Media Lit meets Willie Wonka

8-10 yrs old

11-13 yrs old

Digital Literacy

Reading and Writing

Technology

Springboarding off of MEE's Charlie & The Chocolate Factory featured lessons, this Study Guide helps Canadian teachers use MC for MediaLit curriculum.

Submitted By: Jan Lewis

January 27, 2018

Lesson Plan
My Notes

Download Assets

Print Lesson Rework Lesson

Skills

Communication
Creativity
Critical Thinking

External References

Masters of Invention original MEE lesson created for The Roald Dahl Museum

The original lesson features on Minecraft Education Edition, portions of which are used as the backbone of these Media Literacy lesson plans.

Analyzing Minecraft Media Types (P.I.E.)

The learning activities associated with Lesson 2 in the Study Guide, converted into worksheet format by one of the authors.

Supporting Files

Minecraft Media Study Guide

Originally created as an etec531 partner project by myself and a fellow student enrolled in the University of British Columbia's MET program.

Learning Objectives

Ontario Curriculum Expectations: Media Literacy Grade 7 -- - Demonstrate an understanding of a variety of media texts - Identify some media forms and explain how the conventions and techniques associated with them are used to create meaning
Media Literacy Grade 7 continued -- - Create a variety of media texts for different purposes and audiences, using appropriate forms, conventions, and techniques - Reflect on and identify their strengths as media interpreters and creators, areas for improvement, and the strategies they found most helpful in understanding and creating media texts
British Columbia PLOs: English Language Arts -- - Think critically, creatively and reflectively to explore ideas within, between, and beyond texts - Understand how literacy elements, techniques, and devices enhance and shape meaning - Select and use appropriate features, forms and genres according to audience, purpose, and message
British Columbia PLOs: Arts Education -- - Reflect on works of art and creative processes to understand artists' intentions - Create artistic works collaboratively and as an individual using ideas inspired by imagination, inquiry, experimentation, and purposeful play

Guiding Ideas

Question 1: What are the similarities and differences between a print and a digital media form?

Question 2: What is the purpose of Minecraft as it relates to the "Purpose PIE" (persuade, inform, entertain)?

Question 3: What clues does the audience have in identifying the chosen purposes by the designers?

Question 4: What design elements and persuasion techniques would need to be included to convince your audience to chose your 'design' over another?

Student Activities

This Media Study Guide includes 3 lessons with extension activities and further research related to using Minecraft in a Media Literacy classroom.

Lesson 1 - Minecraft as a Media Text: Distinguishing Between Print & Digital Media Types

Lesson 2 - Minecraft P.I.E.: Identifying & Analyzing the Purpose of Minecraft Media Texts

Lesson 3 - Creative Blocks of Candy: Media Literacy Final Task using Minecraft Education Edition

To see specific student activities and extensions, download the PDF to view the full 13-page Media Study Guide created for this project.

Performance Expectations

The attached document is our contribution for a chapter of a Media Study Guide book by etec531 Master's students. The authors for this chapter teach in Ontario and British Columbia therefore the assessment reflects these two Canadian provinces. The Media Study Guide outlines three lesson plans connected to the above Focus Questions. Each lesson provides performance expectations which were created to be useful for curriculum assessment targets specific to Ontario Media Literacy expectations however, as highlighted above, they can easily fit within BC's generic Language Arts outcomes and probably many other Canadian and international school systems.

Each lesson builds upon the previous one, requiring greater complexity of student thought and response. Teachers should block out at least three periods for content presentation and several more once the culminating task has been assigned for student planning plus building time in-game, product presentations/Minecraft gallery walk, voting and evaluation of their chosen peer's media design.

Note: For schools without access to MCEE, this project can be completed using commercial MC or simply grid paper and product model building techniques, incorporating the square grid design to simulate Minecraft blocks.