If I had to pick my three favorite subjects, history would be one of them. In this post, I will be going over some ideas for encouraging even your most hesitant historian to join in the fun. Why? Because they get to play Minecraft® for school, and they get to use their imagination! Let’s talk about Making History Fun with Minecraft.
Minecraft in your homeschool is a win-win situation. You can play with your kids or give them assignments to complete as they play, and in both cases, you are making learning more fun and enjoyable for your students. If you want to tap into even more ideas, check out our post on Free Minecraft Printables next.
Beginning your Exploration of History with Minecraft
The first step? Look over the era you are covering in history. What kinds of things are your kids interested in? Maybe you have a child who is into cars, trains, airplanes, etc.? Or maybe you have an engineer who just likes to “make things happen!” Look for the things that spark their interest. Make a list of ideas, talk it over with your children, and gauge their reactions. If you already have an era of history you are studying, pull ideas from that.
History-Related Things to Build in Minecraft
These are all things you can build in Minecraft. They can be simple and stationary, or complicated with moving parts using redstone. Once your child picks something to build, they can research the topic, look at examples, and even write a short paper on their build of choice. Depending on the age of your student, you can add more requirements in the fields of science, math, composition, literature, or history all related to this Minecraft Build.
- Portcullis
- Pyramid
- Castles
- Planes
- Trucks
- Inventions
- Rollercoasters
- Houses from Different Eras
- Important buildings (White House, Capital, Notre Dame Cathedral, etc.)
- Indian Camps
- Log Cabins
- A Mineshaft
- Lighthouses
- The Possibilities are Endless!
You will see them start to get excited about the projects and (if they’re like me) have a hundred ideas about what they want to include. Ask your kids if they have anything they want to add to the list of projects. You might be surprised at their ideas and ambition!
More Ways to Make History Fun with Minecraft
Host a Competition! If they need some inspiration, you could look up what others have built (this may be the reason a child is hesitant) and what it looks like in real life. Depending on your children’s personalities, you could have a competition where everyone has to make the same general project. Make up enough prizes that everyone will get one (most creative, most colorful, most historically correct, etc.) and set a deadline.
Stage a Show-and-Tell. You could also have each child have a different project and do a show-and-tell. Have them state a few facts about what they have built. (The number of facts should be based on their age.) Older students can take screenshots, print pictures, and build a posterboard display or a slide-show presentation on what they have built.
Want more Minecraft ideas for your homeschool? Check out our 31-Day series –> Homeschooling with Minecraft.
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