A video game called Minecraft helps teachers make school

more fun
By Chicago Tribune, adapted by Newsela staff
May. 08, 2014 4:00 AM

Bobby Craig (left) and Doogy Lee create worlds in Minecraft that parallel what they have been reading in
The Hobbit as part of their fifth-grade class studies at Quest Academy in Palatine, Ill.

CHICAGOArie Estrin is building a submarine on his schools computer. He puts it together

block by block.
Arie is a seventh-grader. He is making it with one of the worlds hottest video games: Minecraft.
Some people think computer games should be played at home. Still, more and more teachers are
using them in the classroom.
Teachers are using technology to get kids excited about school.
Nothing has gotten kids more excited than Minecraft. It lets kids build almost anything they
can imagine out of colored blocks. The game came out in 2009. More than 100 million people play
it around the world.
Minecraft was invented by Markus Persson. He is a game designer from Sweden. He wanted to
make the kind of game he played as a kid.

Kids Love It
The results can be amazing. YouTube is filled with entire Minecraft cities and made-up worlds.
The secret sauce is that kids are engaged, said Joel Levin. He is a retired teacher. His company,
TeacherGaming, makes Minecraft for schools. Kids love it. They want to do it, he said.
Some kids sign up for weekend or summer classes to play Minecraft. Dana Stewart teaches at
Northwestern University. Her students use Minecraft to build ancient Egyptian buildings. The
project makes them think about designing buildings. The students feel like theyre walking through
the buildings in real life.
The idea is to use a game kids love to teach them about science, said Jana Sebestik. She is with
the University of Illinois.

Build Anything
Since November, fifth-graders in Palatine, Ill., have been building their own worlds. These worlds
are complete with dragons. The students also write about their adventures.
Minecraft is a nice way to make your imagination fly a little bit better, said Amelia Landau,
11.
Dan Rezac is with a school in Northbrook. He said Minecraft can be amazing.
With Minecraft, they can build anything, he said. They learn to work together with other
people. They build worlds and lands and objects. They can even make a human body.
Theres no end to what a kid can do with Minecraft.

Quiz
1. Which of the following supports the main idea of the text?
(a) Minecraft is one of the worlds hottest video games.
(b) But nothing has got kids excited like Minecraft.
(c) Some kids sign up for weekend or summer classes to play Minecraft.
(d) The idea is to use a game kids love to teach them about science, said Jana Sebestik.
2. Who among the following created Minecraft?
(a) Arie Estrin
(b) Dan Rezac
(c) Joel Levin
(d) Markus Persson
3. Looking at the illustration, what is the number of people using the game?
(a) 10 million
(b) 14 million
(c) 100 million
(d) 114 million
4. Looking at the image, all the following can be created using the game EXCEPT:
(a) labs
(b) towns
(c) windmills
(d) nuclear plants

Answer Key
1. Which of the following supports the main idea of the text?
(a) Minecraft is one of the worlds hottest video games.
(b) But nothing has got kids excited like Minecraft.
(c) Some kids sign up for weekend or summer classes to play Minecraft.
(d) The idea is to use a game kids love to teach them about science, said Jana
Sebestik.
2. Who among the following created Minecraft?
(a) Arie Estrin
(b) Dan Rezac
(c) Joel Levin
(d) Markus Persson
3. Looking at the illustration, what is the number of people using the game?
(a) 10 million
(b) 14 million
(c) 100 million
(d) 114 million
4. Looking at the image, all the following can be created using the game EXCEPT:
(a) labs
(b) towns
(c) windmills
(d) nuclear plants