. Before starting on putting the information together, discuss as a class the rules of group work.
Each group will then make a poster with the group rules.

Lesson 4
Another demonstration on Minecraft and how an area can be divided and built on. Give each group their activity. Look at the area on google maps. Look at photographs. Each group will start designing their project on paper. Draw what they intend to build.

Review
Subjects covered during these lessons are; Irish – everything would be translated to Irish with language and vocabulary taught in an English lesson also, History, Geography, Maths, SPHE and Art.
Home would play a part as I feel the parents would enjoy this project also. Introduction to co-ordinates, investigative and research skills.
Group work and following group rules where every voice counts. Technological skills – introduction to non-users to Minecraft and a new and different use for those who already have Minecraft.

[Pat Brennan]

Powercourt House and Gardens

Lesson 1:

Introduce the idea of Powerscourt House and Gardens through brochure from the historical site, old pictures from the house and a copy of the census from 1911.
Pictures would be provided and the students would be asked to time line them. The teacher would show a PowerPoint presentation based on the family that resided there during the time of 1911.
Teacher would introduce the project, telling the students that they will be showcasing there minecraft version of Powerscourt House.
Teacher will elicit from students different ways in which they might research and complete this project. Student would be placed in mixed level groups to facilitate peer to peer learning.

Lesson 2:

Students will work in groups to research the Powercourt house and gardens. The students will be given shown old maps of the grounds. The teacher will demonstrate how to recreate the map using co-ordinates. The students will be given time to complete this in their groups. The students will be told that they will go on a trip to Powerscourt House and Gardens and have a chance to talk to a historian.

Lesson 3:

The students will be introduced to Minecraft. In their groups they will tackle their build of Powerscourt house and gardens, using their maps, old photos and information they gleaned from their visit to the House. The teams will support Peer to peer learning with the students who are more adept with minecraft taking on a mentoring roll within the group.
Lesson 4:

During this lesson the students will continue with their build as well as give time to a paper display from the class room. The teacher will show the students how to document their minecraft build through photos withhin the platform and the use of portfolios and books they can write within the game. These will be printed to accompany the paper display.

The students will continue this project with the end goal of presenting it to the rest of the school as well as taking part in Mindrising.

Review:

The Students will have the opportunity to work in groups and in pairs. Peer tutoring will take place, and all students will be able to work to their own ability within their group.
The students will work collaboratively with a range of resources and materials.

Curricular areas covered include: History, English, Maths, Art, SPHE, Geography

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Aisling,
Excellent scheme with some great lessons throughout. The students will need to have experienced Minecraft Education before this scheme. I would recommend introducing them to the Minecraft introduction world. we didn’t mention this world in the three days online but it has some nice features and can be a good starting point for students in Minecraft. The Idea of using Powerscourt is fantastic and I am sure it would bring a lot of engagement from students living near the area. As i have mentioed before to thers in the forum, I would suggest that you include a lesson on Group work and group skills in your preparation for this project. If the children were put into their build groups and designed a rubric/ set of rules for collaborating then this would help prepare them for the project. Well done

[Pat Brennan]

HISTORY
Strand
• Early People and Societies
Strand Unit
• The Celts
Learning Objectives
• Identify where Celts are on a timeline, compared to other early people and societies
• Describe a Celtic settlement
• Describe Celtic clothing, food and lifestyle
• Identify weapons and minerals used by the Celts
• Describe food eaten by the Celts and how they sourced their food
Lessons Overview
• KWL ‘The Celts’
• Look at timeline and identify where they come
• Children independently research information about the Celts and share with the rest of the class
• Station Teaching:
1; Photos of Celtic homes – Draw inside and outside and label materials used
2: Food – Sort foods into gathered, hunted, reared, harvested and made
3: Clothing – Examine and label Celtic clothing, draw into copies
4: Map – Look at maps using Atlas and write facts about the Celtic journey through Europe
5: Sequencing – Sequence story of the Celts using timeline numbers
• Treasures of the Celts – Comprehension
• Children plan for a Celtic Village drawing aerial maps in groups (Teacher Demonstrates)
• Children build Celtic villages in Minecraft
Resources
• ActivInspire – Comprehension (Twinkl) – Station Cards and Resources for Station Teaching (Twinkl/ Word/ Primary Resources)
• A3 Paper – Laptops – Padlet – Minecraft
Differentiation
• Different Expectation
• Key Words on Whiteboards Assessment
• Finished Work
• Participation
• Questioning
• Walk through of Celtic Villages (when complete)

[Pat Brennan]

Pompeii

Lesson 1
Children will be introduced to the topic of Pompeii. Children will learn the story of Mt. Vesuvius erupting. They will watch a video of the re-enactment of it. Children will look at and discuss the types of buildings that were there in Ancient Roman times

Lesson 2
Children will look at the materials used in the buildings in Pompeii. Children will also take note of the colours etc. Children will then decide on a building to create in the town of Pompeii. They will work in groups of 3/4.

