Landmarks in our Community

3-5 yrs old

6-7 yrs old

8-10 yrs old

Geography

History

Reading and Writing

By understanding where landmarks are and why they are significant, students gain an understanding of the community in which they are studying.

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Submitted By: Minecraft Education

October 26, 2016

Lesson Plan
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Skills

Citizenship
Creativity
Critical Thinking

External References

Landmarks For Various Countries

Use this link to find the important landmark of countries included on this list.

Nature vs. Man-Made Landmarks

Use this link to learn about Mt. Rushmore's rich history.

50 States, 50 landmarks

Use this list to find the most famous landmark in your state.

Learning Objectives

Students will identify natural and manmade landmarks in their community (ie: fire station, grocery store, park, school, giant tree, etc.)
Students will reproduce those landmarks in Minecraft using a flat creative world.
Ages 8+: Students will demonstrate accuracy by developing a replica of landmarks in their region of a state or country.

Guiding Ideas

Mini Lesson:

Hook: Read “Knuffle Bunny” by Mo Willems. Identify which things (or places) helped the characters quickly get to the laundromat.

o Introduce concept of landmarks, both natural and manmade.

o Brainstorm some of the landmarks in our community on a T-chart signifying which landmarks are natural and which are manmade (*Helpful to have images of local landmarks to ensure students are discussing the same locations.)

Student Activities

Independent or cooperative group activity choices:

Primary students:

Create landmarks in Minecraft to mimic our community
Minecraft savvy students may work on their own to create an entire community; beginner Minecraft students may work in a group to create one group community.

Ages 8+:

Divide the students into groups to create one classroom Minecraft “state” or “country”; groups can represent a geographic region.
- Students assigned to a geographic region must work to discover geographic and manmade landmarks from that region. • http://www.travelchannel.com/destinations/us/photos/50-states-50-landmarks • http://mrnussbaum.com/united-states/united_states_landmarks/
- Students will recreate landmarks in their Minecraft region.

Performance Expectations

Evidence of Learning:

Reflection of learning:

Discussion during presentation, in small groups or written:

Where are each of the landmarks located?
Which landmarks were natural and which were manmade?
Why did you pick the landmarks you presented?
What is that landmark’s significance to the region?
Which landmark was the most difficult to replicate? Why?
Which landmarks would you visit if you were able to travel to your region? Why?

Primary Students:

Presentation: Students act as a tour guide and show the community they created, while answering some of the questions above.

Ages 8+:

Students develop their own question or fill-in- the-blank statement for each landmark. Gather all questions to create a class-developed scavenger hunt.
Alternatively: Scavenger hunt, either online or printed: http://mrnussbaum.com/united-states/united_states_landmarks/
Screenshots, or screencast, of landmarks created