Minecraft: Ancient History

In Everything with Minecraft we explore many different facets of the game, from mining & farming, to building & design. As these activities are mastered the students will also be taught and shown how the Minecraft activities are mirrored in real world history and science. They will learn about the pyramids and how they were constructed around the globe and will also get the opportunity to build a pyramid as a team in the game. They will learn all about ancient and modern farming techniques as they learn about how the game adapts this real life necessity into a fun activity and where the game takes shortcuts and makes this task easier than it was for our ancestors. Students will also learn about architecture and design both in the game and how it works for real structures like castles and the colosseum. Students will also undertake a project that includes the historical architectural features that they studied. Students will learn about teamwork during all of their construction projects and will also be challenged to explore the Minecraft world as they are instructed in the real challenges and pitfalls explorers like Lewis and Clark faced. Finally, students will learn about ecology and forestry in the setting of the different biomes that exist within the game and how they relate to what scientists and forest rangers have to do to maintain our pristine national forests.