Survivalcraft Options Blogpost #2

Choose two of the following options to write about on your Survivalcraft blog.

1. Think about your society in two ways: (a) Your "small" society, which includes you and your friends and your family and (b) your "large" society, which includes your neighborhood, town, city, state, country, and world. In what ways do you contribute to those two societies? Be specific. What could you do and what will you do? What have you seen others in your life do? Include discussion and explanation of all of these things. Include some relevant images. Proofread and be thoughtful.

2. Think about the various kinds of societies/civilizations in the world. Try to determine what kind of society your Minecraft world is. Do some research to determine what you could name it. Give it a name: oligarchy, democracy, etc. Properly cite any research you do. Explain why you think what you think. Use specifics and be clear. Include some relevant images. Proofread and be thoughtful.

3. A proverb is a well-known saying that expresses a belief or truth. Two very widely-known proverbs are "Don't judge a book by its cover" and "The early bird catches the worm." As you know, these proverbs are metaphorical; they are not primarily about books, birds, or worms. Often, a society has proverbs that come out of prominent facets of that society: a farming community might have farming proverbs, for example. Don't count your chickens before they hatch. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. Most cultures have a lot of farming proverbs; some have a lot of cooking proverbs, or fishing proverbs, or hunting proverbs. Invent three Minecraft proverbs based on your experience and your Minecraft society. Explain the meaning behind your three proverbs. Proofread and be thoughtful.

4. Imagine someone is arguing against using Minecraft in school. What 3-4 arguments could you use against his or her arguments? Proofread and be thoughtful

Scenario 2, Day three

Questions to consider today and for next week 

 What is a civilization? What is a city? What does it mean to contribute to society? What can you do? What shouldn't you do? What purpose does religion serve? Do you need religion to have morals? What kind of society is yours? Can you label it with a name? Democratic, Socialist, Anarchic, Republic, Dictatorship, Oligarchy, Meritocracy, etc? What can a person do to help a society function better? Where do morals come from? Why do people exclude themselves from a society? What is leadership? What is life?

Be ready to write about and think about and discuss these big issues next week. 

Scenario 2 Blog Post Assignments

Your tasks for today include all of the following.

Survival Craft Blog Post, Scenario 2, Day 2
You are to write ONE blog post that includes all of the following.

1. Help each other and get help from each other--share on your blog post.
2. Take a screenshot of being in a shelter at night--share on your blog post.
3. Take a screenshot of agriculture--share on your blog post.
4. Make sure nobody starves--share experience on your blog post.  
5. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the maximum), explain how much YOU have contributed to the health, happiness, and survival of the community--share on your blog post. 

Options (You must choose one of these and write a separate blog post):

Options Blog Post

1. Journal - Create a book inside Minecraft. Inside the book, write a journal about your experiences from the perspective of your character. Copy the text into a separate blog post as well.
2. Mapping - On a physical piece of paper, map the "island." Take a photo or photos of your map and post it on your survivalcraft blog in a separate blog post.
3. Lord of the Flies - Write a separate blog post about what you've done, seen, felt, or experienced in this Minecraft experience that has been Lord of the Flies -ish. This can be in the game or outside the game. Think about interactions, fear, struggles, debates, mistakes, problems, whatever. Use specifics from the novel, if needed.
4. Teaching - Take a classmate "under your wing" and teach him or her some skills needed to survive in a dangerous Minecraft world. Document the experience in a separate blog post. 
5. Dare to Stay Civilized challenge.  Document the experience in a separate blog post. 

• Level 1: BASIC. Maintain two characteristics of civilization: cities and agriculture. Document by screenshot once they are created and again at the end of the experience--your creations need to be maintained!

• Level 2: ADVANCED. Apart from maintaining a small city an agriculture, add division of labor (different members of your group with specific jobs) and religion. Screenshots of cooperative work and religious buildings/artifacts are acceptable as evidence, as well as written descriptions/captions explaining or summarizing your screenshots. 

• Level 3: EXPERT. Apart from cities, agriculture, division of labor, and religion, add written language (books/signs) and art (art can vary and can include architecture). Screenshots and captions should explain the significance of the creations, and examples of written language should demonstrate forethought and creativity (poetry, for example). 

Beautiful Sunset - April 21, 2015

Lord of the Flies: Scenario 2 – On the Island

Lord of the Flies: Scenario 2 – On the Island

You are stranded. Your plane has crashed with the other members of your class aboard! You are left to your own devices, with no adults to tell you what to do. The first order of business is to try to survive and to try to help others survive

You will be working in groups to complete the scenario.