Lesson 3
Children will plan out the structure of the town. Children will also plan out the dimensions of the town; looking at the area and perimeters of each building so that they are in proportion.

Lesson 4:
Children will work in their groups to make the town of Pompeii. They will then use these buildings to recreate the volcanic eruption and show the aftermath of the volcano in another world as a before and after.

Subjects integrated:
History – Children will be learning about early people and ancient societies
Geography – Children will be locating Rome on a map. Children will also be looking at human environments
Maths – Children will be using 3D shapes in their construction. They will also be using maths to determine the area and perimeter of the buildings
English – The children will be brainstorming and using oral language in their group work. They will also be using their presentation skills
Art – Children will be constructing. They will also be looking and responding to the early architecture.
Scinece -Children will be looking at the materials used to create the buildings.

[Pat Brennan]

Bridges

Lesson 1: The class will investigate how bridges work as part of a Science lesson. The initial lesson will focus on the science of force and load. They will gain an understanding of what elements are required to structure a bridge. The children will be divided into six groups examining different bridges (Arch, Suspension, Beam, Truss, Cable-stayed and Movable)

Lesson 2: Examining bridges in the locality. Children will use maps and photographs to examine the bridges that are in their locality. They will discuss materials used, purpose of the bridges and explore how bridges have evolved with technological advances that have been made.

Lesson 3: In their original six bridge groups from lesson 1, the children will sketch or construct their bridge. They will be given the option to sketch their bridges, identifying the materials required or they can construct a model of their bridge using K’nex.

Lesson 4: In groups they will construct their bridge in Minecraft. They will be all working in the one world which will be pre-made with a river that their bridge must be constructed on. They will work in their original groups assume roles of architect, engineer and builder. The architect must use the plan or model that constructed in Lesson 3 to instruct the builder how to build. The engineer will be responsible for identifying the most suitable materials that are to to used and the builder is responsible for the construction of the bridge. There will be a ten minute time allocated in each role.

Subjects integrated:
Science – Hydraulics, Force and Load
Maths – Number, Weight, Shape and Space
Geography – Natural Environment
History – Continuity and Change over Time
Art – Construction and Drawing
English – Oral language

Throughout these lessons the children will be working collaboratively in groups. They will have to assume roles and take responsibility for different aspects of the lessons. The groups will be arranged in a mixed ability grouping.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Anna,
This is a fantastic idea for a lesson. I really like the use of k’nex in it to further develop the children’s concept of the 3 dimensional design. Again, I have found that the pre teaching of group rules and maybe asking the students to draw up a group work policy in each group works very well. There is lots of scope for integration in this lesson and i think the students would find it really interesting. There are videos available online on bridge construction and what can go wrong if they are not designed properly. These could be great stimuli for the students. There is one particular video which shows Bridges swaying in the wind and it is one i have used when doing bridge construction projects with the students. well done

[Pat Brennan]

Outline of Lesson Scheme – ASD class (4 senior pupils) and reverse inclusion from 2 mainstream classes.

Heading: Our School

Lesson 1: Explaining the project, talking about Minecraft, buildings and drawing our school.
Setting up the groups – 4 groups of 3, 1 child from our ASD class and 2 from their mainstream class either 3rd or 4th.Selected by discussion with mainstream teacher to ensure not only mixed ability groups but ability to work together also.
Defining the roles and tasks for each group member – have role cards ready for each person. explain the roles will change for each lesson.
Introducing Minecraft allowing each group to try their skills.

Lesson 2: Take photos of the school and school grounds. measure around the school with a trundle wheel. Note the date over the front door.
Print photos. Get aerial photo of the school from the principal.
Draw out outline of the school.

Lesson 3: Start using Minecraft to build a model of the school.

Lesson 4: Continue to model using Minecraft with the intent to present to the school at next assembly.

Review: This cross-curricular project will cover elements of SPHE, Maths, English, Geography and History. More importantly it gives the kids in my ASD class to showcase their strengths and the reverse inclusion is of benefit to all.

