Teaching kids can be difficult whether you teach in school, at home, or in another setting. Minecraft is a great tool to add to your repertoire.
Use Minecraft to teach a concept a student hasn’t understood in another setting. It can also be helpful to teach with Minecraft if you have students whose attention wanders in a traditional classroom setting. Students with disabilities may find Minecraft more accessible than other learning aids.
The educational benefits of Minecraft don’t end with the Education Edition. It doesn’t even end with the computer!
How to Use Minecraft to Teach Students
There is a multitude of ways to teach kids through Minecraft. It can be separated into Education Edition, regular Minecraft, and learning away from the computer.
Minecraft Education Edition
In Education Edition, there is something called “Subject Kits,” which are essentially the topics covered. If you navigate within these Subject Kits, you can find all the lessons available on the Minecraft Education website. Within each lesson, you can find more information on teaching the lesson, the educational codes applicable, and what you need to create lesson plans.
The Subject Kits offered are:
- Science
- Math
- Computer Science
- Language Arts
- History & Culture
- Art & Design
- Digital Citizenship
- Social-Emotional
- Equity & Inclusion
- Climate & Sustainability
Teaching With Minecraft Without Education Edition
Many educational opportunities exist within Minecraft and outside of the Education Edition. While Education Edition is quite nice, with pre-made worlds that have an educational purpose and direction, there are many more ways to use Minecraft.
Within Minecraft Bedrock, there is a marketplace. This marketplace has worlds; some are available on both Education Edition and in the marketplace. Most educational template worlds are free, although some individual creators have made worlds that are available for a fee.
One criticism is that educational concepts above a first-grade level are difficult to find.
You may be able to find templates available for Java, but it is less available for strictly educational worlds.
Minecraft can also be used to teach concepts in free form, available on any of the three platforms. Use a creative prompt to have them build something, or use blocks to show values’ relationship to other values.
Minecraft Education Resources
I have no association with Minecraft, Mojang, or Microsoft. I am sharing my experiences with this game only.
Below is a list of pages on this website that you may want to review for more information about using Minecraft to teach, whether it is homeschooled, charter school, public school, tutoring, or other programs.
- How to use Minecraft for Education
- Which version of Minecraft should you use?
- How to get Minecraft Education Edition if you are a homeschooler
- Minecraft writing prompts
- Free Minecraft Education account
You may want these resources for teaching Minecraft as well: