Below is a Minecraft narrative assignment that has worked well with students of various levels. The overall project is broken up into smaller sections designed for students to work on one at a time. It includes various skills for students to practice including different points of view, sentence fluency, and word choice. It also includes reflection activities requiring students to consider why they did what they did, which helps them consider why professional writers make such decisions. Vary the pace and complexity of the assignment according to the age and skill of students you are teaching.
Steve’s Hero’s Journey: A Narrative in a Minecraft World
Background / Thematic Reading:
The Hobbit: 3rd person limited point of view; genre Adventure Fantasy. Difficulty: Easy
The Odyssey: a mix of first and third person; genre: epic poem. Difficulty: Medium or hard depending on version.
Robinson Crusoe: 1st person participatory; genre: survival narrative. Difficulty: Hard
Objectives: Your tasks are to (1) outline a hero’s journey adventure novel about the protagonist of Minecraft, Steve, (2) describe the Minecraft world and creatures where the adventure will take place, and then (3) write at least two chapters for that novel. The first chapter you write should explain who Steve is, where he came from, why Steve is in the Minecraft world (his call and separation), and what he intends to do (or is compelled to do) while he is in the Minecraft world (his quest). The second chapter you write can be any part of his journey that you choose.
Part I: Plan / Outline Steve’s Hero’s Journey
(Note, you can rename Steve if you would like)
--How will Steve be called on the journey/quest? You may choose to begin his journey before he came to the Minecraft world or after he has already arrived.
-What will be the quest and where will he need to go to achieve it?
-Will Steve have a guardian or mentor? Describe him/her/it:
-What will be some of the main challenges Steve will face?
-What will be the abyss (the most challenging part of the journey, the part where things are so difficult that the hero nearly gives up)?
-When will Steve return home?
-How will she/he/they have changed after their return?
-What dominant theme (message or truth about life or human nature) do you want the story to convey to your readers?
Part II: Describe the Minecraft world Steve is now in and its inhabitants.
A. Setting Description
Describe some of the most important places in the Minecraft world where this story will take place. Provide enough details that a reader who has never seen this world can visualize what it is like. Use the metaphor of the camera: “zoom in” to describe specific details about specific places. “Zoom out” to provide a perspective of where these places lie in relation to each other geographically. “Pan” the camera by describing what a person might see as they walk from one place to another. Choose a creative point of view and audience.
Sentence Fluency Practice: Use a series of prepositional phrases as you pan the camera. Example: The trail runs along the river, down the valley, and into the Forest of Minoc Rul.
B. Mob (Creature) Description
Using a different point of view for each (first person, third person limited, third person omniscient), describe three (or more) of the principal creatures of Minecraft for someone not familiar with them. Provide creative background details that are not evident in the game. What are their behaviors / character traits? Social habits? How did they come to be? Are they hostile, neutral, or good from Steve’s perspective? Why are they this way toward him?
Word choice practice: Strive to use specific nouns. Example: oak instead of tree.
C. Village Description and Villager Informational (Expository) Essay
From an objective point of view, describe in detail a village and people your adventurer will encounter at some point in his journey in the Minecraft world your story is based.
-Where do the villagers live / setting?
-How do they live: Survival, shelter, etc.
-Politics. What is their government like? How are leaders chosen? What laws exist?
-Religion: beliefs, myths, and/or legends
-Language
-Other social/cultural characteristics
-Friends, enemies, and how they treat outsiders
-Self-defense and/or offense: Weapons, magical powers, etc.
Part III: Write the first chapter of your adventure novel
Chapter One: Tell the story of Steve’s background: Who is Steve? (You can rename him if you would like and even have him be a girl.) What is his personality? Where did he come from? What was his home like? His family? The society where he lived? How and why did he leave home and end up alone in the Minecraft world? Choose which point of view to use as well as an audience. The narrator could be Steve himself, a parent, a friend, an enemy, Steve’s son, an omniscient or limited 3rd person narrator, etc. The audience could be a specific individual the narrator is telling his story to or just a general reader. Strive to make this chapter as interesting as possible.
Sentence fluency practice: For one of the sentences in this chapter, include an inventory of things that Steve carries with him. Use a combination of semi-colons and commas where the semi-colons divide the major categories of related items and the commas divide the items within the categories. Example: My sister placed the following in her backpack on the way to school: a pencil, ruler, and protractor; an apple, orange, and sandwich; and her math, science, and history books.
Reflect: Why did you choose the point of view and audience that you did? How did the point of view affect the story in contrast to another point of view you might have chosen?
Part IV: Write another chapter detailing part of the journey
Write a chapter or scene from Steve’s journey. Choose the point of view and audience that you think will be most effective for this chapter. Strive to create suspense and to convey action.
Sentence Fluency Practice: Include at least some dialogue between Steve and a mob or villager. Punctuate the dialogue correctly. Strive to use specific nouns and action verbs. Avoid “be verbs” is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being.
Reflect: At the end of this part of the narrative, explain why you chose the point of view and audience that you did.
Steve’s Hero’s Journey: A Narrative in a Minecraft World
Background / Thematic Reading:
The Hobbit: 3rd person limited point of view; genre Adventure Fantasy. Difficulty: Easy
The Odyssey: a mix of first and third person; genre: epic poem. Difficulty: Medium or hard depending on version.
Robinson Crusoe: 1st person participatory; genre: survival narrative. Difficulty: Hard
Objectives: Your tasks are to (1) outline a hero’s journey adventure novel about the protagonist of Minecraft, Steve, (2) describe the Minecraft world and creatures where the adventure will take place, and then (3) write at least two chapters for that novel. The first chapter you write should explain who Steve is, where he came from, why Steve is in the Minecraft world (his call and separation), and what he intends to do (or is compelled to do) while he is in the Minecraft world (his quest). The second chapter you write can be any part of his journey that you choose.
Part I: Plan / Outline Steve’s Hero’s Journey
(Note, you can rename Steve if you would like)
--How will Steve be called on the journey/quest? You may choose to begin his journey before he came to the Minecraft world or after he has already arrived.
-What will be the quest and where will he need to go to achieve it?
-Will Steve have a guardian or mentor? Describe him/her/it:
-What will be some of the main challenges Steve will face?
-What will be the abyss (the most challenging part of the journey, the part where things are so difficult that the hero nearly gives up)?
-When will Steve return home?
-How will she/he/they have changed after their return?
-What dominant theme (message or truth about life or human nature) do you want the story to convey to your readers?
Part II: Describe the Minecraft world Steve is now in and its inhabitants.
A. Setting Description
Describe some of the most important places in the Minecraft world where this story will take place. Provide enough details that a reader who has never seen this world can visualize what it is like. Use the metaphor of the camera: “zoom in” to describe specific details about specific places. “Zoom out” to provide a perspective of where these places lie in relation to each other geographically. “Pan” the camera by describing what a person might see as they walk from one place to another. Choose a creative point of view and audience.
Sentence Fluency Practice: Use a series of prepositional phrases as you pan the camera. Example: The trail runs along the river, down the valley, and into the Forest of Minoc Rul.
B. Mob (Creature) Description
Using a different point of view for each (first person, third person limited, third person omniscient), describe three (or more) of the principal creatures of Minecraft for someone not familiar with them. Provide creative background details that are not evident in the game. What are their behaviors / character traits? Social habits? How did they come to be? Are they hostile, neutral, or good from Steve’s perspective? Why are they this way toward him?
Word choice practice: Strive to use specific nouns. Example: oak instead of tree.
C. Village Description and Villager Informational (Expository) Essay
From an objective point of view, describe in detail a village and people your adventurer will encounter at some point in his journey in the Minecraft world your story is based.
-Where do the villagers live / setting?
-How do they live: Survival, shelter, etc.
-Politics. What is their government like? How are leaders chosen? What laws exist?
-Religion: beliefs, myths, and/or legends
-Language
-Other social/cultural characteristics
-Friends, enemies, and how they treat outsiders
-Self-defense and/or offense: Weapons, magical powers, etc.
Part III: Write the first chapter of your adventure novel
Chapter One: Tell the story of Steve’s background: Who is Steve? (You can rename him if you would like and even have him be a girl.) What is his personality? Where did he come from? What was his home like? His family? The society where he lived? How and why did he leave home and end up alone in the Minecraft world? Choose which point of view to use as well as an audience. The narrator could be Steve himself, a parent, a friend, an enemy, Steve’s son, an omniscient or limited 3rd person narrator, etc. The audience could be a specific individual the narrator is telling his story to or just a general reader. Strive to make this chapter as interesting as possible.
Sentence fluency practice: For one of the sentences in this chapter, include an inventory of things that Steve carries with him. Use a combination of semi-colons and commas where the semi-colons divide the major categories of related items and the commas divide the items within the categories. Example: My sister placed the following in her backpack on the way to school: a pencil, ruler, and protractor; an apple, orange, and sandwich; and her math, science, and history books.
Reflect: Why did you choose the point of view and audience that you did? How did the point of view affect the story in contrast to another point of view you might have chosen?
Part IV: Write another chapter detailing part of the journey
Write a chapter or scene from Steve’s journey. Choose the point of view and audience that you think will be most effective for this chapter. Strive to create suspense and to convey action.
Sentence Fluency Practice: Include at least some dialogue between Steve and a mob or villager. Punctuate the dialogue correctly. Strive to use specific nouns and action verbs. Avoid “be verbs” is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being.
Reflect: At the end of this part of the narrative, explain why you chose the point of view and audience that you did.
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