Hi Friends,
Today we read from the Minecraft Woodsword Chronicles: Deep Dive! by Nick Eliopulos:
One of the first encounters Bookkitty had with Minecraft was a poem, illustrated with Minecraft. Super popular, ever-present it seems in school-age children's minds, you might find yourself asking, what is this game all about? From the Minecraft education edition: "is an open-world game that promotes creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving in an immersive environment where the only limit is your imagination." And now, for a lil' math-imagination break:
1. Fan Fiction is just one of many exciting genres to explore. In today's book, the author uses the Minecraft environment as a starting point for an adventure with friends. The book is published by Random House & is licensed by Mojang, the creators of Minecraft. (This is important because you can't just grab someone else's idea & use it to make money---that would be copyright infringement. In this case, licensing means the owner gave permission to use Minecraft. You can read a nice little summary here). Fan fiction offers endless ways to engage with your favorite characters & worlds, just respect the boundaries. Challenge yourself to write your own fan fiction story...for example, if we used the Grinch who Stole Christmas some ideas might be:
-a sequel about the Grinch helping the Whos to decorate a snowman in February
-how the Grinch was teased in school for having large, furry feet (prequel)
-what if the Grinch went ahead & dumped the toys & didn't find love in his heart? (alternate end)
-the dialogue for a play could be fun for some friends to act out
-what kind of poem would the Grinch write to his beloved dog, Max?
-lyrics to a birthday song that Cindy Lou Who sings for the Grinch
-would the Grinch do things differently if he was a she?
-illustrator a graphic novel version of the story
-what does the world beyond Whoville look like?
-does the Grinch have a family?
-a recipe for Roast Beast
2. An author uses a conflict to drive action & develop the story. The conflict we heard about today begins with the sound of zombies approaching...Minecrafters can choose to play in two modes: creative (noodle around the world & make it your own) or survival (gather supplies while noodleing around in the world & make it your own). Grab a pen & paper or turn & talk to a friend, compare these two modes. You could try making a graphic organizer:
It might look something like this:
*If you don't play Minecraft, you could do a similar activity with another topic. For example, consider Grilled Cheese & Macaronit n' Cheese. Or you could get some ideas from the Smash, Boom, Best podcast.
3. Video game design is one of many careers & hobbies out there in the world you might want to explore. Maybe you even incorporate an Hour of Code into your day. Do you ever wonder how sound effects for movies, tv & video games are made? Sure, some are digitally generated, but how about going old-school:
Righty, my little Foley Artists, time to get up a go on a sound effect adventure: make a bunch of noise with the stuff you find around your house.
Toodleoo, Kanga-Noobs ;)
Today's book was: Deep Dive! (Minecraft Woodsword Chronicles #3) by Nick Eliopulos, illustrated by Luke Flowers. For more information about what it's really like to be an author, check out this interview.
Thanks to Pexels contributers for providing awesome video clips.