[Pat Brennan]

Lesson 1: Introduction
The class will initially go on a guided walk of Terenure. The boys will be encouraged to look at the different architecture around them, types of trees and plants, the layout of the village and anything else that they find interesting. They will be told that they will be making a presentation/construction, but not about Minecraft…yet.

Back in class – discuss what was seen and place the different buildings of interest on a very rough map.

Homework – in pre-assigned groups:
1.find out about 3 different buildings/areas in Terenure (teacher to ensure that all buildings and areas of interest will be taken by at least one group.)
2.draw a scaled map of the village to include your chosen buildings

Lesson 2: Preliminary Findings
Each group presents their findings to the class (one building/area at a time to prevent overlap) and a more detailed class map of Terenure will be drawn up.
Introduce the project: the pupils are to create a scaled representation of Terenure to include the buildings of interest in their hey-day (i.e. the solicitors will become an art-deco cinema, Aldi will be a tram terminus etc.)
Information boxes should be included to teach the younger classes about the buildings or give interesting facts about different places. Boxes should be bi-lingual where possible.

Homework:
1. Map out Terenure on a grid.
2. Make a detailed drawing of the building/area that your group is focusing on.
Challenge: Can that building/area be drawn from the inside as well? (Visit it, use plans, online searches etc.)

Lesson 3+: Construction
In groups, start building using their research, old photos, maps and any other information they have found.
(It is envisaged that the teacher will lay out a very basic ‘floor plan’ of Terenure for the pupils to start working from. The class should also have prior experience with building/playing around with Minecraft education)
Each group will briefly report back to the class on their progress at the end of each session.
Jobs will rotate with each session. As we are only timetabled for laptops once a week, this part of the project could stretch out over a few weeks
I would expect that a couple of groups will be well ahead of other groups and they will be able to fill in the ‘blanks’ (the buildings/areas we are not focusing on)

Final Lesson: Presentation of Completed Village
Time will be allowed for each group to finalise their portion of the village.
Each group will present their portion of the project and time will be allowed for exploration of the whole village.

Discussion:
1: one interesting thing I learned from this project.
2: what I would do differently next time (or how not to make the same mistakes again!)

Finale: Each group presents the whole project to a different class in the school. (Therefore they must know something about the other parts of the project)

Review:
Subjects Used:
History, Maths (mapping), Geography, Nature, SPHE (groupwork), English, Gaeilge and Art.
Collaboration:
Each session will see the group jobs rotate, this should prevent one pupil doing all the work or excluding another.
The pupils will have time before they are to present to other classes to allow them familiarise themselves with the whole project and also to practice their presentation skills.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Rachel,
This seems like a great idea for the students. They will enjoy the idea of recreating their local area. The idea of rotating the groups might cause some dispute or demotivation with students but i would be keen to find out if it worked for you. I can foresee some student half way through building a house they are very proud of and then being moved to another group, thus becoming disappointed. I have found that when the students are kept in the same groups they become very proud of their work over time and even compete against other groups. I have also found that having prices for best group-work, best building, best overall town etc really motivates the students during this project. It would be interesting to see the students look at the new rail line plans and to include these in their builds. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

The Colgan Hall.

Between lessons pupils will be given ample opportunity to work on the actual building of their creation in Minecraft. I would envisage that this project would commence prior to Easter to give the pupils ample time to finish their creation. I would hope that the pupils will have had significant opportunities to use Minecraft to create small personal projects in the first two terms of the year.

Lesson 1: Pupils will already be familiar with the Colgan Hall as it is a building in the locality that is used for numerous extra curricular activities including drama and Scouts.
Using a photograph of the building pupils will be introduced to the project. Each year in June there is a heritage week in the town and a primary schools competition is part of the heritage week. Our school will create the Colgan Hall in Minecraft and present it as our entry.
A KWL chart will be used to determine what the pupils already know about the building.We will discuss briefly the history of John Colgan, the buildings namesake (this will be investigated further in subsequent lessons). Pupils will be assigned small mixed ability groups to work on their part of the project with each group drawing up a charter for behaviour, responsibility and roles within the group.

Lesson 2: Walk to the Colgan Hall. The Colgan Hall is a 10 minute walk from our school. The class will meet the manager of the Colgan Hall who can give them some insight into the history of the building and its current uses. Pupils will use sketch pads to take notes and create drawings of the Colgan Hall for reference. We will also use iPads to take photographs and videos of the building for further reference. Pupils will have been assigned a part of the building to work on so will be encouraged to take notes of their assigned part.

