8-10 yrs old
11-13 yrs old
14-18 yrs old
Service Learning & Social Good
Social and Emotional Health
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The Minecraft: Education Edition Empathy Experience! TWELVE Minecraftian Families in need and your students empathize, listen and help! Awesomeness!
February 25, 2021
Lesson Plan
My Notes
Empathy Education Experience World File
Available at www.BBTNB.com/Empathy as well here is the entirely optional main world with guiding NPCs and teleports to suggested build sites.
Empathy Education in MinecraftEDU BLOG
The original BLOG entry on the topic of Empathy Education using Minecraft. (With Examples)
The Family's Challenge Cards
Print or host these on a classroom page for the students to read. This is the PDF version and next is the WORD version so you can use Immersive Reader
Word version of family cards for Immersive Reader
Use Immersive Reader in Word for struggling readers or full translation to other languages. Remember NPCs have immersive reader too
Images of challenge cards for online hosting and sharing
Share or host these online for students
Video Walkthrough for Teachers
See the experience ahead of time
Project Title Card 1
Title Card 1
Title Card 2
Empathy Education Title Card
Screen Shot 3
overview of main world
Can students develop empathy skills while aiding families in need? Can students generate a list of solutions for their individual situations? Can they critically select solutions from that list to implement for their Minecraftian families? Every student can easily understand that we all suffer hardships. Everyone knows a story that tugs at their heart strings. The villagers of Minecratia are no different and they need help! Students will be presented with different families in Minecraft suffering in different ways. Illness, expanding family, loss of jobs and even in-laws needing to move in are all situations they could encounter. Students will examine their situation, generate creative solutions, critically examine and choose solutions that will best help and finally implement them while building the family a dream home.
Extreme Minecraft Makeover Home Edition
Students in pairs or alone will select from a number of Minecraftian families who are suffering in one way or another. They will read/explore the family's situation and then creatively generate a list of possible solutions (perhaps even through research online) that could be implemented into a NEW HOME for this family.
After generation of the list they will critically choose the solutions that they feel are technically achievable and best solve the problems the family faces. This could also include terraforming the land OR complete relocation.
After fully selecting the solutions they wish to implement they will provide this final list to their teacher along with a timeframe for completion. Teachers act as the project supervisor and approve the project when they feel it is at a standard that is CORRECT for the given family.
Students then spend their allotted time working on the home for the family and complete the BIG REVEAL via screen shots, or the use FLIPGRID for a video walkthrough. They could log their entire process in the journal and submit for assessment as well. They could also ask for time extensions citing reasons why it is in the best interest of the family and supervisor.
Consider at the end of the project having certificates of Excellence or Empathy for students after they have solved the problems (to the best of their abilities) for their families.
The Extreme Minecraft Makeover Home Edition is the type of project that you won't find in many curriculum documents but it teaches valuable 21st century skills like Creativity, Collaboration, Critical Thinking and Character along with Empathy!
Students will select and review a random (or specific) Minecraftian family who are in need of assistance
Students will Brainstorm solutions for this family including terraforming and relocation solutions
Students will critically select the appropriate solutions for implementation and be able to justify the elimination of solutions and why others were kept
Students will present there chosen solution plan to their project supervisor (teacher) and respond to any improvement requests
Students will proceed with the implementation of the solutions in the timeframe agreed upon
Students will capture the final build digitally and present it to their project supervisor
Students will feel good about the work they did and know that they have just exercised their empathy muscles!
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