Educator Guide

Unit 1
60 minutes
Single Student

Coding with Minecraft:

1- Introduction

EDUCATION.MINECRAFT.NET
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THEME OVERVIEW
This unit introduces students to computer science and coding. It provides students
with an overview of Minecraft: Education Edition and Code Builder. It will start
students with coding experiences and introductory tutorials in MakeCode.
NOTE: If your students have experience with Minecraft: Education Edition and
Code Builder, you can skip ahead to Coding with Minecraft: Unit 2 – Events.

LESSON OBJECTIVES
• Learn basic navigation in Minecraft: Education Edition using a keyboard,
mouse, and the WASD keys.
• Become familiar with the interface of the game and MakeCode
• Be introduced to their Agent and the basic Agent moves using the
MakeCode interface
• Begin to understand the concept of Decomposition as students break
problems down into codable solutions for the Agent
• Begin to see the importance of Sequencing, putting things in order, so that
the Agent can complete its tasks

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

• Students are given a radio in the first slot of their hotbar. This item allows
students to reset the coding activity.
• Remind students that there may be more than one solution for each of the
activities.

MINECRAFT MECHANICS
C C
Summons the Agent and opens the MakeCode
interface
T T
Opens chat panel in Minecraft for commands to
be typed
ESC ESC
When a student wants to leave the game, leave
chat, or pause the game

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CODING BLOCKS
On chat command
Runs the code when the student types the
chosen text in the chat window

Spawn
Summons a creature at a given location

Repeat
Runs part of the program the number of
times you say

KEY VOCABULARY
Computer Science – the study of computers and algorithmic processes, including
their principles, their hardware and software designs, their [implementation], and
their impact on society
Minecraft – game-based learning platform with endless creativity and possibilities
Controls – provides the ability to move during game play (will defer based on
devices)
MakeCode – the coding program used in-game to create algorithms

LESSON ACTIVITIES
Direct Instruction (Teacher-Led; “I Do”)
Welcome to Coding with Minecraft, a place to learn all about the basic concepts of
computer science. We are going to spend time learning these ideas in Minecraft:
Education Edition. To help us on our journey, we are going to start off by learning
what is computer science. (slides 1-2)

Lead a discussion with students about computer science. (slide 3)

We are going to use Minecraft throughout this course. What is Minecraft?

Minecraft is game-based learning platform with endless creativity and possibilities.
(slide 4)

Guided Instruction (Teacher Modeling; “We Do”)

Activity 1: Exploring in Minecraft

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Now, we are going to explore how to play within the game. Have all students log
into Minecraft: Education Edition. After students have logged into the platform,
show how to use the controls to move in Minecraft. Show the video (slide 5) which
is appropriate for devices: keyboard or touch.

Follow the instructions to demonstrate the basic functions in Minecraft. (slide 6)

• How to use the controls to move (keyboard & mouse OR touch controls)
The video on Slide 5 will cover these concepts. Have students practice
moving around.
• How to look around
Explain that while in game, you are looking around the Minecraft world.
Everything you see is from the perspective of your player avatar. If you play
with other players, or in multiplayer mode, you would see the other player’s
avatar. There are a lot of things happening in the world that you are not able
to control such as weather, mobs walking around, and such.
• How to open and use your inventory
Press “E” to open the inventory. Within the inventory, you will be able to find
construction, equipment, items, and nature. Allow students to check out the
different blocks and items within each section of the inventory. Then, show
students how to add to inventory into their hotbar.
o Select an item
o Drag and drop into to the desired spot in your hotbar
• Build and mine
Allow students to explore how to stack blocks on top of one another to build
something of their choice. Consider the types of materials available. For
example, if you are going to build a house—what would you use to create
the walls, the door, the windows, and the roof?
HINT: Try using the keyword search to see if the items already exist.

You should pause after each step and ensure everyone is with you. Answer any
questions as they arise. After you provide students with the demonstration, give
them time to explore, play, and build within the world.

Activity 2: What is Coding?

Use Slide 7 to discuss what is coding and then follow up with the questions:
• What do you do with computers?
• What else can computers do?
• How do your parents or family members use computers?

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Explain that all of these things are possible because of coding and computer
science. Computers, coding, and computer science are part of lives and impact
almost everything we do at school and for fun, in our personal and work lives. The
possibilities are endless and people who code are figuring out more and more
ways for computers to help us. No matter what you want to do in the future,
technology and computer science will be a part of it. This course will introduce you
to coding and hopefully get you excited about coding—even if you have no desire
to become a computer coder/programmer in the future. Knowing how computer
work and using computer science skills is for everyone!

Having a coding mindset (slide 8) will be important for everyone throughout this
course. Review each of the statements.

