Hour of Code

Minecraft, Grades 2-5, Zachariah Stuive

Level 1

I was nervous starting this module as I have never tried Minecraft before. However, my little cousin in law is obsessed with it
and I know almost all of his friends use it too. Therefore, I was certain that learning this at a young age would be a valuable
and interesting teaching/learning tool for all those involved. I appreciated that the first one was not too difficult and I actually
was a little excited that I wrote my first two lines of code.
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5

This is where I progressed to the next stage and learned some new techniques. My cousin is majoring in Computer Science and
has taught me some of the basics that you need to know to create a basic html coded website. So learning the basics of that
through minecraft concepts actually was much easier than how I originally learned. When the game introduced this new step in
coding, it was just a baby step forwards. This made it clear why this portion of the coding worked the way it did and why it was
valuable. This can help add to a mathematics curriculum because a lot of coding uses numbers so the more familiar the students
are with the two concepts, the more they can integrate them as they become older and more tech savvy.
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8

I was about ¾ of the way through here. Honestly as far as my interest goes, I was really enjoying this! At one point I accidentally
walked my character into the lava, but it was so easy and clear to me how I messed up and why the code was not working. This
applies to real life and the mathematics curriculum because coding is often a sequence of 1’s and 0’s that work together to create a
loop that the computer then analyzes to create something with. If even the slightest of letters or slashes (or in this simulation right
turns) is not in the right place, it will break the code and it won’t work. Or for my students, their little character will die in the lava.
Level 9
Level 10
Level 11

This was the last one and this game has maintained my interest throughout. I found the coding itself very applicable to the math
curriculum because a student begins to understand the interconnectedness of both mathematics and coding through this game. For
example, a complex math problem needs to follow the correct order of operations in order to find the correct number. You may still
be able to complete the math problem without following the correct order, but it will not come up with the right number. Likewise,
your character will still move in minecraft, but instead of walking to the finish line it will get melted by lava.
Certificate of Completion