Lesson 3: School visit. Local historians and members of the Colgan Hall Heritage Committee will be invited to the school to talk and give a presentation to the pupils about John Colgan and the building itself. The Colgan Hall has been modernised in recent years to include a disability access lift. A large sculpture was also commissioned which graces the front of the building.

Lesson 4 and 5: Pupils will create the Colgan Hall in Minecraft (clearly this will take longer than 2 lessons). Pupils will be encouraged to create boards within their world giving information about the building. I would like to encourage them to create John Colgan who can give some information about his life. I would also like them to create some of the individuals they met over the course of the project such as the manager of the building, historians and committee members who can act as tour guides through the build. We will then record a fly through and submit it as our school entry for the Colgan Hall Heritage Week competition.

Review: Numerous subjects will be covered in this project including English: Oral language, writing and reading, History, Art and SPHE.
Pupils will work in mixed ability groups with roles assigned and agreed upon by each group.
Pupils will be working to a deadline (entry to the competition).
Pupils will be working with individuals from outside our school and will be encouraged to plan their questions to ask in advance as part of their group work.
Collaboration is key to this project with pupils and groups needing to be absolutely certain of their roles and responsibilities to the project. A lot of teacher feedback and support of groups will be needed as well as peer support.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Roxanne,
What a lovely idea for a local history project. The students would love this and the fact that it would be entered in to a competition would serve to really motivate them. I love the idea of the students visiting places that they are going to build to get a real sense of the scale and size of the buildings and it is brilliant that they can visit this so easily. I think it is also a fantastic idea to have the NPC characters to represent some of the people that are involved in the building. this is definitely something i will do in future projects. The kids would love dressing and designing these characters. I would love to see this finished video at the end of the year if you get around to making it please let me know. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Kevin,
I hadn’t meant rotating groups – I had meant rotating jobs within the groups, so they all get a chance to be the boss, the keyboard operator etc. and to stop one pupil from taking the whole group over. I agree, rotating personnel would be very demotivating.
I like the idea of prizes for best team-work, building etc. that would really motivate some of the boys. Our computer teacher or principal could be the judges possibly…
Thanks.

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Rachel,
Ah i See, great idea. They would love that and it would make sure everyone gets a fair chance of playing each role. I must give that a go with my next project myself. It would be a great idea to have your principal/computer teacher as judge. Well done.

[Pat Brennan]

The Stone Age
Lesson One
I am having the same class next year that I had last year. There were fascinated with the Stone Age. It is funny because we were just discussing the difference between then and now with health and hygiene before the Lockdown and what we take for granted with washing hands and if you got a cut, it could get infected which led us to the importance of medicine and antibiotics. It was a fascinating discussion so I would return to this lesson and use it as my first Lesson.

Lesson Two
I would share my experience of my Microsoft Minecraft Lesson and ask the children about their experience of Minecraft and their prior Knowledge. I would ask the children to build a village. I would integrate this with SESE History and Geography and English. I would integrate with Art by asking the children to first draw a map (geography) of their village. We would discuss in English the important feature of a village for early settlers e.g. Water/River, Animals, Crops.

Lesson Three
The children would begin work collaboratively in their groups. They would learn the value of turn taking and patience while problem solving creatively. At this point, I would step back in my role as teacher and allow the children to create their project independently. They would have the control to change their story and show how their stone age people survived or not. This could be a very fun experience.

Lesson Four
The children would then present their completed projects to the class.There could be a notetaker for the group. I would also integrate Procedure writing and have the children write the steps needed in putting the lesson together. They could then use this information to train other children in other classes or if they were part of my afterschool computer club we could continue this work and learning there.
This would be a fantastic resource and integrate so many subjects such as Art, Music, English, History and Geography.

[Pat Brennan]