Activity 3: Introduction to Code Builder

In Minecraft: Education Edition, there is a built-in coding editor called Code
Builder. You can access Code Builder by selecting “C” on your device. (slide 9)

In Code Builder, you are able to select from 3 different editors: Microsoft
MakeCode, Python with Azure Notebooks, or Tynker. For this lesson and the rest of
the lessons in Coding with Minecraft, we will be Microsoft MakeCode. The
MakeCode image can be found at the top, with the purple puzzle piece. (slide 10)

Any time you are starting a new project, you will select the green “new project”
button with the + sign on it. (slide 11) Then, students will be prompted to name
their project. For this part, model and ask students to just type in “SAMPLE
PROJECT” into the space and then select the green “create” button to continue.
(slide 12)

When Code Builder opens their new project, introduce the different components of
Code Builder. It is important students know and understand the various names, as
there are specific terms for each of these spaces. Moreover, as you continue
through the lessons, more computer science terms and vocabulary will be
introduced and used regularly. (slide 13)

Slides 14-17 will demonstrate how students will be able to switch programming
languages. Within Microsoft MakeCode, you can code in Blocks (which is what we
will use for the lessons throughout Coding with Minecraft), JavaScript, or Python.

Activity 4: Chicken Rain Tutorial

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Instruct students to select the “Home” button (found in the top, left corner) of the
Code Builder screen.

We are going to code our first project! Select “Tutorials” and then select “Chicken
Rain”. Select the “Blocks” version and start the tutorial. (slide 18).

You will see this image of Chicken Rain pop-up on your screen. Select “Ok” to
continue. (slide 19)

Code Builder will support you through the coding activity, “Chicken Rain”. There
are typically three strategic steps to follow: (slide 20)
1. Read the coding task.
2. Use the MakeCode blocks from the toolbox to build your code. Drag and drop
the needed blocks into the coding canvas.
3. Press the green arrow to run your code.

In this tutorial, there are multiple steps. You need to pay attention to various steps
in order to successfully build your code. (slide 21)

If you are stuck, there are the blue lightbulbs—which are hint buttons. These hints
will provide your guidance on how to proceed with the code. However, you should
ONLY use the hints if you are truly stuck. The goal is build our your coding skills!
(slide 22)

Independent Work (Teacher Support; “You Do”)

Provide students with the opportunity to go through the coding task, “Chicken
Rain”. Have students test their code once their program is built. They will need to
select the “T” to open the on chat field. Students should type in “chicken” and then
press the arrow to run the program. (slide 23)
If they are successful, they should have a whole lot of chickens raining from the
sky and then running around on the ground! (slide 24)

Coding Solution:

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Bonus Activity
If students are finished, have them experiment with coding. Have students try to
make it rain something else or change the position the “rain” falls.

LESSON CONCLUSION
Upon completion of this lesson, students should be able to answer the following
questions: (slides 25-26)

1. What is an on chat command?

Answer: Code is triggered or happens when you type the appropriate
command in the chat window of Minecraft.
2. How do you get to Code Builder?
Answer: Press “C”
3. How do you add a block to the coding workspace?
Answer: Select a block from the toolbox drawer; drag and drop into the
workspace.
4. What is one reason learning computer science and coding is important?
Answer: Possible answers include:
• Teaches us important skills, like creativity, problem solving, critical
thinking, etc.
• It’s changing the way we communicate, learn, live, and work.
• It will help us to be more successful in our future job or career.
5. What are you most excited about learning in this course?
Answer: Responses will vary by student

These questions can also be used as a formative assessment. A printable version

of these questions can be found in the Assessment Guide.

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EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS

CSTA STANDARDS
• 2-AP-16 Incorporate existing code, media, and libraries into original
programs and give attribution.
ISTE STANDARDS
• 1.4.c Students develop, test, and refine prototypes as part of a cyclical
design process.

UK NATIONAL CURRICULUM: COMPUTING - KEY STAGE 3

• Understand how instructions are stored and executed within a computer
system; understand how data of various types (including text, sounds and
pictures) can be represented and manipulated digitally, in the form of binary
digits

AUSTRALIAN F-10 CURRICULUM: DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES – YEAR 7 AND 8

• (ACTDIP30) Developing and modifying digital solutions by implementing
instructions contained in algorithms through programs

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NAME: _______________________________________________________ DATE: _____________________________

CODING WITH MINECRAFT: UNIT 1 FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

What’s an on chat command?

How do you get to the coding

workspace?

How do you add a block to

the coding workspace?

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What is one reasoning
learning computer science
and coding is important?

What are you most excited

about learning in this course?

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