This winter our 3rd - 5th grade students at Hillcrest Elementary used Minecraft as a springboard for imagining other worlds. We used elements of the game to inspire stories based on Biomes, write about clashes with Creepers, create memorable characters out of Mobs that spawn in the dark and tell original tales of survival.
Below are a few of the students' creative Biome descriptions:
The Jungle
by Maia
Tall trees and tiny bushes
Flowers all shapes and sizes
different colors, textures
bright green grass
ahead is a cave, a large one
walk inside and it smells like fish
spiderwebs on all of the walls.
It is dark like the night sky.
deeper into the black hole there is a light
gold, and many minerals on the ceiling
sparks of colors all shapes and sizes
loud growls are heard and running begins
outside the smell is fresh and pleasant
Behind there are no more growls
The sun is bright and burning
All of a sudden, everything turns black.
Snowy Biome
by Diego
The snowy biome is
as white as a cloud. All around you
you see white. You can almost
taste the bitter cold. You can
feel the teasing wind, whipping
across your face. Wanting you
to give up. You can hear the
snow crunching under your
feet. That is my snow biome.
Noah wrote this letter from the viewpoint of an anthropologist about the Biome he was in.
Dear Family,
Today I discovered a new place in the south part of Asia. It looks a lot like a jungle. Even though I haven't seen all of it, it looks like a pretty cool place. The sound is very beautiful, the birds chirping, the animals all running quickly through the leaves. The smell of wetness in the trees and grass. All the leaves have little droplets of water and fall on the ground with almost no sound at all.
Sincerely,
Noah
My Name Is
by Aidan
I lost my name
in Notre Dame on a rainy day
I found my name
on a great plain on a sunny day
My name is tank
I live in plank
My name is made
From my sporty brain
My name can
Make a dam