Your group might choose to elect a leader, to create your own laws, and to band together to build structures and stores so that you can all survive. Or you decide that you’d rather split into smaller groups with similar goals. However you decide you will organize, remember that you can’t take survival for granted. Mining, farming, hunting and living will be of the utmost importance. Fortunately, the monsters, which may exist on the island, don’t know you are here.

Groups should ask themselves these questions:

£ Are we going to stay as one group or become two smaller groups?

£ Are we going to elect a leader and why? Who will be our leader?

£ Are we going to create laws that everyone will follow?

£ What is the group going to do to survive?

£ What needs to be built or created in our for our group to survive?

£ What is each group member’s role or task in the group?

Your tasks as a group:

£ Decide if you're going to be one group or smaller groups

£ Decide on the answers to the questions above.

£ Create your world, making sure to include everything you need in order to survive.

£  Take screen shots of your experiences each day. Post them on your wiki page and write a summary of what you were able to do and the importance to each item you created.

Note: Weather is on. Survival Mode is on

In order to earn full credit for your posts and your experience on DAY 1 of Scenario 2, you must show that you have worked together, at least in part, and that you care about the safety and comfort of other members of your class.

Your posts must include some reference to the Marshall School Portrait of a Hilltopper. Try to explain what aspects of the portrait apply to what you've been experiencing in Minecraft.

Portrait of a hilltopper

Marshall graduates will be …  

effective communicators

• Students develop effective writing strategies, focused speaking techniques and active listening through curricular and extra-curricular activities.
• Multiple opportunities to interact with people representing ideologies other than their own make graduates open to and appreciative of other points of view.
• The comprehensive program of academic and social opportunities at Marshall places a strong emphasis on developing strong interpersonal skills.
• Experience with and instruction in a variety of technologies make students proficient in communicating via current and emerging technologies.

critical thinkers and problem solvers

• Students recognize and adapt to different thinking styles.
• Students learn to systematically analyze problems.
• Students are able to present ideas clearly and concisely.
• Students transform personal creativity into practical solutions.

engaged and ethical citizens

• International classmates, opportunities for study abroad, and a curriculum which emphasizes global awareness all make graduates uniquely equipped to live in and understand today’s world.
• The Marshall community has well-articulated expectations regarding personal integrity and self-discipline.  
• Students understand their responsibilities as caretakers on individual, community, and global levels.    
• Personal and global events are noted and discussed - in good and bad times- instilling in students an understanding of the situations of others.
• Opportunities to take initiative and expectations to meet obligations help students internalize a sense of personal responsibility.

curious and creative

• Students are encouraged through a philosophy of participation. They learn to set goals as a team and to maximize the special skills of each team member.
• Students are free to develop their own personal interests within a community which places value on self-expression and participation.
• Students are encouraged to step outside their personal comfort zones - to try a new class, club, or activity.
• The Marshall School community - students and their families - strongly support and promote a culture and appreciation of study and learning.  

balanced and resilient

• One-to-one and small-group encounters within the community offer students a variety of opportunities to practice and establish self-advocacy skills.
• Through a comprehensive program offering significant investigation, support, and opportunity, students enjoy a well-balanced experience at Marshall.
• Marshall students develop sound judgment skills by making choices, experimenting with new ideas or activities, discussing complex life topics, and experiencing success and failure – always within a safe and caring environment.
• Students are intentionally offered opportunities to learn about different religions and to reflect on their own beliefs.

Day three of scenario 1 - April 17th (A Day classes only)

For April 17th, our third day in Scenario 1, finish your impending threat scenario. The world got rolled back to Wednesday, so you might have to recreate some of your structures.

More importantly, though, you should experience some crafting. Use the internet to learn how to craft. In creative mode, you don't have to craft because everything is there for you in your inventory. In survival mode, however, you will need to craft things.  Here is a rather thorough catalog of items you can craft: http://www.minecraft-crafting.net/.

Take screenshots.

Also in your survivalcraft blogs, write about things that you will likely need to craft once you are on the Lord of the Flies "island." What will you need? Why?

What kind of world are they in? What would cause an evacuation?

For day 2 of Scenario 1 you must make your world look like a place that would need to be evacuated. Before you start the game, talk in groups about what might be in a place like this. What does a place look like that might sooner or later get evacuated? Try to think beyond "getting bombed." There are so many things to do. Be creative.

Honors Students - you need to learn how to do one thing in Minecraft that you didn't know before. I can help.

All students - you must share screenshots and explanations in your Survivalcraft blog. Go overboard.

Photo credit: Minecraft Football/  *ejk* / CC BY-SA