The Metals – Dun Laoghaire
Lesson 1
• Introduce the concept to the class – to research and explore “The Metals” as part of our Local History, why/how it came about, its impact to the village of Kingstown, now Dun Laoghaire.
• Explain that each group will use Minecraft to recreated part of the trail with reference to an important landmark/individual.
• Create mixed ability groups, try to have children with some experience of using Minecraft in each.
• Ask each group to set down clear rules to be followed throughout – listen and be respectful, consider any/ all suggestions, work together, every team member is important….
Lesson 2
• Arrange a visit to the Library to look at old maps and photos of the route and meet historian, Rob Goodboy.
• Follow the trail map of The Metals: https://www.blackrockec.ie/images/trail—dun-laoghaire-and-the-metals.pdf
• Take notes photographs, videos and sketches of what they see.
• Identify interesting buildings, statues, points of interest, their group might work on.
• On returning to the library look at what everyone brought back, discuss different aspects of the route and agree what approach their group will take.
• Go home and research and gather information and visual aids.
Lesson 3
• Back in class study research materials found.
• Discuss and reach consensus on the format their project will take.
• Identify the roles each will be responsible for – researcher, notetaker, planner, artist..
• Collect information on the history of the trail, what the town was like, occupations, industry, economy, likelihoods
• Draw out the route. Put in key structures, features.
• Each member will construct a specific element of the trial, a building/ a person/a feature
Lesson 4
• Allow the groups time to play around with the technology and explain the code needed
• Using plans, drawings and sketches start to recreate their chosen aspect of the Metals using Minecraft for Education
• Begin construction on their project. Blackboards will be used to explain the different aspects of the Metals and their significance.
• More able student can demonstrate the skills to those less familiar with the technology
• Notes/pictures/video clips are taken of each step in the process, this can be used as a form of assessment later on.
Review
Lesson 5:
Each group will present their project to the class.
Using video recordings of the process will be used to show how they arrived at the final piece of work.
Review:
• Subjects covered include history, geography, SPHE, English and art.
• Throughout the project the students work collaboratively together in groups sharing information, making decisions on content, process, roles and construction.
• Ground rules are established early and adhered to.
• Peer assessment and self-assessment happen throughout the process
• Final presentation to class allows the student to showcase what was learnt.
• They can also reflect on the process – was it a success, what they liked/disliked, what they learnt about themselves, what is needed to do it better next time, how Minecraft could be incorporated into other areas of the curriculum.

[Pat Brennan]

Online Module 1:
Minecraft Project: The Viking Triangle Waterford

Overarching these lessons the students will write a recount of each lesson in the form of a diary entry.

Lesson 1: Introduce the Minecraft project and discuss previous experience of Minecraft among the students. Explain to the students that they will be working together to recreate a plan of the Viking Triangle in Waterford City. We will watch videos such as the example on Ireland’s Ancient East and look at various other online images and sites, as well as using textbooks and other online resources such as scoilnet

Lesson 2
We will walk the Viking triangle and take photos of points of interest. (This is only minutes from our school). We will visit Reginald’s Tower and the Waterford Treasure Museum. Through discussion we will decide on groups to work on different aspects of the Triangle. There will be four groups of six students. I envisage ‘Reginald’s Tower’, the building of the ‘walls’ of the triangle, ‘Viking Church’ where Aoife and Strongbow married and general housing to be the main groups., but this will be open to change depending on student ideas. Once the students are in their groups we will do some work on rules for group work through SPHE lessons.

Lesson 3
I will introduce a starter lesson from Minecraft education on Florence, Italy and give the students a chance to explore and play. Students will be encouraged to consider what aspects of this lesson/world will help them when it comes to planning and building their own world.

Lesson 4
Students will create a drawing or model for their buil, keeping in mind what they experienced in the starter lesson. What were the Challenges? What new ideas do they have?
Lesson 5
Students will begin work on their Viking Triangle.
Lesson 6
Students will review their diary entries . They will discuss their experiences within their groups and then we will have a class discussion. I will provide discussion starter questions.

[Pat Brennan]

Carlingford
Multigrade 4th, 5th and 6th class

Lesson 1:
The teacher will explain that pupils will be working in groups to research, sketch, build and present a number of those fortified buildings surrounding Carlingford harbour. These will include King John’s castle, Taaffe’s castle, the Mint and the Tholsel. Each project will be showcased as part of national heritage week.

The pupils will be divided into groups of mixed ability. Each group will brainstorm the attitudes, behaviors and skills that would be sought in an individual group member. The teacher will seek feedback from each team before drafting a list of rules for collaborative work. The teacher will highlight that each team will self evaluate their efforts during the review stage.

Lesson 2:
The pupils will partake in a walking tour of Carlingford, sketching individual buildings and utilising ipads and cameras to capture notable features or elements of each. A visit to the heritage centre will allow for preliminary research and the collection of photographs, documents and maps.

Lesson 3:
The teacher will assign a building to each group and utilise a WALT chart to outline the objectives for this project. Each group member will be assigned a specific role.

The children will engage in research using class computers and books to gather information about the features and functions of their building, the materials used, consulting photographs and creating timelines to document how it has changed over the years.

The children could create sample buildings using lego or wooden blocks.

