8-10 yrs old
11-13 yrs old
Reading and Writing
Work to build a home on the island based on descriptions from the text.
September 26, 2019
Lesson Plan
My Notes
Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson Minecraft world file
Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson world to support lessons.
Litcraft Website
LITCRAFT uses the popular Minecraft gaming platform to build accurate scale models of authorial maps from classic works of literature.
Java World
Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson Minecraft world file for Java editions of Minecraft.
A Home From Home
Full lesson plan and additional activities.
Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson Extracts
Extracts from Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson to support activities.
This series of lessons is designed to help teach English Language Arts concepts through the study of "Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe, and "The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann Wyss.
Reading for Information
Read the two extracts about the additional dwellings made by Crusoe and the family.
Why do the characters in these two novels decide to build another home?
Support your answer with evidence from the texts.
Read the extract from Swiss Family Robinson. Identify the key improvements that the family make to the cave to make it habitable and draw out a plan of the inside of the cave following their description.
Look at the extract from Robinson Crusoe:
How important is the idea of home in these two texts?
What does the building of the additional dwellings tell you about this?
Start by loading the Robinson Crusoe and Swiss Family Robinson Minecraft world file found in the resources section.
In-Game Activity: A Home From Home
Use the map of the island to locate the site of Crusoe’s summer house and build it as accurately as you can, following his description in the book.
Once it is built, prepare the ground nearby and plant and grow a range of crops using his seeds and tools.
Use the items in this chest to set up some kind of protective system for your crops to keep birds away.
Make a pumpkin pie to celebrate your harvest. (You will need pumpkins, sugar and eggs).
Now catch some wild animals on the island using whatever means you can, and keep them safe.
Extension Activity if time allows:
Take the mine cart rail back to Swiss Family Robinson Island and use the map to find the Underground cave/ grotto. This is located somewhere on the rocky shoreline near Tent House.
Find diamond in the rocks and dig down.
Using the description from the book to ensure you are accurate, turn the grotto into a house as the Family did.
NOTE: There may be a useful surprise hidden in the grotto…
Which shelter would you prefer? Why might it be useful to have more than one at a time?
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES: Debate
Warm up by considering the following questions in relation to the extract:
Hold a class debate where one side argues that Crusoe is right to take the action he does do and where the other argues that they are wrong.
Write a persuasive letter to Robinson Crusoe explaining why his actions are wrong and the consequences of them.
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