Instructional Software

Lesson Idea Name: Minecraft Off Grid Housing Project

Content Area: Environmental Science
Grade Level(s): 9

Content Standard Addressed:

SEV3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to evaluate types, availability, allocation, and
sustainability of energy resources.
c. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate data to predict the sustainability potential of renewable and non-
renewable energy resources.
d. Design and defend a sustainable energy plan based on scientific principles for your location.

Technology Standard Addressed (ISTE):

Empowered Learner: Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and
demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.
1b. Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning
process.

Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct
knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
3d. Students build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and
theories and pursuing answers and solutions.

Innovative Designer: Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve
problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.
4b. Students select and use digital tools to plan and manage a design process that considers design
constraints and calculated risks.

Selected Technology Tool:

Minecraft, the education version
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable):
https://www.minecraft.net/en-us/
Type of Instructional Software:
☐ Drill and Practice ☐ Tutorial ☐ Simulation ☒ Instructional Game ☐ e-books/e-references

Features of this software (check all that apply):

☐ Assessment Monitoring/Reporting
☒ Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students
☒ Multi-user or collaborative functions with others in the class
☒ Multi-user or collaborative with others outside the class
☒ Accessible to students beyond the school day
☐ Accessible via mobile devices
☐ Multiple languages
☒ Safety, security and/or privacy features

Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s): Creating

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☐ Remembering ☒ Understanding ☒ Applying ☐ Analyzing ☐ Evaluating ☒ Creating

Levels of Technology Integration (LoTi Level):

☐ Level 1: Awareness ☐ Level 2: Exploration ☐ Level 3: Infusion ☒ Level 4: Integration
☐ Level 5: Expansion ☐ Level 6: Refinement

Universal Design for Learning (UDL

This project really supports the how, why, and what of learning for students.
The engagement is supported through the media of the project. The students who are motivated and driven
will receive the peak interest that they need to succeed and this project gives them a lot of autonomy.
The representation that students need are given in an alternative way to display what they have learned
through the virtual building of a home completely off the grid.
Finally, the action and expression are accomplished by the students being given multiple tools for
construction and composition.

Lesson idea implementation:

This project will be introduced as a warm up the day prior to the students beginning the project. This will be
done by showing the students two short 15-minute videos that detail real life examples of people in our
current day world creating and living in off the grid homes. As they are watching them, they will be asked to
consider the questions of how they would attempt to do this themselves. “What kind of power source will
you have?” “How will you dispose of waste?” “How will you eat?” “Where does water come from?” This
project will pull from the knowledge that students have been learning throughout the unit and test the ideas
they have formed.

Students will think about these things and complete the current project they are on and come back to this
new one the next day. This project is going to take around 3 days. The time line for this will be evaluated and
extended if need be on the last day. Student learning for this project will be assessed with the project they do
on the computer game. The teacher will be observing the homes that students make and ask them the critical
questions about how their house is run. In addition to this, students will write half a page to a full page
explain the key aspects on how their home was built and runs. To go along with this paper, the students will
draft a rough picture of what their sustainable home looks like and attach it to the paper.

When students complete this project, they will be able to answer the question of how different renewable
sources of energy can be used to live off of the grid and be informed about the difficulties of living
sustainably. This project has extended student learning to a higher level by putting them in real world
situations and testing their ability to actually survive. This lesson is brought to a conclusion with students
presenting their final projects to the class and discussing what they thought went well and what they thought
did not go well. Students will be presented feedback from the class as they present, but they will additionally
be given feedback through comments that the instructor will leave on the written portion of their project.

Reflective Practice:
I think that this lesson will provide students will a simulated real-world opportunity to practice with the
knowledge they have been given about renewable energy and sustainability. I believe that because the
students are being given the opportunity to complete in a media that they already enjoy using and is
culturally relevant to them, they will be more motivated to succeed in the project and explore in ways that
they normally would not.
As this is the end of a unit, the activity cannot really be extended on the classroom, but throughout the term,
the instructor can incorporate sustainability in various other lessons.

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