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Minecraft: Education Edition Lesson PlanTitle: Maze EngineersIntroduction/Background: Creative professionals often need to think carefully and logically through problems in order to deliver the best possible project that fulfills their client’s needs. There are a few different methods used throughout the professional world, such as Design Thinking and the Engineering Design Process. Students can benefit from learning these step-by-step critical thinking methods, as they can apply those methods to solving other problems that may arise both in and out of the school’s walls. In this lesson, students are challenged to design and create a maze for a cornfield, estate, or theme park according to a set of criteria given by the “client”. First, students will research existing mazes and labyrinths to learn how they are created and decide what properties successful and entertaining mazes have in common. Then collaborative teams will use that knowledge to design a maze for an imaginary client, based on requests the client makes, using the Engineering Design process or Design Thinking. Finally, teams will create their maze using Minecraft: Education Edition as a 3D software design tool, seek feedback from others, and present their creations.World RequiredNew Creative World -or-Creative map divided into individual sections for each teamAge Group(s)Ages 8-12Subject Area(s)EngineeringMathArt Skill(s) DevelopedCritical ThinkingCollaborationCommunicationCreativityLearning Objective(s)Students will research real-world mazes and labyrinths and compile notes on attributes of successful mazes.Students will, in collaborative teams, use the engineering design process to create a themed maze according to an established set of criteria.Lesson DescriptionMini-Lesson (whole class): Navigate this corn maze with Google Street View to give students a frame of reference. Be sure to read the signs at the entrance point and notice interesting signs along the way. Discuss the experience, including what made the maze fun, difficult, frustrating, etc. Watch a video (such as this) or read an article ( HYPERLINK "" \h Newsela or DOGO news, for example) that explains how these mazes are designed and constructed, and find other online images and/or videos of corn mazes, hedge mazes, and the like.Discuss either Design Thinking or the Engineering Design process (as appropriate for your students) and its use in creating solutions to problems or when designing projects. Talk about how this process could help maze designers create good mazes.Explain that your students will be “hired” to design a maze for a client. The client will want a certain theme and might have special requests for the design. Have students divide into cooperative groups. Each group will either choose or be assigned a theme, size requirement, budget, and/or special client requests, depending on their abilities and time constraints. (See the cooperative group activity choices for more information)If desired, have students spend time researching more information about maze/labyrinth design, taking notes along the way. What qualities make a maze successful? What is the difference between a maze and a labyrinth? Which would be a better choice for their client?Using the design process discussed earlier, have students first brainstorm and sketch possible maze ideas (graph paper or an online graph paper template might be helpful). After getting feedback from either the teacher or other groups, decide on a final design and move to Minecraft to construct the 3D model. Present the final designs to an audience. Have users actually run through the maze and provide feedback to the group about the maze’s difficulty, theming, and enjoyability. Once the presentations are completed, have students reflect on the project either in writing or in discussion groups. How did the design process help? What, if anything, would they have changed about the design or construction? How did the 3D maze stand up to testing by an audience?Cooperative group activity choices: Choose any or all of these, and modify as desired.Theme: Allow groups to choose their own theme for the maze, or have them draw a card from the Theme deck.Size requirement: If using a pre-divided map, size will be restricted to the area inside each section. Give no size requirement at all for fewer constraintsRandom Rectangle Generator - Roll a number of dice. Multiply the resulting numbers together to find the maximum length of a rectangle. Roll again and multiply to find the width of the rectangle. The area of this rectangle serves as the size constraints for the maze. (Alter this generator as appropriate for your students’ abilities, but ensure the results give students ample room in which to build) Note: Minecraft blocks are generally considered to be a cubic meter.Budget:Assign Minecraft blocks a monetary value, then either give students a budget constraint or have them submit a budget to you on the estimated cost of construction.Special Requests from the Client:Have students choose a card from the Special Requests deck face-down, or allow them to select one from the list.Add additional requests to further challenge your students ?Evidence of Learning:Journal with notes on maze/labyrinth researchJournal with notes on work from design processWritten reflection ExtensionsTake a field trip to a maze in your area.Create mazes for robots (such as Ozobots, Spheros, or Mindstorms), and program the robots to solve the maze.Use PVC pipe and bedsheets (or any other inexpensive or readily-available materials) to make a maze for your fellow students to try out at recess. Print the mazes using a 3D printer. Add a ball bearing and cover in plexiglass for use as brain teasers in classrooms or the library.Skype with an engineer or other creative professional to find out how they use critical thinking processes to solve problems and design solutions.Study the Greek myth Theseus and the Minotaur, and discuss the role of the labyrinth in the story. Write a new myth that features a maze or labyrinth in its plot. Theme CardsSpooky and ScaryWinter WonderlandDown on the FarmTropical ParadiseSuperheroesMedieval CastlesWizards and WarlocksSpies and SecretsCity of the FutureBooks GaloreVideo GamesWorld of SportsDinosaur AdventureCelebrating Our CountrySweets and TreatsSpecial Requests CardsInclude water elements, such as waterfallsCreate the maze entirely inside a multi-story buildingInclude hidden doors within the walls of the mazeBuild bridges and towers for staff to supervise the mazePlace informative signs throughout the maze so patrons can learn more about the themeCreate a hidden-object game within the maze. Hide objects and challenge patrons to find them all.Make two separate mazes of varying difficulty that intertwine with each otherPlace a snack bar in the center of the mazeHave staff members stationed throughout the maze to give hintsCreate a labyrinth instead of a maze.Incorporate tunnels into the design of the mazeMake the maze partially transparentDesign the maze so that patrons travel through differently themed buildings or roomsCreate a hedge maze that fits with the themeIncorporate trees into the maze designCreate Your Own Cards ................
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