Lesson 4:
The teacher will model and demonstrate the actions required to build on minecraft education including accessing inventory, placing and removing blocks and basic coding.
The children will engage in a free play session to practice these skills using a pre-designed world on Minecraft.

(The teacher will allow the pupils to develop their skills over the course of a week or two by asking them to build a two story house with a kitchen, sitting room, bathroom and one bedroom.
The teacher may host a number of mini whole class lessons at the start of these practise sessions to introduce more complex building skills before allowing the pupils to practice individually.)

Lesson 5 onwards
The pupils will begin building their assigned project.
The teacher will encourage them to consult the photographs gathered as well as their own sketches continuously and to adapt accordingly.
The children will utilise NPC and blackboards to tell the story of their building and to provide information to guests.

The building phase can be extended over the course of a week or two.

Review:
The children will record videos of their buildings, explaining it’s history and noting important features. Each video will be showcased in celebration of National heritage week.
The children will review the process, outlining what they might do differently, highlighting their favourite part of the project and suggesting future uses of Minecraft Education in school or at home.
The children will reflect on their teamwork using a group self evaluation form.

Integration: English – Oral language,
Maths – Shape and space, measures
Geography – Natural environments
Science – Materials
History – Continuity and change
Art – Construction

Skills : Problem solving
Collaborative skills
Computational skills
Analytical skills
Self evaluation or reflective practice

[Pat Brennan]

Hi Saoirse,
Great idea. The student would find this really engaging and relatable. What a lovely way of bringing local history into the present. I really like the idea of the students exploring the area first and then also getting to use wooden blocks and Lego before they begin their building. I have only recently come across TinkerCad. https://www.tinkercad.com/dashboard and have found it to be very good for building out designs. Perhaps this could be something worth considering in these projects.
Overall, this is a fantastic idea, with some really great examples of integration and child led learning. well done

[Pat Brennan]

The Celts – Celtic World

Using Minecraft as a medium for integration,
collaboration and game based learning in the classroom to create an immersive learning experience for the children to enhance their knowledge and understanding all about the Celts, their culture, habitations and customs.
Learning objectives – To enable the children to work creatively to create a Celtic village with NPCs to guide other students around their Celtic World.
Enable the children to work collaboratively in groups to build several Celtic settlements that were found around Ireland.

Lesson 1-
Offline lesson on the history of the Celts and their place in Irish history.
Divide the children into groups based on Minecraft knowledge and experience (Balancing the groups with varied knowledge abilities) to carry out research into the lives of the Celts and their methods of constructing homes and forts.
Use a wide variety of mediums to carry out their research – Text books – Internet – Library – magazines.

Lesson 2 –
The children after having done their initial research will work in their groups to correlate the information they found and decide on what type of buildings they are going to create.
The children will then draft drawing of the building and create small scale models of their Celtic homes and other structures. (Possible art opportunity to create models of a Celtic village/Settlement)

Lesson 3 –
Introducing the children to the World of Minecraft. – In tandem with the class teacher the children will be alloted time to explore the Minecraft World in pairs or alone (giving them the time to become familiar with the functions of moving in the World and creating basic block walls.
In allowing the children to explore the World (basic Block of grass World with creative mode)
they will be afforded the opportunity make mistakes and learn from them in a safe non judgmental way) This lesson will also give the children the chance and freedom to create meaningful content that is relevant to them and will enhance their overall understanding of the Celts and their history.

lesson 4 – Planning and creating a Celtic Village – In this lesson, the children will be invited into a shared World, to start building their collaborative villages. This will most likely be done over a few sessions to allow the children sufficient time to be as creative as they possible can. It is important that each child is given a role or a task to work on to encourage collaborative skills and to develop confidence in using Minecraft as a medium for showcasing their offline and online work.

Lesson 5 – In this lesson the children will be shown how to use NPC (Non player characters) to guide others (other classes – parents – school teachers) around their Celtic Worlds to showcase their work and skills.
This is a great way to build confidence in Children to take pride in their creative skills.
The NPCs are a great medium to show and teach others about the period of history of the Celts and their influence on our traditions and languages.
The children can also create a recording of their villages with voice overs and commentary to share with the wider school community and parents.

These lessons are an excellent way of allowing the children to learn and collaborate in small groups using the medium of Game based learning to work creatively in an immersive world that is hands on and engaging to tie together the work carried out offline and in the Minecraft world of the Celts.

Planning on the part of the teacher is crucial for the success of the lessons.

[Author]

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